Do you know the meaning of fascism? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on this word and political ideology.
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Kevin
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January 28, 2022
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Fascism is a type of political philosophy that refers to a centralized autocratic government which is headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic regimentation and social regimentation, and the forcible suppression of opposition to government ideologies. These types of governments often exalt nation and race above individuality. Political scientists and historians view fascism as having dictatorial control.
The most famous instances of fascism and fascist movements in history are from the 1920s in Mussolini’s Italy and 1940s Nazi Germany. The Nazi regime under Adolf Hitler ended with the end of World War II, though there were certainly still people who believed in the doctrine of this system of government.
Many people fear that the United States may be headed toward right-wing fascism as extremist conservatives gain power and citizens become restless. We have seen fascist ideals come to power numerous times, from Italian fascism to Hitler’s Germany.
Will a fascist political group come for the individual rights of the people? Will socialist parties combat them? Only the future will say.
It is difficult to predict the political future of a nation, but political scientists often look back on history to see when it might repeat itself.
What Are Examples of Fascism and Fascist Regimes in History?
There are many instances of fascism in history around the world, in Europe, and beyond. Take a look at the below list of fascist regimes from Your Dictionary.
Other examples after the Great Depression include the Party of Free Believers (Elefterofronoi) in Greece led by Ioannis Metaxas, the Ustaša in Croatia led by Ante Pavelić, and the National Union in Norway led by Vidkun Quisling, per Britannica.
- 1925-1943: Italy’s National Fascist Party led by Benito Mussolini
- 1932-1968: António de Oliveira Salazar and The National Union in Portugal
- 1935-1945: In Belgium, the Rexist Party of Léon Degrelle.
- 1946-1955, 1973-1972: Juan Perón in Argentina
- 1932-1934: Chancellor of Austria in 1932, Engelbert Dollfuss
- 1937-1938: The French Cross of Fire (Croix-de-Feu) in France
- 1941-1944: Prime Minister Hideki Tojo in Japan
- 1933-1945: Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or the Nazi Party, in Germany
How Can You Say Fascism in Languages Around the World?
Since fascism comes from an Italian word — and the root language of Italian is Latin — you may notice that many of these translations have a similar spelling to the word fascism.
Often, romance languages will share spelling or roots. However, if a word becomes popular and comes from one language, other languages worldwide may follow suit.
- Slovak: fašizmus
- Dutch: fascisme (neut.)
- Hebrew: פשיזם, נאציזם
- Latvian: fašisms
- Latin: fascismus
- Czech: fašismus
- Vietnamese: chủ nghĩa phát xít
- Slovene: fašizem
- Danish: fascisme (common)
- Greek: φασισμός
- Italian: fascismo
- Armenian: ֆաշիզմ
- Urdu: فاسیواد
- Portuguese: fascismo
- Persian: فاشیسم (fâšisam)
- Serbo-Croatian: fašizam
- Indonesian: fasisme
- Polish: faszyzm (m-in)
- German: Faschismus
- Romanian: fascism
- Japanese: ファシズム (fashizumu), ナチズム (nachizumu)
- Arabic: فَاشِيَّة, نَازِيَّة
- Yiddish: פֿאַשיזם
- Korean: 파시즘
- Spanish: fascismo
- Swedish: fascism (common)
- Ukrainian: фашизм, нацизм
- Bulgarian: фашизъм, нацизъм
- Afrikaans: fascisme
- Belarusian: фашызм, нацызм
- Khmer: កលាបនិយម (ka’laap ni’yum)
- Catalan: feixisme
- Russian: фаши́зм, наци́зм
- French: fascisme
- Lithuanian: fašizmas
- Esperanto: faŝismo
- Finnish: fasismi
- Hindi: फ़ासीवाद (fāsīvād)
- Albanian: fashizmi
- Hungarian: fasizmus
- Thai: ฟาสซิสต์ (fās̄sis̄t̒)
- Mandarin: 法西斯主義, 法西斯主义 (fǎxīsī-zhǔyì), 納粹主義, 纳粹主义 (nàcuì-zhǔyì)
- Estonian: fašism
What Is the Etymology of the Word Fascism?
The word fascism comes from the Italian fascismo and fascio meaning bundle or group. This comes from the Latin fascis meaning bundle, from the Late Latin fascium meaning a bundle of rods. Often, words from romance languages have their roots in Latin.
What Are Synonyms of the Word Fascism?
Power Thesaurus lists numerous different synonyms for the word fascism. Synonyms are words that have a similar meaning to a given word, and can often be used interchangeably. People often use synonyms to try to vary their sentences and vocabulary, as it can get quite boring to read the same word over and over again.
- absolute rule
- absolutism
- anti-multiculturism
- anti-semitism
- apartheid
- autarchy
- authoritarianism
- autocracy
- bigotry
- brutality
- bullying
- bureaucracy
- chauvinism
- colonialism
- cruelty
- decadence
- despotism
- dictatorship
- discrimination
- domination
- enslavement
- ethno-nationalism
- ethnocentrism
- fascist
- fatism
- fattism
- garrison state
- harshness
- injustice
- iron hand
- isolationism
- jingoism
- monoculturalism
- national independence
- national socialism
- nationalism
- nazism
- neo-fascism
- neo-nazism
- neofascism
- neutralism
- one-man rule
- one-party system
- oppression
- party government
- racism
- regimentation
- reign of terror
- repression
- rightism
- segregation
- severity
- sovereign nationhood
- sovereignty
- stagnation
- subjugation
- terrorism
- totalitarianism
- tyrannies
- tyranny
- undemocratic rule
- xenophobia
What Are Antonyms of the Word Fascism?
Just like there are many words that have the same meaning as fascism, Power Thesaurus lists many different words that have the opposite meaning. These words are called antonyms. Knowing synonyms and antonyms for different words is useful to create varied sentences.
- commonweal
- communism
- considerateness
- democracy
- democratic institution
- democratic organization
- democratic society
- democratic state
- democratism
- elective government
- free democracy
- government by the people
- integration
- liberal democracy
- liberal political ideology
- liberalism
- libertarian democracy
- melting pot
- pinkness
- popular government
- racial equality
- respect
Conclusion
Overall, the word fascism refers to a political ideology that believes in a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and the forcible suppression of opposition.
Facism has been seen numerous times throughout history, but the most famous include Nazi Germany and Italy under the rule of Benito Mussolini. Can you name any other fascist regimes?
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