Quotulatiousness

September 9, 2016

QotD: Mussolini

Filed under: Europe, Italy, Quotations — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 01:00

One hears murmurs against Mussolini on the ground that he is a desperado: the real objection to him is that he is a politician. Indeed, he is probably the most perfect specimen of the genus politician on view in the world today. His career has been impeccably classical. Beginning life as a ranting Socialist of the worst type, he abjured Socialism the moment he saw better opportunities for himself on the other side, and ever since then he has devoted himself gaudily to clapping Socialists in jail, filling them with castor oil, sending blacklegs to burn down their houses, and otherwise roughing them. Modern politics has produced no more adept practitioner.

H.L. Mencken, “Mussolini”, Baltimore Evening Sun, 1931-08-03.

2 Comments

  1. Mencken was, of course, wrong in one major respect.

    Mussolini didn’t give up Socialism. He just created his own version of it. The Socialists he threw in jail were competitors, not opponents.

    Comment by Chad Irby — September 9, 2016 @ 21:17

  2. While I absolutely agree, the way history has been taught in most of the west for the last half-century very strongly influences people to see Fascism/Naziism as the polar opposite of Socialism/Communism, despite the vast similarities among the systems implemented and run by Hitler, Mussolini, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao. All of those systems were collectivist, anti-capitalist, and undemocratic. Change the uniforms of the state’s enforcers, but the system is otherwise almost interchangeable.

    Communism is international socialism. Fascism is national socialism. In either case, the “will of the masses” (as expressed through the leader of the party/leader of the state) trumps the will of individuals.

    Comment by Nicholas — September 10, 2016 @ 09:50

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