Page - 302 - in Otto Bauer (1881–1938) - Thinker and Politician

302 chapter 8 2 Bauer’sTheoryofFascism European history bears the imprints of two varieties of fascism in particu- lar:GermanNationalSocialismandItalianFascism,whichrelevant literature referstoasclassicalfascism.Fascistmovementswithspecificallynationalchar- acteristicsalsoemergedinothercountries,suchasBulgaria,Romania,Portugal, Spain, France,Hungary andAustria. AsCzubiński aptly observed, the fascist parties ‘grewfastest incountries threatenedbyrevolutionaryupheaval,where thegoverningsocialforceswerealreadytooweaktopreservetheoldorderand revolutionary forceswere tooweak to seizepowerandestablishanewsocial order’.18There isnodoubt that theweaknessof theSocial-Democraticparties wasoneofthefactorsthatbenefittedthefascistsintheirrisetopower.Inmost cases, theseparties downplayed the threat of fascismanddidnotdevise any effectivestrategyforcombatingfascist reaction. In the 1920sand30s, enlightenedscholars,publicists, andsomepoliticians wereconsciousof thedangeremanatingfromfascismandthepower itheld– incontrasttopoliticalparties,whetherproletarianorbourgeois.Themostser- iousinterpretationsofthephenomenonemergedfromthreecircles:bourgeois intellectuals,Marxist thinkers,andfascists themselves. Ingeneral, theyagreed ononlytwoimpressions:theydeemedfascismtobearesultofsocialchangesin Europeansocietyresultingfromthewarandits long-termconsequences,such as the economic andmoral crisis. Nobody had doubts about its anti-liberal, anti-democratic, anti-socialist, anti-pacifist and nationalist nature, nor was thereanycontroversyastoitsprimaryobjectives:thedestructionofdemocracy and theworkers’movement. Awide range of answers and explanationswas offeredwithrespecttootherquestions:Whatsocialforcesdoesfascismrepres- ent?Canonespeakoffascisminageneralsense,ormusteverystrainoffascism beassessedseparatelyasalocal,nationalphenomenon?Whatsocialforcesand mechanismsallowedfascismtoseizepower?What is fascismasamassmove- ment,andwhatisitasasystemofgovernment?Howdoesfascistrulecompare toothertotalitarianandauthoritarianregimes?Itisnotourintentiontoexam- ineall of thesequeries indetail –ErnstNolte andRenzodeFelice, aswell as anumberofPolishauthors, haveaccomplished this thoroughly.19 Becauseof 18 Czubiński 1985,p.7. 19 SeeNolte1967;DeFelice1977;Czubiński1985;Filipiak1985;andZmierczak1988.DeFelice identifies three basic interpretations of fascism: (1) fascism as amoral disease taking hold of Europe (an expression of moral values being thrown into crisis), thus under- stoodbyCroces,Meinecke,Ritter, andMann; (2) fascismasa logicaland inevitablecon- sequenceof thehistorical developmentof somecountries, thusunderstoodbyVermeil,