prefascism

Fascism between history and revolution.

Among the kaleidoscopic images of fascism, the autobiography that the Mussolini movement wanted to offer about itself has often been underestimated. Through the analysis of “precursors” it is instead possible to read against the light what fascism deemed itself to embody and represent in the construction not only of a new social order, but also of a lifestyle inspired by a peculiar vision of the world.

During the twenty years of the regime, the debate developed in the contrast between those who believed that in these constructions fascism was in continuity with national history and that only in this continuity would the achievements that were carried out have the necessary solidity to last and those who instead believed that fascism should present itself as a radical revolution that constituted a clear break with the historical past of the nation.

If fascism did not clearly choose one of the two positions it is because it was still looking for its own ideological definition, but the necklaces dedicated to the pre-fascists and the forerunners, the parliamentary debate and even some statements by Mussolini himself, although reluctant to recognize precursors for his creation, lead us to lean towards the continuity thesis.
An inevitable propensity in a movement that considered the historical dimension of the individual and the State to be indispensable.