Today in Labor History June 19, 1903: Benito Mussolini, at the time a radical Socialist, was arrested by Bern police for advocating a violent general strike. As strange as it may seem, in light of his rise to become one of the most powerful and violent fascist leaders in the world, Mussolini came from a radical leftist background. In his youth, he idealized figures like Bakunin and Garibaldi. His father, who was a socialist, named him Benito, after Mexico’s liberal leader Benito Juarez. His two middle names, Andrea and Amilcare, were named after Italian socialists Andrea Costa and Amilcare Cipriani.
Today in Labor History June 13, 1889: Amadeo Bordiga was born (d1970). Proponent of Council Communism and the Italian Communist Left, as well as a founder of the Italian Communist Party. He was a major influence on the 20th century Ultra Left. He called Stalin "the gravedigger of the revolution." Bordiga was imprisoned twice by Mussolini. Lenin criticized him in his screed, "Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disorder (1920).
“Mussolini’s propaganda was full of references to Latin and ancient Roman imagery. In 1936, after the end of the Italo-Ethiopian colonial war, the Duce boastfully announced from the balcony of Palazzo Venezia “the reappearance of the empire on the fatal hills of Rome.” A racial legislation carefully regulated the interactions between Italians and Ethiopians.”
Today in labor history April 28, 1945: Walter Audisio, a member of the Italian resistance movement, killed Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci. Audisio was a communist and was later elected to parliament.
Today in Labor History March 9, 1879: Anarchist militant and IWW organizer, Carlo Tresca, was born. Tresca was an outspoken opponent of fascism in Germany and Italy, and of Soviet Communism. He was one of the main organizers of the Patterson Silk Strike. He was assassinated in 1943 by an unknown assailant, presumably a fascist or the Mafia. Some believe the Soviets killed him in retaliation for his criticism of Stalin. The most recent research suggests it was the Bonanno crime family, in response to his criticism of the mafia and Mussolini.
Gaetano Salvemini smuggled a copy of the court transcripts of Matteotti's trial out of Italy:
"Per conto mio, già nell'agosto del 1925, avevo trafugato fuori d'Italia una copia della requisitoria del Pubblico Ministero Santoro nella inchiesta senatoriale sulle accuse mosse da Giuseppe Do- nati contro il direttore generale della pubblica sicurezza, generale De Bono. Dopo averli utilizzati affidai quei docu- menti alla biblioteca della School of Economics di Londra, nel dicembre 1926"
The day after there was an unsuccessful attempt to steal the transcripts, but they were kept in the Library's safe.
Very excited that we are now going to be digitising these transcripts and putting them freely available online, 100 years after Matteotti's murder. Hopefully they will be available by end of June this year. Attached is a photograph of them in situ.
Powerful and Continuing #Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of #patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. #Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
Disdain for the Recognition of #HumanRights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, and long incarcerations of prisoners.
Supremacy of the #Military
Even when there are widespread #domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
Rampant #Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional #gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to #abortion is high, as is #homophobia and anti-#gay legislation.
Controlled #MassMedia
Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation or by sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Government #censorship and #secrecy especially in war time, are very common.
Obsession with #NationalSecurity
Fear of hostile foreign powers is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
#Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.
Protection of #Corporate Power
The #industrial and business #aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
Suppression of #Labor Power
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor #unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
Disdain for #Intellectuals and the #Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to #HigherEducation and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other #academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
Obsession with #Crime and #Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the #police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego #CivilLiberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
Rampant #Cronyism and #Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
#Fraudulent#Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by #SmearCampaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control #voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
This post is a summary of Fascism, Anyone? by Lawrence W. Britt published in 2003 by Free Inquiry magazine."