Praise for Fascist Economics

The rise of fascism in the interwar [1918-1939] period elicited concern, but was generally regarded favourably by the US and British governments, the business world, and a good deal of elite opinion. The reason was that the fascist version of extreme nationalism permitted extensive Western economic penetration and also destroyed the much-feared labour movements and the left, and the excessive democracy in which they could function. Support for Mussolini was effusive. Across the broad range of opinion, 'that admirable Italian gentleman" (as President Roosevelt described him in 1933) enjoyed great respect until World War II broke out. Support extended to Hitler's Germany as well. It is, incidentally, well to bear in mind that the most monstrous regime in history came to power in the country that by all reasonable measures represented the highest peak of Western civilization in the sciences and the arts, and had been considered a model of democracy before international conflict took forms that could accommodate this conception; and — rather like Saddam Hussein half a century later — retained substantial Anglo-American support until Hitler launched direct aggression that infringed too seriously on US and UK interests.

Support for fascism began at once. Praising the Fascist takeover in Italy, which quickly destroyed the parliamentary system and violently suppressed labour and political opposition, Ambassador Henry Fletcher articulated the assumptions that were to guide US policy there and elsewhere for years to come. Italy faced a stark choice, he wrote the secretary of state: either "Mussolini and Fascism" or "Gioliti and Socialism"; Giolitti was a leading figure of Italian liberalism. A decade later, in 1937, the State Department continued to regard European fascism as a moderate force that "must succeed or the masses, this time reinforced by the disillusioned middle classes, will again turn to the Left." That same year, US Ambassador to Italy William Philips was "greatly impressed by the efforts of Mussolini to improve the condition of the masses" and found "much evidence" in favour of the Fascists' view that "they represent a true democracy in as much as the welfare of the people is their principal objective." He considered Mussolini's accomplishments "astounding [and] a source of constant amazement," and enthusiastically praised his "great human qualities." The State Department vigorously concurred, also lauding Mussolini's "magnificent" achievments in Ethiopia, and hailing Fascism for having "brought order out of chaos, discipline out of license, and solvency out of bankruptcy." In 1939, FDR continued to regard Italian fascism as "of great importance to the world [though] still in the experimental stage (67-68).

Noam Chomsky.

Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance.

New York: Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt & Co., LLC (Macmillan), 2003. ISBN 0-8050-7400-7