It is important to note that whilst there are consistent beliefs, political strategies and social features that are shared by all fascist organisations, fascism does not have any cohesive philosophical underpinnings (like Marxism), nor a rational social analytic: it is an irrational ideology, based on an eclectic hodgepodge of ideas from a variety of philosophical, popular and and mythical sources. Indeed, this ramshackle quality to its composition is part of its appeal – being unsystematic it can readily evade critical inspection.

Fascism arises in Italy in 1919 and then in Germany in the mid-1920s. As a political ideology, fascism exalts the “nation”, the “state” and the “people” (terms which become in effect interchangeable) as the embodiments of the collective will, and

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Citation: Clark, Robert. "Fascism". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 October 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1315, accessed 23 November 2024.]