What Were the Fatal flaws in the Fascist and Communist Body Politics?
Fascism and Communism are among the most significant ideologies of the 20th century. Communism was first popularized in Russia between 1905-17 by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks, inspired by the ideas of Karl Marx. Their primary intention was to overthrow the supposed autocratic Romanov ruler, Tsar Nicholas II; dismantling Russia as a feudal state and with the aim of replacing capitalism with a new Communist worker’s state. On the other hand, Fascism first emerged in Italy after World War I under Benito Mussolini and was initially referred to as Fasci di Combattimento (Commons, 2017). The fascist ideology was specifically developed by extremist right-wing groups to combat the communist threat after the success of Lenin’s Communist revolution.
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Although proponents of fascist and communist ideologies strongly them as viable schools of thought, detractors often point to key fatal flaws that seemingly discredit the suitability of both systems. Perhaps the most common critique of the Fascist and Communist bodies of politics is the fact that they are commonly associated with totalitarian and autocratic tendencies. The Fascists “Blackshirts” marched on Rome in October of 1926 and seized power by coercing King Emmanuel III of Italy to cede control over to Mussolini (Leon, 2020). Soon after, Mussolini formed the first Fascist government and began an autocratic reign of terror after awarding himself the title ‘Il Duce’ (‘the leader’). The autocratic tendencies witnessed during this period in history were introduced as a measure aimed at suppressing dissent from disillusioned citizens espousing socialist, Marxist, democratic, and liberal ideals (Drake, 2016).
Similarly, the Bolshevik Revolution was also plagued with internal strife pitting the ‘Red’ and ‘White’ factions of the movement against each other and pushing the young Communist worker’s state ever closer to a civil war. By 1929, Joseph Stalin had completely seized political power and began an autocratic reign that lasted until his death in 1953. Summary execution of partisans and political rivals, such as Leon Trotsky, was rampant during Stalin’s rain and was further exacerbated by the forced relocation of perceived adversaries such as the Chechens (Kemp, 2016). Additionally, state control (under the Communist ideal of common ownership) created an economic crisis since private ownership of means production became virtually non-existent, leading to diminished prospects for gainful employment and frequent food shortages.
The Communist state also introduced a forced policy of wholesale nationalization that forced the kuluks (affluent peasant farmers) to relinquish their land to the government in preparation for the creation of collective farms. Communism was also associated with limited religious freedom which essentially meant that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) would not be subjected or guided by God’s law or any of His tenets. Proverbs 29:18 reads, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (KJV) (Shaver, 2012). This may, partly, explain the internal turmoil and the eventual fall of the USSR in 1991. Citizens were increasing becoming aware of the absence of free will and other inalienable rights, leading to a new crop of leaders clamoring for individual liberties under the dispensation of the new federal republic.
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