The "Manifesto of Fascist Intellectuals" ( it, "Manifesto degli Intellettuali del Fascismo", italics=no ), by the actualist philosopher

Giovanni Gentile Giovanni Gentile (; 30 May 1875 – 15 April 1944) was an Italian neo-Hegelian idealist philosopher, educator, and fascist politician. The self-styled "philosopher of Fascism", he was influential in providing an intellectual foundation for ...

in 1925, formally established the political and ideologic foundations of Italian Fascism. It justifies the political violence of the

Blackshirt The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Nation ...

paramilitaries of the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...

(PNF — ''Partito Nazionale Fascista''), in the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

ary realisation of Italian Fascism as the

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic vot ...

and

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...

rėgime of Prime Minister

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

, who ruled Italy as ''

Il Duce ( , ) is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word 'leader', and a cognate of ''duke''. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as ('The Leader') of the movement since the birth of the in 1919. In 192 ...

'' ("The Leader"), from 1922 to 1943.

Overview

The ''Manifesto'' is the ideological précis of the 29 March 1925 Conference of Fascist Culture at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

. In support of the government of Benito Mussolini, prominent Italian academic and public

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator o ...

s effected the first formal effort at defining the cultural aspirations of Italian Fascism. As conference Chairman, the Neo-idealist philosopher Gentile publicly proclaimed the alliance between

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

and

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...

, thereby challenging intellectualist critics who questioned the Fascist régime's cultural respectability. Flag of the National Fascist Party (PNF)

Flag of the National Fascist Party (PNF)

The thesis of the ''Manifesto of Fascist Intellectuals'' bases Fascist

upon co-operation between

and

Politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

. As a statement of politico-philosophic principles, the ''Manifesto'' derived from the "Fascism and Culture" (''Fascismo e cultura'') lecture Gentile delivered in the "Freedom and Liberalism" (''Libertà e liberalismo'') session of the cultural conference; although officially attended by more than 400 Italian

s, the document bears only 250 signatures. The ''Manifesto'' was first published in '' Il Popolo d'Italia'' (''The People of Italy''), the PNF newspaper, then by most Italian newspapers on 21 April 1925 — the national, anniversary-day celebration of the

Founding of Rome The tale of the founding of Rome is recounted in traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves as the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous o ...

(ca. 21 April 753 BC). The publication date's symbolism was deepened with the contemporary, legal establishment of the celebration of the 21 April ''Natale di Roma'' (''Birth of Rome''), established by Royal decree in early 1925 as a replacement for

International Workers' Day International Workers' Day, also known as Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every year on 1 May, ...

. Many culturally influential Italian public intellectuals signed the ''Manifesto of the Fascist Intellectuals'', among them: Although not at the Conference of Fascist Culture, the

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

turge and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

Luigi Pirandello publicly supported the ''Manifesto of the Fascist Intellectuals'' with a letter. Meanwhile, the support of Neapolitan poet Di Giacomo provoked Gentile's falling out with

Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce (; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician, who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography and aesthetics. In most regards, Croce was a li ...

, his intellectual mentor, who afterwards responded to the Fascist Government's proclamation with his '' Manifesto of the Anti-Fascist Intellectuals'', which was published of the liberal newspaper '' Il Mondo'' and the Catholic newspaper ''Il Popolo''.Jared M. Becker (1983)
"What We Are Not": Montale's Anti-Fascism Revisited
''Italica'', Vol. 60, No. 4 (Winter, 1983), pp. 331-339, accessed 04 February 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manifesto Of The Fascist Intellectuals Italian fascist works Political history of Italy Italian political writers Modern history of Italy 1925 in politics 1925 documents 1925 in Italy Giovanni Gentile

Overview

See also

References