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Hey, Brainstuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here.

In 1922, Benito Mussolini gained control of Italy and introduced the world to fascism, a political movement that eventually brought the world to war.

Mussolini didn't invent the fascist movement, but he did coin the term and define the Italian fascist movement.

In 1932, he wrote that fascism, quote, believes neither in the possibility nor the

utility of peace. In fascism, the state is all that matters, and constant conquest is a necessity

for the glory of that state. The success and glory of the people comes by extension.

War alone brings up to its highest tension all human energy

and puts the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have courage to meet it.

Fascism is a word thrown around a lot these days.

Some use the term to describe any authoritarian person or government,

especially one that rules by violent means. But authoritarianism is only part of the fascist philosophy.

For example, communism under Joseph Stalin was authoritarian and extraordinarily violent, but communism

calls for an erasure of class divides. In that way, fascism, with its focus on a hierarchy of

superiority, stands in direct opposition to communism. The word fascism comes from the Italian term fascio, meaning bundle.

Mussolini first used the word fascism in 1919. It has its roots in a Latin word

fasciz, which described a bundle of sticks tied to a single axe head. The fascis was a symbol

of unity and righteous power in ancient Rome.

One might say the fascis embodies the essence of fascism. The people are the sticks tied together

and to the state to form a strong single unit, the state being the axe head, which has the power

to create, to enforce, and to

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