(a) What is fascism? (b) Highlight any four features of fascism

(a) What is fascism?

Fascism is a system of government and a political ideology that is authoritarian, totalitarian and intensely nationalistic. It places the state above the individual, glorifies the nation and a single all-powerful leader, and rejects democracy, liberalism and communism. It was associated with Benito Mussolini in Italy and Adolf Hitler (in its Nazi form) in Germany between the two World Wars. Under fascism, the state controls all aspects of national life and demands total loyalty and obedience from the people.

(b) Four features of fascism

1. Totalitarian one-party rule: only one political party is allowed, and it controls the whole apparatus of the state; opposition parties are banned.
2. Supremacy of the state over the individual: the interest of the state is supreme and the individual exists to serve the state, so personal rights and freedoms are suppressed.
3. Extreme nationalism and militarism: fascism glorifies the nation and race, promotes aggressive nationalism, and relies heavily on the military and the readiness for war.
4. Dictatorship of an all-powerful leader: power is concentrated in the hands of a single supreme leader (such as Mussolini or Hitler) whose authority is absolute and unquestioned.

Other features include the use of force, terror and secret police to crush opposition, strict censorship and control of information, and the rejection of democracy and equality.