The Doctrine of Fascism


"The Doctrine of Fascism" is an essay attributed to Benito Mussolini. In truth, the first part of the essay, entitled, was written by the Italian philosopher Giovanni Gentile, while only the second part is the work of Mussolini himself.

Overview

The essay was written in 1927 by Mussolini, with the help of Giovanni Gentile. It was first published in 1932, in the 14th volume of the Italian Encyclopedia, as the first section of a lengthy entry on. The entire entry on fascism spans pages 847–884 of the Enciclopedia Italiana, and includes numerous photographs and graphic images. The entry starts on page 847 and ends on 851 with the credit line "Benito Mussolini". All subsequent translations of "The Doctrine of Fascism" were derived from this work.
A key concept of the essay was that fascism was a rejection of previous models: "Granted that the nineteenth century was the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy, this does not mean that the twentieth century must also be the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy. Political doctrines pass; nations remain. We are free to believe that this is the century of authority, a century tending to the 'right', a Fascist century. If the nineteenth century was the century of the individual, we are free to believe that this is the 'collective' century, and therefore the century of the State."
In 1940, Mussolini ordered all remaining copies of the document, which had different editions and translations, to be destroyed "because he changed his mind about certain points".

Translations

The first authorized translation into English was prepared by Jane Soames and published by Leonard and Virginia Woolf in 1933. Soames' translation was also published in The Living Age, November 1933, New York City, p. 241, as a chapter entitled "Authorized translation of Mussolini's 'The Political and Social Doctrine of Fascism.
Other translations include:
  • Nathanael Greene, ed., Fascism: An Anthology, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1968, pp. 41, 43–44.
  • Benito Mussolini, My Autobiography: With "The Political and Social Doctrine of Fascism", Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 2006, p. 236.