What is the Doctrine of Fascism?

Some quotes from Benito Mussolini's Doctrine of Fascism, written in 1932.

I've created a new page at the new Charter 24 website using quotes from Mussolini’s 1932 Doctrine of Fascism. I’m republishing it here, but if you know anyone who is confused about who the actual Fascists are in America, please point them over there.

Any “American” who says our rights come from government has already accepted a fundamental concept of Fascism. That person would have voted for Mussolini in 1922. The only way forward from there is to strip us of our God-given rights and replace them with rights created by the State.

We've all been told who the Fascists are. But what does the inventor of Fascism say about them? The  quotes below in bold are from Benito Mussolini's Doctrine of Fascism, written in 1932.

Fascists Deny any Liberty not Created by the State

"The Fascist conception of the State is all embracing; outside of it no human or spiritual values can exist, much less have value."

The only values that can exist under Fascism are the values created by the State. Fascists thus reject the core idea expressed by the Bill of Rights: that your human rights come from God, not the State. America utterly rejects the Fascist philosophy. An American who denies that human rights transcend any form of government is leaning toward Fascism. Any "American" who says your rights come from government has already accepted a fundamental principle of Fascism. After attaining power, the only way forward for the Fascist is to strip citizens of their God-given rights and replace them with rights created by the State.

"The Fascist State ... has curtailed useless or harmful liberties while preserving those which are essential. In such matters the individual cannot be the judge, but the State only."

In recent years, the world has heard much about which liberties the State deems "essential" or "non-essential." During the COVID pandemic, the State judged the right to racial street protests as essential while the right to attend church was declared harmful and pastors were arrested. There are too many other examples to list here, but if you defend the State's judgment in these matters, and deny the individual's, then you are leaning toward Fascism.

"Fascism stands for liberty, and for the only liberty worth having, the liberty of the State and of the individual within the State."

Some Americans will tell you that the individual's right to self-protection (aka "the right to keep and bear arms") can be infringed by the State, that those who dogmatically assert their Second Amendment rights are Fascists, and that the only liberty worth having is one where everyone is disarmed by armed agents of the State. Those Americans point to our traditional values and proudly assert "that's not who we are."

The inconvenient truth is that private citizens with guns are the last line of defense against an absolute State. The first defenders, if you will, are citizens who deny the Fascist concept of liberty. Is that who you are?

Fascists Hate Classical Liberals

"Anti-individualistic, the Fascist conception of life stresses the importance of the State and accepts the individual only in so far as his interests coincide with those of the State, which stands for the conscience and the universal will of man as a historic entity."

Conservatives (also called "classical liberals") desire smaller government above almost anything else. Fascism rejects, with extreme prejudice, any individual who denies the absolute power of the State.

"It is opposed to classical liberalism which arose as a reaction to absolutism and exhausted its historical function when the State became the expression of the conscience and will of the people."

Society invented "classical liberalism" to end the rule of absolute monarchies. America, for all her admitted flaws, was founded with that very intent. Fascism was invented to reassert the absolute rights of the State over the individual. Notice that under Fascism the "will of the people" can only be expressed by the State.

"Liberalism denied the State in the name of the individual; Fascism reasserts the rights of the State as expressing the real essence of the individual."

Fascism Promotes Unity, Strength and Justice

"Fascism, in short, is not only a law-giver and a founder of institutions, but an educator and a promoter of spiritual life. It aims at refashioning not only the forms of life but their content — man, his character, and his faith. To achieve this propose it enforces discipline and uses authority, entering into the soul and ruling with undisputed sway. Therefore it has chosen as its emblem the Lictor’s rods, the symbol of unity, strength, and justice."

There is an ideology in modern America that also promotes unity, strength, and justice. It claims to be "anti-fascist" while, at the same time, promoting a nationwide educational program of "anti-racism." Students of this ideology must view everything through the lens of race. Further, it also says it will "end racism" through a "diversity" program that defines all white people as racist. And finally, it proclaims from the bully pulpit that "our democracy" is threatened by fascists who deny the racial worldview and believe in the individual liberties of classical liberalism.

"Fascism is an organized, centralized, authoritarian democracy."

The Fascist State is Wide Awake

"The Fascist State is wide awake and has a will of its own."

"If liberalism spells individualism, Fascism spells government."

Much has been said from both sides of the "woke" divide, but that ideology is defined by this principle: that our essential duty is to affirm our place under a just, strong, and unified government, and to organize against the old and worn-out values of individual liberty that threaten our democracy.

The Real Fascists Will Not Stand Up

Now that you know a little bit about actual Fascism, from the inventor of Fascism himself, look around the country and try to determine who the actual Fascists are. No one will admit to being a Fascist, so you can't identify them by what they say. But you can tell a Fascist by what they do.

"Never before have the peoples thirsted for authority, direction, order, as they do now. If each age has its doctrine, then innumerable symptoms indicate that the doctrine of our age is the Fascist."