Statolatry, which combines idolatry with the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, first appeared in

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 ...

's '' Doctrine of Fascism'', published in 1931 under

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 194 ...

's name, and was also mentioned in Gramsci's Prison Notebooks (1971) sometime between 1931–1932, while he was imprisoned by Mussolini. The same year, the encyclical ''

Non abbiamo bisogno ''Non abbiamo bisogno'' (Italian for "We do not need") is a Roman Catholic encyclical published on 29 June 1931 by Pope Pius XI. Context The encyclical condemned Italian fascism's “pagan worship of the State” (statolatry) and “revolutio ...

'' by Pope Pius XI criticized Fascist Italy as developing "a pagan worship of the state" which it called "statolatry". The term politiolatry was used to describe reason of state doctrine in the 17th century with similar intent.Burns, J. H. (ed.) ''The Cambridge History of Political Thought, 1450-1700''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 483.

Ludwig von Mises' ''Omnipotent Government'' (1944)

The term was also used and popularized by

Ludwig von Mises Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (; 29 September 1881 – 10 October 1973) was an Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and Sociology, sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberali ...

in his 1944 work '' Omnipotent Government''. Mises defines statolatry as being literally worship of the State analogous to '' idolatry'' (worship of idols). Statolatry asserts that the glorification and aggrandizement of 'State' or 'Nation' is the object of all legitimate human aspiration at the expense of all else, including personal welfare and independent thought. Expansion of the power and influence of one's State is to be achieved, if necessary, through aggressive

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

and

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

adventures (i.e. imperialism). It far exceeds the patriotism of those who recognize the rights of people other than themselves to self-determination, and might best be described as super-patriotism or chauvinism.

Ludwig von Mises' ''Omnipotent Government'' (1944)

See also

References

Further reading