Socialism and Fascism

 

Introduction

Socialism and Fascism share some characteristics but are entirely different in other ways. The two ideologies took shape following what was viewed as the faults in liberalism. Socialists, who preceded fascists, criticized liberal democracy for the inequalities that had emerged among the people. Fascists, on the other hand, believed that the ideas that liberalism was based on were incorrect. Hence, we can compare and contrast the different ways in which socialists and fascists criticize liberal democracy and their visions on how best to govern a nation.

Criticism of Liberal Democracy

Both the ideologies disagree with the liberals view on individualism. According to liberals, society is made up of individuals who look out for their self-interests. As such, they should be left to pursue profits privately. This view is criticized by socialists, who believe that people are social creatures. Therefore, they must work in cooperation to achieve their liberty and prosperity (Ball et al. 123). Fascists criticize individualism with the view of nationalism. This is the belief that people fall into distinct groups that form nations (Ball et al. 191). Hence, according to fascists, one must stop viewing themselves as an individual, but rather as part of a nation. It is only by coming together as a nation, that true liberty can be experienced. Although both fascists and socialists share this criticism against liberals, there are other ways they differ. One of these is elitism.

Elitism is the view that society should be governed by a few elite individuals. Liberal democracy, on the contrary, maintains that people should govern themselves. This is achieved through elections. For fascists, this idea is unacceptable. Elite theorists of the early twentieth century believed that society is and will always be ruled by a small group of leaders (Ball et al. 193). Later on, famous fascists such as Benito Mussolini of Italy adopted this ideology and implemented totalitarianism. Socialists, on the other hand, support democracy. However, this is in a different sense from liberal democracy. While liberal democracy requires the government to facilitate capitalism, socialist democracy allows the government to hinder capitalism in the quest for a classless society (Ball et al. 124). Besides elitism, fascists and socialists criticize liberalism on the issue of equality.

Liberalism calls for equality and freedom. This was the view of the classical liberals when they demanded minimal government interference and economic competition for all. However, during the industrial revolution, inequalities emerged as a consequence of capitalism. The rich kept getting richer while the poor working-class kept being overworked and underpaid. Socialists believe that such unfairness should be corrected. They, therefore, call for equality of common people, rather than that of the individual (Ball et al. 125). They believe this can be achieved through fighting capitalism. Fascists, on the other hand, find equality unnecessary and at times distasteful. To them, equality promotes individual freedoms and this hinders the goal of attaining glory for the nation. This disregard for equality and freedom is depicted in Mussolini’s famous slogan “believe, obey, fight” (Ball et al. 187). Hence, both ideologies are against liberalism based on equality and freedom, but in different ways.

By addressing these criticisms, it is evident that socialists and fascists do not agree with liberal democracy. The views on individualism, governance, and equality do not resonate in a similar way among the ideologies. Therefore, both fascists and socialists have their vision of how best to govern a nation. These visions are guided by the end goals of the ideologies. The Socialists’ end goal is to fulfill human needs through such means as ensuring all workers get a fair share of the product (Ball et al. 126). For fascists, the end goal is to obtain power and glory for the state (Ball et al. 199). One of the ways their mode of governance compares is by ensuring the government has more power and authority.

The Vision of How Best to Govern a Nation

Totalitarianism is the mode of governance for fascists and at times for socialists. Socialism requires that society should own and control property for everyone’s benefit (Ball et al. 123). Such control is exercised by a centralized or decentralized government. The result is a society where the government has the power to plan, manage, and coordinate the country’s economy (Ball et al. 124). Fascist governments call for a few elites or even one individual to lead the nation to more power and glory. The people are expected to follow the vision of the leader without questioning as was the case with Nazi Germany under Hitler. Such kind of governance is, therefore, dictatorial. Fascist governance varies from the socialist rule in some ways. One of these is the main agenda of each of the governments.

Socialist governance is mainly aimed at the economy. By controlling and coordinating economic activities, socialists believe that they can eliminate capitalism and the ills that result from it. This is meant to ensure freedom for all. On the other hand, the main agenda for fascist governments is achieving more power for the nation. This was proved by both Mussolini and Hitler who were obsessed with creating empires. For these fascists, the economy was not a major agenda. Mussolini’s Italy, for instance, was filled with corruption (Ball et al. 200). Another difference in governance stems from how the ideologies view differences in people.

Both apartheid rule in South Africa and Nazi rule in Germany have one thing in common. This is the belief that people are not alike (Ball et al. 190). This motivated the discrimination against the blacks by Afrikaners and the Jews by the Aryan Germans. Many fascists, including contemporary ones, believe that whites are a superior race to others such as blacks. Therefore, it is common for fascist governance to discriminate based on race. Socialist governance, on the other hand, is devoid of such concerns. Rather than focusing on nationalism, socialists focus on social classes which they insist, must be eliminated. Finally, it is important to look at the form of liberties that these governments assure their people.

Socialists aim for the freedom of the community while fascists aim for the nation’s freedom. Socialist governments work to facilitate freedom in the form of a fair share of the profits, fulfilling work, and equal opportunities to develop talents (Ball et al. 125). The socialist government achieves this by taking full control of the economy. Fascists view liberty in a completely different light. According to fascists, true freedom and fulfillment can only be achieved by serving the state (Ball et al. 199). Hence, fascist governments demand the unwavering loyalty of the people without question.

Conclusion

Socialists and fascists are similar in some ways while different in others. They were both developed as a reaction towards liberalism ideology. Hence it is possible to compare and contrast their criticism of liberal democracy. These two ideologies also went ahead to suggest the best way to govern a nation, while avoiding the pitfalls of liberalism. This is also captured in the essay. This information enables us to understand why fascists such as Hitler committed unspeakable atrocities, why Russia is so indulged in socialism or even question whether capitalism is the best system of life.

Work Cited

Ball, Terence, et al. Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal. Taylor & Francis, 2016.