Fascist manifesto

Fascism is generally considered as a conservative or right-wing movement: in the case of the Italian Fascist movement of Benito Mussolini, while this is commonly agreed and tends to be true for the latter part of its history, its early political stance as stated in its initial June 1919 manifesto includes elements not themselves exclusively of the right.

In its early stages, when Mussolini had yet to establish outright leadership of the movement, its leading committee included former Socialist Party members (among them Mussolini himself) as well as nationalists. The resulting document is then an evident compromise between different standpoints united in the intention of overturning the existing system.

Interestingly, given that Fascism is (with a few exceptions) recognised as a dictatorship, the manifesto exhibits some elements which would lead to a wider democracy, in contrast to what really happened in the following two decades. Not all the objectives outlined were achieved during the 21 years of fascist government, and many of them were simply ignored and forgotten by the fascist system. Surprisingly, many of these elements were imposed after the fall of Fascism by the Italian democratic republic.

The manifesto is divided into four sections, describing fascist objectives in political, social, military and financial fields.

In politics, the manifesto calls for universal suffrage at age 18, proportional representation on a regional basis and voting for women. The manifesto urges the abolition of the Senate, the upper house of parliament elected by the wealthier citizens and with the practical agreement of the king (it has been described as a sort of extended council of the Crown).

In an expression of corporatist ideology derived in part from Catholic church social doctrine, the manifesto envisages the creation of National Councils combining workers, professionals and employers by sector, represented at government level.

In labour and social policy, the manifesto calls for an 8-hour day and a minimum wage, together with the involvement of workers' representatives in industry: after urging reorganisation of the transport sector, this section ends by calling for a revision of the draft law on invalidity insurance and the reduction of the retirement age from 65 to 55.

In military affairs, the manifesto advocates the creation of a short-service national militia with specifically defensive responsibilities. In a rare echo of socialist doctrine, armaments factories are to be nationalised. Italy is to pursue a peaceful but competitive foreign policy.

In the sphere of national finances, a heavy progressive tax on capital is envisaged as a "partial expropriation" of concentrated wealth. The property of religious congregations should be expropriated. All contracts for military provisions should be revised and 85% of all war profits sequestrated by the state.

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The manifesto thus combines elements of contemporary democratic and progressive thought (franchise reform, Senate abolition, labour reform, limited nationalisation, taxes on wealth and war profits) with corporatist emphasis on subsuming class antagonisms in national effort. It may be noted that none of these statements are influenced specifically by Marxism.

Of the manifesto's proposals, it was to be the commitment to corporative organisation of economic interests which was to have the longest life: far from becoming a medium of extended democracy, parliament was by law an exclusively Fascist-picked body by 1929, to be replaced by the "Chamber of Corporations" a decade later.

Italy's pacific foreign policy did not survive the first year of Fascist government, with the Corfu crisis[?] of September 1923 illustrating the regime's readiness to use force internationally. Perhaps the greatest success of Fascist diplomacy was the Lateran Treaty of February 1929 which ended Italy's 59-year dispute with the Papacy, accepting the principal of non-interference in the affairs of the Church.

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Original Italian version

Il manifesto dei fasci di combattimento published in Il Popolo d'Italia (the newspaper directed by Mussolini) on June 6 1919

Italiani! Ecco il programma di un movimento genuinamente italiano. Rivoluzionario perché antidogmatico; fortemente innovatore antipregiudiziaiolo.

Per il problema politico: Noi vogliamo:

a) Suffragio universale a scrutinio di lista regionale, con rappresentanza proporzionale, voto ed eleggibilità per le donne.

b) II minimo di età per gli elettori abbassato ai I8 anni; quello per i deputati abbassato ai 25 anni.

c) L'abolizione del Senato.

d) La convocazione di una Assemblea Nazionale per la durata di tre anni, il cui primo compito sia quello di stabilire la forma di costituzione dello Stato.

e) La formazione di Consigli Nazionali tecnici del lavoro, dell'industria, dei trasporti, dell'igiene sociale, delle comunicazioni, ecc. eletti dalle collettività professionali o di mestiere, con poteri legislativi, e diritto di eleggere un Commissario Generale con poteri di Ministro.

Per il problema sociale: Noi vogliamo:

a) La sollecita promulgazione di una legge dello Stato che sancisca per tutti i lavori la giornata legale di otto ore di lavoro.

b) I minimi di paga.

c) La partecipazione dei rappresentanti dei lavoratori al funzionamento tecnico dell'industria.

d) L'affidamento alle stesse organizzazioni proletarie (che ne siano degne moralmente e tecnicamente) della gestione di industrie o servizi pubblici.

e) La rapida e completa sistemazione dei ferrovieri e di tutte le industrie dei trasporti.

f) Una necessaria modificazione del progetto di legge di assicurazione sulla invalidità e sulla vecchiaia abbassando il limite di età, proposto attualmente a 65 anni, a 55 anni.

Per il problema militare: Noi vogliamo:

a) L'istituzione di una milizia nazionale con brevi servizi di istruzione e compito esclusivamente difensivo.

b) La nazionalizzazione di tutte le fabbriche di armi e di esplosivi.

c) Una politica estera nazionale intesa a valorizzare, nelle competizioni pacifiche della civiltà, la Nazione italiana nel mondo.

Per il problema finanziario: Noi vogliamo:

a) Una forte imposta straordinaria sul capitale a carattere progressivo, che abbia la forma di vera espropriazione parziale di tutte le ricchezze.

b) II sequestro di tutti i beni delle congregazioni religiose e l'abolizione di tutte le mense Vescovili che costituiscono una enorme passività per la Nazione e un privilegio di pochi.

c) La revisione di tutti i contratti di forniture di guerra ed il sequestro dell' 85% dei profitti di guerra.

In «II popolo d'Italia», 6 giugno 1919