ich originated in Italy, deriving its name from fasces - bundles of sticks tied around an axe symbolizing authority of leadership and the unity of the people tied to it. It holds that the individual exists for the State, to whose good all his work and interests should be directed. It is an ideology of liberation, yet one which is constructed around direct subservience to leadership. This form of hierarchy within the state is the first key theme within fascism. Elitism entails a strong distrust of democracy, fearing that it manipulates law and society through influencing public opinion, they believe in the iron law of oligarchy, in a hero / leader, and in elite values. However, there are many paradoxes within fascism. It has characteristically been at opposition with democracy, yet fascism has also characteristically enacted the same system of oppression within its political regimes. It is similar to Marxism in the ways in which the victims of each system suffer under dictatorships, and expansionary practices. Fascism tends to completely glorify war however, deeming it an “outlet for heroic and grand passions“. Following this, there is an irrationality which fascism follows. It is a very subjective ideology and expresses a diminished role of reason. Most Fascists were in agreement with Sorel on the grounds of justifying a proletarian war through their hatred of the mediocrity of the middle class, and contempt for its liberal humanitarian ideas. In their hypocritical ideals, fascists utilize the mythic side of the ideology to harness the destructive actions of the people. Sorel, again playing a key role in the development of fascist ideals, stated that myths such as that of Social Darwinism, the myth of the role of violence and the state are all essential and help to give the people a realized dream, which is good for the workers to believe in because it is that very belief that will ignite destructive action with...
