01/06/2023, 05:04 Biblioteca Fascista: Fascism and the Rural Population

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(Published in Gerarchia, May 25, 1922) Diritti di un popolo
Politica di vita
By Benito Mussolini False argomentazioni
Rivolta ideale in Europa
• Program of the Fascist Party I.
• Manifesto of Fascist Intellectuals
Inside the War
• The Charter of Labour The history of Italian Fascism, which is brief, but already full of controversy, can be divided Dentro la guerra
• The Doctrine of Fascism into three distinct periods: the first goes from March 1919 to November-December 1920; Appello agli studenti di
• The Manifesto of Race the second from November-December 1920 to the Congress of Rome of 1921; and the tutta Europa
• The Manifesto of Verona third from the latter date up to the present.
Italia rurale
• Il programma del PNF Anarchia
It has been asserted, and the assertion is true, that in the first period of its existence
• Il manifesto degli intellettuali
Fascism was a predominantly urban phenomenon. But we must respond to certain writers Anti-Semitism
• La carta del Lavoro
• La dottrina del fascismo
who deny the efficiency of the "Fascism of the First Hour", and who deny that we are Antisemitismo
• Il manifesto della razza gaining more ground. They obviously disregard history, and claim that the fortunes of
Asse Roma-Berlino
• Il manifesto di Verona Fascism only appeared when Bolshevism already began to decline, when in reality it is
because of Fascist action. Barcellona

Fascist Civilization: The

REPUBBLICA SOCIALE ITALIANA Civilization of the
It will not be inappropriate to recall once again — for those who have forgotten — that the
Spirit
first formidable blow inflicted against the Bolshevik madness took place in Milan in April
1919; that in September of that same year, Fascism morally and materially committed itself Civiltà fascista, civiltà
dello spirito
to the Fiume Exploit (Impresa di Fiume); that in October we held our first national congress
in Florence; that later we took part in the elections; that in the spring and summer of 1920 Roma Imperiale
Fascism had its first successes in Trieste and Istria, with the burning of the Hotel Balkan Europa e fascismo
and other dens of the enemies of Italy; that in May of the same year the second national
La libertà vera e quella
gathering of Fascists was held in Milan, during which it was easy to see that Fascism was falsa
• Decalogue of 1923 developing at a rapid rate. There was, therefore, a fervent activity of Fascism well before
Scoperta degli Inglesi
• Decalogue of the Italian Woman the occupation of the factories by the Communists in August-September 1920. Deny it if
• Decalogue of Leo Longanesi you wish, like you do with so many other things, but it is childish. Romanity and Latinity:
Response to
• Decalogue of the Will
Transalpine Ide...
• Decalogue of the Vanguard
• Decalogue of the Balilla 1927 Romanità e Latinità:
From March 1919 to November 1920 Fascism held its torch high, shouting its motto. Then Risposta a ideologi
• Decalogue of the Fascist Soldier
came the second period of its history, which can be called the Socialist Catastrophe, d'Oltralpe
• Decalogue of the Balilla 1929
• Decalogue of the Vanguard
during which the masses of citizens flocked to Fascism. Two People and One
• Decalogue For Blackshirts Will
• Decalogue of the Young Fascist II.
Due popoli e una
• Decalogue of Guido Pallotta volontà
• Decalogue of the Citizen-Soldier In the economic and social life of a nation there are strategic points of fundamental
Fascism and National
• Decalogue of the Fascist Soldier importance which, if lost, the entire system is bound to collapse. One of the strategic Socialism
• Decalogue of the Young Girl points of the utmost importance for Italian Socialism was Bologna. As long as the
• Decalogue of the Young Fascist Fascismo e
Socialists ruled Bologna, their situation in the entire Po Valley was not in any danger, and Nazionalsocialismo
• Decalogue of the Fascist Soldier
their dominance could not be seriously threatened. But the barbaric assassination of Tullio
• Decalogue of the Fascist Soldier Italy and Germany
Giordani produced a lightning impression of conscience: beneath this storm of offended
• Decalogue of the Family
souls, the Socialist strongholds began to collapse one after the other: the Red Army Italia e Germania
• Decalogue of the New Italian
• Decalogue of Benito Mussolini disbanded, and the former leaders disappeared from public view. The Socialists The Two Revolutions
• Decalogue of the Decima MAS understood that if Bologna is lost, all is lost. A month later they attempted a comeback in Le due rivoluzioni
• Decalogues of the Family Ferrara with the Massacre of Este Castle (Eccidio del Castello Estense). Even here the
I più comuni errori
• Decalogue of the Decima RSI coup failed and Ferrara rose up. Modena, Reggio and the other cities of the Po Valley
dell'antifascismo
soon followed. The movement of revolt spread from the cities to the countryside: all the europeo
large and small institutions of Socialism crumbled: the strategic defeat of Italian Socialism
PARTITO NAZIONALE FASCISTA The Most Common
was complete. Other factors also intervened to worsen the situation for them: the Errors of European
disappointment of the workers after the occupation of the factories; the disillusionment with Anti-Fascism
the Russian myth; and the split of the Communist Party in Livorno. In the autumn-winter of Race and Customs
1920, Italian Fascism did not lose its 'urban' character, because its most active centres
Razza e costume
remain the urban ones, but it became rural as well; that is, it spread into small villages, it
gathered followers among the inhabitants of the countryside and tended to change from a Sardegna ariana
minority into a mass movement. There is no doubt that the introduction of so many new A Surprising Adaptation
elements into the movement altered, more or less profoundly, the aspects of the original Adattamento che
profile of Fascism: the integration of these new forces, of this sort of great spiritual and sorprende
material mobilization, took place a bit tumultuously, but it is not permissible to reject these Diritto penale totalitario
rebels, nor is it possible to select them carefully: this will only happen in the third part of nello stato totalitario
the story, when Fascism transformed itself from a movement into a Party.
• The Accomplices Review of "Here's the
Devil: Israel!"
• Towards the Future
III.
• Which Way is the World Going? Recensione di « Ecco il
• Past and Future Diavolo: Israele! »
• Fascism and the Rural People
To what extent has Fascism become "rural"? In order respond to this question with some
Catholics and Racialism
• Turn to the Right approximation it is necessary, first of all, to consult statistics. According to studies by

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• Us and the People's Party
• Fascism is a Spiritual Revolt
SALUTO AL DUCE
• Force and Consent
• Religion or Nation?
• Response to the Zionists
• Church and State
• Too Much is Crippling
• The Istrian Foibe
bibliotecafascista.blogspot.com/2012/03/fascism-and-rural-population.html
Biblioteca Fascista: Fascism and the Rural Population
Francesco Coletti, who is most competent in these matters, and on the basis of the 1911 Cattolici e razzismo
census, the population which may be called rural in Italy is around 18 million people, Pio XI, Papa Romano
grouped into three and a half million families. The regions which — according to the 1911
Woman in the Fascist
census — have the highest density of rural population are the following:
State
Lombardy . . . . . . . . . . 2,185,000 La donna nello Stato
fascista
Veneto . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,990,000
Piedmont . . . . . . . . . . 1,691,000 Razzismo sovietico
Emilia-Romagna . . . . . 1,500,000 Orientations For
Tuscany . . . . . . . . . . . 1,214,000 Tomorrow: The Gold
Trap
Now, here is the number of membership cards distributed on April 30, 1922 by the Orientamenti per il
domani: Insidia
Directorate of the National Fascist Party in these five regions: dell'oro
The Concept of Race in
Lombardy . . . . . . . . . . 43,880 Fascism
Veneto . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,720
Il concetto di razza
Piedmont . . . . . . . . . . 8,515
nell'etica fascista
Emilia-Romagna . . . . . 35,625
Tuscany . . . . . . . . . . . 25,707 Words to the Young
Parole ai giovani
There are, therefore, in the five regions of the Po Valley, one hundred thousand regular La fine della
members of the Fascist Party. Alongside the political militias, organized within the Fasci, democrazia nel
trade unions have also arisen. How many members are there in the guilds? It is impossible continente europeo:
N...
to say for certain. But we can estimate that, in the above five regions, they number about
150,000. Therefore the masses which follow Fascism, in politics and in economy, has been The Fasces and the
Cross
estimated, in the Po valley alone, at about 300,000 individuals. One can not say based on
these figures that Fascism has become strictly rural; one can only say that a good half of Il Fascio e la Croce
the Fascist militias come from the rural areas. Not only are we not ashamed of this, but we The Holy Crusade of
would like to proclaim — as a badge of honour — that Fascism in the Po Valley is today Civilization Against
Bolshevik...
largely "rural".
La santa crociata della
IV. civiltà contro la
barbarie...
Rural, not agrarian. Note the difference. Only disingenuous polemicists can confuse these Italy and Ireland
two terms. In the face of blatant denials by the anti-Fascists, it is sufficient to recall that the Italia e Irlanda
Agrarians have formed a political party — prior to the National Congress — with a related Gibilterra è Spagna
parliamentary group, outside of the National Right; it is sufficient to recall that, alongside
Religion, Philosophy
the National Agrarian Political Party, there is an economic organization called the National and Fascism
Confederation of Agriculture; and finally it is sufficient to recall that on several occasions
Religione, Filosofia e
the Agrarians have clashed — not collaborated — with the Fascists. The program of the
Fascismo
Agrarians, who were protesting against Fascist interference, was, in fact, complacently
America 'sangerista' e
reported by the journal "Avanti!". The Agrarians have one plan; the rural population has
criminale
another. The Agrarians are big landowners and, except for a few honorable exceptions,
Ireland and England
are highly conservative; the rural people are sharecroppers, tenant farmers, small owners,
day laborers. Between Fascism and the landowners there is bad blood. The renewal of Irlanda e Inghilterra
certain farmhouse contracts has rendered the difference more marked, so much so that The Jewish Problem in
some landowners appear to be reminiscing of the Red period. They are not able, in the Italy
long run, to sympathize with Fascism, which pays no respect to their selfishness, but Il problema ebraico in
subordinates them to the interests of production and the interests of the Nation. The recent Italia
parliamentary debate on large estates has shown that the positions of the Agrarians and Notes on the Fascist
the Fascists are different, if not antithetical. How then do we explain the adhesion of vast Doctrine of Race
masses of "rural people" to Fascism? During the time of the upheaval of the Red barons, Appunti per la dottrina
the tyranny exercised by the Socialist leaders was widely documented through grotesque fascista della razza
episodes, often criminal. Tyranny that manifested itself in boycotts, acts of sabotage, fires,
La guerra italo-
assassinations, endless strikes, and which had as its ultimate goal the proletarianization of germanico-
all the workers of the world: to reduce them all to the poor condition of the agricultural land giapponese contro gli
laborers, and to make all property nationalized, i.e. socialized or bureaucratized. Those an...
who lived in Romagna — especially in the area around Ravenna — know the tragedy of La Nazione e l'ordine
this crisis. Now, in a country deeply psychologically individualistic, the rural population can nuovo
not be socialist. The masses of laborers were at first enthusiastic about the formula: Funzioni e interessi
"socialization of the land" — a formula of deplorable stupidity belonging to the so-called dell'Italia nella
Penisola Ba...
"scientific socialism" of Enrico Ferri. But the tenant farmers, the sharecroppers and the
small owners — who are tied to "their" land — refused to go along with this and defended Marcia su Roma e
marcia contro Mosca
themselves "unguis et rostribus" against the looming threat of dispossession. The human
truth is that the small owner cares about his farm; the truth is that the sharecropper or L'umanita di domani
tenant farmer works with all his strength towards becoming an owner — and they have nella visione dei
giovani
largely succeeded in the last ten years. The "socialization of the land" in a country like Italy
is especially absurd; but in the meantime the threat of becoming universally poor and Roosevelt e
l'americanismo
destitute has caused all the "rural people" to gravitate towards Fascism in order to protect
their work and their living. "Land to the peasants!", they cried during the war. The peasants Tra reazione e
rivoluzione
are now taking over the land with their forces: it is clear that these tight phalanxes of new
small owners can only hate Socialism, and what it represented yesterday, and what it La nostra Europa
might threaten tomorrow. With Fascism, however, they have everything to hope for and Ricostruire
nothing to fear.
La turpe gara dei
rinunziatari
V.
The Messe Affair
L'« affare » Messe
Profound economic motives have drawn masses of rural people to Fascism in impressive
numbers. But this alone is not enough to explain the "sympathies" of the new rural petty Lies and Truths of
bourgeoisie for Fascism. Other psychological factors also played a role. The peasants took Enemy Radio
the war seriously. To say that they were enthusiastic would be poor rhetoric, but it is certain Menzogna e verità della
that the anti-war element among the rural population was very different from that of the radio nemica
urban population, who were later ambushed. Opposition to the war by certain peasants Spagna e alleati
came not from fear of hardships or risks, or from inconvenience, that is to say, not from The Bergamini Case
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01/06/2023, 05:04 Biblioteca Fascista: Fascism and the Rural Population
fear of fighting in the trenches, but for other simpler reasons. The peasants that I knew in Il caso Bergamini
the Carso region did not complain about the hardships of war nearly as much as the urban Lavorare e combattere
soldiers: food was scarce and they had to sleep on the floor. They accepted it with
Le basi della nuova
resignation, but often wondered "why is it necessary to kill and be killed?" The urban
economia
element tried to understand the war (its reasons), but condemned it in the name of
The Wolves, the Sheep
internationalism or because of their suffering: the rural element, however, accepted it with
and the Shepherds
resignation, patience and discipline. It is certain that during the last year of the war,
I lupi, il gregge e i
between Caporetto and Vittorio Veneto, a profound psychological transformation took
pastori
place in the masses of "rural people" who held the front. Among the assault battalions
there were thousands upon thousands of peasant-farmers. Many of those who fought in Urbania

the First and Second Battle of the Piave were potential Fascists. Many peasants reached Urbania
the rank of "Battalion Adjutant". Maybe even became officers. All of them returned to the Consuntivo di ieri,
country and were overwhelmed by the civil disaster of the Nitti government, which compiti di domani
devastated the national consciousness in 1919, but we were there to rescue them. It is Realtà del Comunismo
certain that almost all the political secretaries of the small rural Fasci are veterans, and
State and Church
often officers or non-commissioned officers accustomed to exercising command. It is thus
undeniable, therefore, that rural Fascism derives much of its moral strength from the war Stato e Chiesa
and from victory, but that at the same time it keeps alive these moral forces, of incalculable I democratici senza
historic value, throughout the country. The new petty bourgeoisie of rural producers, democrazia
concentrated in the Fasci, is destined to become, like that of France, a force of stability, of Left Wing Christians
equilibrium, of solid patriotism. A guarantee — in short — of the continuity of national life.
Cristiani sinistri
Pane e sangue
Fascism respects religion; it is not atheist, it is not anti-Christian, it is not anti-Catholic. It
rarely happens that a Fascist funeral rite is secular. There is no doubt that Fascism is far I boia inintelligenti
less anti-Catholic than the People's Party. The religiosity of rural Italians is perfectly Italian. ►
► April (16)
The peasant who attends Mass every Sunday, stops at the door and chats with his
neighbours and even the animals is a spectacle that may scandalize and irritate those ►
► 2013 (167)
belonging to other sects or religions, but it is in perfect conformity with our character and ►
► 2014 (25)
our temperament. The "cupio dissolvi" is not part of the religiosity of the rural Italians. The
►
► 2018 (2)
Italian peasant does not concern himself too much about whether hell exists or not. He
puts himself in order, on the presumption that hell does exist, and that is enough for him. ►
► 2019 (6)
The work of violent anti-clericalism and suffragization, which was attempted by the ►
► 2021 (2)
Socialists in the years before the war, has wounded many souls. But the war has revived
religious values. A movement such as Fascism, which respects religion and imparts a
character of religiosity into its own demonstrations, enacts waves of sympathy in the souls
of the rural people, who have never been seduced by the atheistic propaganda of the so-
called freethinkers in the villages. Even the demonstrations of the Fascists, which we call
military, have their sympathetic influence in the souls of the peasants who have been to
war.

VI.
• A Diary of the Will

Recently the tendency has been to put a stigma on Fascism, accusing it of being • The First Book of Fascism

subservient to the interests of the big landowner classes. This is untrue. Fascism, I repeat, • The Second Book of Fascism
• The Corporative State
is in every way the political and spiritual expression of a new, small, rural democracy which
• The Political Doctrine of Fascism
has been formed in recent years. The historic merit — of quite exceptional importance —
• The Transformation of the State
of Fascism is to have succeeded in making the vast masses of our rural population a living
• The Civilization of the Spirit
and integral part of our history. In a sense this is the miracle which has been awaited for so • The Philosophy of Fascism
many centuries. During the Risorgimento the rural people were either left out or were
hostile. The unification of Italy was the work of the intellectual bourgeoisie and certain • Il diario della volontà
artisan sectors of the cities. But the Great War of 1915-18 incorporated millions of rural • Il primo libro del fascista
people. Still their participation in it was generally passive. Once again they had been • Il secondo libro del fascista

dragged along by the cities. Now Fascism is transforming this rural passivity — the • La dottrina politica del fascismo
• La trasformazione dello Stato I
reasons for which I have outlined above — into an active participation in the reality and
• La trasformazione dello Stato II
sanctity of the Nation. Patriotism is no longer a feeling monopolized (or exploited) by the
• Civiltà fascista, civiltà dello spirito
city, but becomes the heritage of the countryside as well. The tricolour flag, ignored for a
century, is now waving in the most remote villages. Not everything which flourishes and
nearly explodes in this springtime of our race is destined to last, and we know this, but we
also know that some spiritual upheavals leave deep traces. We will leave to the faint-
hearted or the most pure the boring task of caviling about the sincerity of rural patriotism.
We are just at the beginning of a new period of Italian history. And before long the
• Decalogo del 1923
immense operation attempted and accomplished by Fascism in these years will be
• Decalogo della Donna Italiana
understood and appreciated. • Decalogo di Leo Longanesi
• Decalogo dal diario della volontà
• Decalogo dell'Avanguardista
• Decalogo del Balilla 1927
• Decalogo del Milite Fascista
Newer Post Home Older Post • Decalogo del Balilla 1929
• Decalogo dell'Avanguardista
• Decalogo per le camicie nere
• Decalogo del Giovane Fascista
• Decalogo di Guido Pallotta
• Decalogo del Cittadino-Soldato
• Decalogo del Milite Fascista
• Decalogo della Piccola Italiana
• Decalogo del Giovane Fascista
• Decalogo del Milite Fascista
• Decalogo del Milite Fascista
• Decalogo della Famiglia
• Decalogo dell'Italiano Nuovo
• Decalogo di Benito Mussolini
• Decalogo della Decima MAS
• Decaloghi della Famiglia
• Decalogo della Decima RSI

STEMMA DELLA RSI

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01/06/2023, 05:04 Biblioteca Fascista: Fascism and the Rural Population

• I complici
• Verso il futuro
• Da che parte va il mondo?
• Passato e avvenire
• Il fascismo e i rurali
• Si va a destra
• Noi e il Partito Popolare
• Il fascismo è rivolta spirituale

DUCE, A NOI

• Forza e consenso
• Religione o nazione?
• Replica ai Sionisti
• Stato e chiesa
• Il troppo storpia
• Le foibe istriane

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