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Benito Mussolini's Doctrine of Fascism

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Benito Mussolini's Doctrine of Fascism
DOCTRINE OF FASCISM
Benito Mussolini outlines several essential characteristics of his preferred political ideology, Fascism, in what has become known as the Doctrine of Fascism. In this paper, Mussolini outlines his vision of the ideology, and explains the major issues that Fascism will address once it becomes the leading political system in Italy. Mussolini’s major points as outlined in the Doctrine included an extreme emphasis on nationalism, organization and modernization of the state, persistent focus on religion, life as a struggle, and the notion that individuals exist only for the improvement of society as a whole. Wolfgang Schieder, after reviewing the Doctrine of Fascism, explains Mussolini’s success based on it and clarifies what exactly Adolf Hitler adopted from the Italian Fascist ideology to incorporated into his own Third Reich. One of the fundamental tenants in Mussolini Doctrine of Fascism is the strong sense of nationalism, which we wants the Italian people to embrace. As a result, he calls for a unification of all Italians over his Fascist regime. Mussolini truly thought that the Italian nation was preordained for greatness, and that the only way to fulfil this destiny was through extreme social cooperation under Fascism. To that end, Mussolini advocated a mass modernization of the Italian state, centralization of government and creation of a state in “spirit, not territory.” Mussolini wanted Italy to leave its mark on history through the fascist system, so his Doctrine emphasised cultural contributions such as art and philosophy. Mussolini believed that a nation’s power was derived from its people, who had to be “numerous, hard working, and well regulated” in order to succeed. A further crucial element of Mussolini’s Doctrine was that he constantly stresses the role of the state and government in a Fascist state. As opposed to other political systems such as socialism, the state in a fascist society does not act as a mere

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