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Revision as of 22:57, 29 December 2001 by AxelBoldt (talk | contribs) (+Franco)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, refers to the authoritarian political movement founded by Benito Mussolini in 1919. The name comes from fascio, which may mean "bundle", as in a political group, but also fasces, the Roman authority symbol of a bundle of rods and axe-head.
Uncapitalized it is a system of government resembling Mussolini's government, that exalts nation and often race above the individual and uses terror campaigns and modern techniques of propaganda and censorship to forcibly suppress opposition, engages in severe economic and social regimentation, and often violent nationalism and racism (ethnic nationalism). Examples of fascist systems include Nazi Germany and Spain under Francisco Franco.
Many writers feel that this definition also aptly describes communist countries, although the official policy of the Soviet Union was that they opposed fascism. Due to internal censorship within the Soviet Union, this question was not debated much there. A term which skirts this issue is totalitarianism.
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