Salt Lake Community College

Fascism, a World View

Cameron Noyd-Nidros
POLS-2300-400-Su16
Colin Moore, PhD

Noyd-Nidros 1

The book Political Ideologies 5th edition by Andrew Haywood identifies five core
themes to fascism. The first of these core themes is anti-rationalism. Anti-rationalism is the
rejection of enlightenment thinking, which is the process of rationalizing thought before making
an action. Fascists propose that humans are motivated by their will and emotions, that one should
act before abstract thinking corrupts his judgment.
The second is based on the concept of struggle, a concept based on social Darwinism.
Fascists believe that the human existence is a constant struggle for survival and that the only way
to ensure progress is through competition. Through competition, the fittest and strongest will
prosper.
Third is leadership and elitism. Fascists reject the concept of equality. Instead, they
follow the belief of an absolute ruler and elite class. Human beings are all born with different
traits and abilities; some are born with rare traits of leadership and others only capable of
following. Human traits are categorized into three types of people, One, the supreme all-seeing
leader, Two, the warrior elite, Three, the weak, ignorant and inert masses.
Fourth, fascists subscribe to socialism and collectivism, stating Common Good before
Private Good. Middle class fascists often have a disdain towards capitalism, Large-scale
capitalism was often seen squashing the little man with department stores and large-scale
farming. Capitalism is a system by which the nation uses capital for its own purposes. Fascism
is a system by which the nation uses capital for its own purpose. Fifth, Fascists embrace ultranationalism. Through this, concept fascists reinforce the idea of social Darwinism by identifying
each nation as independent entities struggling for dominance rather than equals.

Noyd-Nidros 2

Fascists view the world as a jungle and the state as a competitor struggling for survival.
Fascists distrust all forms of internationalism and international law. Fascists identify themselves
by their national identity and tend to sympathize with other nationalistic entities.
Nazi ideology played a big role in their actions before and during World War II. One,
Nazis did not just believe in natural selection and survival of the fittest, they altered those
concepts to fit their own views. The Nazis believed that human intervention was needed to
eliminate the other races to ensure that strong and pure would survive. Two, Nazi ideology
adhered to the idea of Lebensraum, the act of acquiring more land. Nazis believed it was their
right to take more land to expand their state.
Fascisms incorporation of racism into its philosophy comes from many of its attributes.
One avenue can be seen through social Darwinism, the concept of survival of the fittest is easily
a racial one. A state can be one race struggling for dominance in the world. Another is seen
through elitism, one race, and one class seen above the rest, better than the rest. Through
nationalist concepts, racial fascism is strengthened. A strong national identity most of the time is
a racial one. One own pride of state and race is exuberated to the point of xenophobia.

Noyd-Nidros 3

Works Cited
Heywood, Andrew. Political Ideologies: An Introduction. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Print.
"Fascism; definition, origins, characteristics, fascist state, corporative state." third world traveler.
N.p., n.d. Web. 17 July 2016.
<www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Fascism/Fascism_def_char_hx.html>.
"Nazism And The Rise of Hitler-Class Nine SST History-The Nazi World View at
Excellup.com." Study Materials Notes Questions Answers Ncert Cbse. N.p., n.d. Web.
17 July 2016.