Origins And Doctrine Of Fascism: With Selections From Other Works

123 Pages·2017·1.145 MB·English

by  Giovanni Gentile, A. James Gregor | Translator

Transaction Publishers
New Brunswick (U.S.A.) and London (U.K.)
Fourth Printing 2007
Copyright © 2002 by Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
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This book is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National Stan-
dard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2002021767
ISBN: 978-0-7658-0577-5
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gentile, Giovanni, 1875-1944.
[Origini e dottrina del fascismo. English]
Origins and doctrine of fascism : with selections from other works / Giovanni
Gentile ; translated, edited, and annotated by A. James Gregor.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7658-0130-2 (alk. paper)
1. Italy—Politics and government—1914-1945. 2. Fascism—Italy.
3. Fascism. I. Gregor, A. James (Anthony James), 1929- II. Title.
JN5450 .G413 2002
335.6’0945—dc21 2002021767
This work is dedicated to
PAOLINO LEONE
who died in battle at the age of eighteen.

Contents
Introduction to the Translations A. James Gregor ix
Origins and Doctrine of Fascism 1
What is Fascism? (Selections) 43
The Reform of Education (Selections) 77
Index 101

Introduction to the Translations
A. James Gregor
One of the better interpreters of the thought of Giovanni Gentile,
Augusto Del Noce, identifi ed Gentile’s Origini e dottrina del fascismo,
the translation of which is herewith provided, as a “document of major
importance.”1 In Del Noce’s judgment, Gentile’s short exposition on its
origins and doctrine was crucial to understanding Fascism’s intellectual,
emotional, and political substance.
Gentile’s exposition in the Origins was clearly intended for an Italian
audience.2 As a consequence, the historic context behind his account is
largely unknown to Anglo-American readers. Figures like Antonio
Rosmini, Vincenzo Gioberti, and Ugo Foscolo are totally unfamiliar
to an English-speaking readership. There is, perhaps, a vague familiar-
ity with the name of Giuseppe Mazzini, but few could identify many
of the tenets of his thought. Granted all that, knowledge of specifi c
Italian literary, philosophic, and political personages is not essential
in order to appreciate Gentile’s account of the origins and doctrine
of Fascism.
Gentile’s claim is that Italy’s involvement in the First World War
was characterized by several important features: (1) it was initiated by
a “directive minority” that succeeded in infusing “masses” with their
conviction; and (2) it was not fought for the acquisition of material gain.
Those claims set the stage for the further exposition.
The fi rst contention refl ected Gentile’s considered judgment con-
cerning complex political events. “History,” Gentile was convinced,
“is not made by heroes nor by masses; but by heroes who sense the
inarticulate, yet powerful, impulses that move masses. [In the mak-
ing of history] the masses fi nd a person who succeeds in making
explicit their obscure moral sentiments. The moral universe is that
of the multitudes; and multitudes are governed and energized by an
ix