There are four major, established interpretations of fascism: fascism as a crisis of the liberal state, totalitarianism, the extreme right, and as a revolt against modernity (Segre, 2002). In the 1920s and 30s, liberal policies and institutions had failed, and fascism has only prospered politically in times of either economic crisis, or fear of communist take-over (or both). Mussolini capitalized on the uninspired leadership, weak government and economic chaos that fell on Italy during this time to glorify authoritarian and military virtues, and he successfully took power on his October 28th, 1922 “March on Rome” (RoSo, 2002). The interpretation of fascism of totalitarianism came from comparisons to communism. Both Hitler and Stalin engaged in the Holocaust and mass-murder “purges” respectively, and both had ambitions for total control over their own citizens: privacy was a crime against the state (Segre, 2002). However, obvious social policy differences between communism and fascism fail to be mentioned in this interpretation. In the 1960s, fascism became to be seen as an ideology of traditional conservative values pushed to the extreme right (Segre, 2002). That would explain the rejection of Marxism, the support of economic elites and the Imperialist nature of fascist thought. Around the mid-1970s, fascism was interpreted as “a revolt against modernity,” a protest against the pace of social and cultural change as a result of rapid industrialization. Some scholars believe that the Nazis came to power with a desire to return to a simpler, pre-industrial age (Segre, 2002).

World War II totally discredited fascism as an ideology with mass appeal and claim to power. However, the worldwide scattering of neofascist groups proves the ideology’s appeals to our strongest yearning for community, solidarity and safety in the face of a smoldering world are still potent. What if the flood of immigrant workers and refugees from the Third World appeared to overwhelm Europe and the USA? What if a stock market crash set off a worldwide economic panic? What if the war on terrorism mutates into a never-ending destruction machine? Any prolonged crisis might condition people again to respond with ultranationalism, revolutionary fervor, imperialism etc (Segre, 2002). Fascism is more dormant than it is dead.

munism, for example, it has no distinct author of one ideological abstraction. There was no Karl Marx of fascism, who exported his theories worldwide. Instead, fascism seems to be a condition that states let themsel

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