fascists-from-italy

"(About volleyball player Paola Egonu) I have never had any doubts about her Italian citizenship, and I am personally and wholeheartedly proud that she represents our country with her sporting excellence, but this cannot visually conceal her origins, which I am convinced she herself is proud of."

"Carla Bruni was my classmate from elementary school through middle school. Her father was an important industrialist in the tire industry, linked to the Pirelli group. She was a smart, lively child with a great passion for music."

"What I criticize is the exhibitionist flaunting of this taste, which often tends to override what is, in fact, the common sense of the majority. Gay Pride? If they want to hold a parade in Rome or Turin, let them do it. One might wonder why they want to show off. Gay Pride claims to be fighting for rights, but even that is debatable. Rights are not differentiated; rights are for everyone. There are no rights for gays, rights for heterosexuals, rights for blondes, for brunettes, for those with blue eyes: there are rights for people. It's exhibitionism."

"The first definition of statesman is a man of state, therefore Musssolini is a statesman. This is stated in the Treccani encyclopedia."

"Freemasonry is the cultural matrix of the Risorgimento and the founding fathers of the nation"

"(On abortion) [...] an unfortunate necessity that women are forced to resort to. I don't think it's a right."

"[...] I don't see why it is necessary to have an anti-fascist license to express one's opinions. I also claim consideration for Mussolini, who is a statesman, as were Cavour, Stalin, and all men who have held positions of state: it is the first definition of statesman in the dictionary."

"If I see a homosexual, I'm not like Dracula with a crucifix."

"(In elementary and middle school) There were those who had spent many years in Africa, those in Morocco, those in South America; their homes were filled with ever-changing and stimulating scents. It was then that I began to think of differences in language and culture as new territories to explore."

"I believe that classes with separate characteristics (see w:it:classi differenziali) would help children with great potential to express themselves to the fullest, and even those with more difficulties would be helped in a special way. It is not discriminatory. For students with problems, I rely on specialists. I am not specialized in disabilities."

"Quality is the story of differences."

"At the Paris Exhibition, the Soviet pavilion and the Italian Futurist section represented the cutting edge of artistic avant-garde. It featured the architectural concepts and theater decoration and set designs of Enrico Prampolini and Giacomo Balla, and the panels of Fortunato Depero, with their vivid colors, embroidered figures, and cloth superimposed on cloth, perfectly executed and of the finest taste, with a stylized composition that was schematic and sometimes caricatural. Some of his painted wooden puppets also attest to his inventiveness, with their summary volumes and search for curious and effective rhythms, often with happy results."

"The main focus of Boutroux's thinking revolves around the problem of science and the meaning of natural laws. From 1874, the year of his thesis, De la Contingence des lois de la Nature (On the Contingency of the Laws of Nature), until his death, a little less than half a century, Boutroux developed and elaborated his critique of science, always insisting on it and basing his theories on freedom and religion, which form, one might say, the positive part of his philosophy."

"In the continuous development of nature and spirit, Boutroux believes it is impossible to establish anything definitive that has eternal value. Man, therefore, who is the greatest exponent of progress, does not know what his progress is tending towards; he does not know, therefore, whether his progress is true progress. Everything disappears into the indefinite, into confusion, and a sceptical conclusion seems inevitable. But no: Boutroux, like James before him, does not lose himself in negation at this point, but seeks to save himself from scepticism. And so negation itself is transformed into affirmation. It is precisely the indistinct, the confused that has within itself the reason for life: in it is love, faith, the ideal: in it is that powerful impulse that moves the poet, the artist, the scientist himself, for science would be nothing without faith. But religion thus attained is an empty religion, and the ideal thus posited is an ideal that fades into nothingness."

"[...], if in economics abstract socialism means a capitalist State that differs from the Nation, and if liberalism means a capitalist individual whose interests also differ from those of the Nation, then fascism or corporatism will mean the negation of all state and individual capitalism and the coincidence of State and Nation through the corporation."

"If the crisis of today's society is a metaphysical crisis, its solution must be metaphysical in nature, and silence today can truly express the awareness of the problem as a problem of the whole. (from “La protesta dei giovani”, p. 93)"

"The social revolution now taking place on the international stage consists precisely in the transition to a scientific and technical solution to common problems. Politics is receding into the background as a remnant of a tradition that must be overcome. (from “Introduction”, p. 32)"

"Perhaps the most extreme form of protest among young people is silent protest. It is the protest of those who accept nothing but reject nothing either, because they do not claim to have the criteria to reject and cannot determine precisely the object of their rejection, so they remain radically perplexed. Their negativity is total, but at the same time they are aware that they cannot express themselves without contradicting themselves.[...] Nothing is accepted and one “searches”. One searches with the awareness of one's complete disorientation: a disorientation so great that it does not even allow for its explicit expression. [...] It is the metaphysics of emptiness that is converted into the metaphysics of searching, which is increasingly fuelled by the search itself, illuminated by all the lights of a particularly broad and profound experience. And it is a metaphysics that reaches the level of a radical need, such that it invests all of today's reality and tends towards that exhaustive answer that every conscious metaphysics proposes. (from “La protesta dei giovani”, pp. 92-93)"

"Through the process of unification, everything that is distinctive must necessarily tend to fade and disappear. Only what has common value is destined to become more pronounced and an object of faith. It is precisely this fact that clarifies the current conflict between generations. The values in which fathers believe are still regional ones, and the values to which their children are drawn are those of a world in the process of unification. An in-depth analysis of what characterises the current common life of peoples allows us to understand the move towards an increasingly undifferentiated conception and practice. What is destined to prevail is what is recognised as valid by all, and everything that corresponds to particular traditions can only be saved if it manages to become an accepted part of the common discourse. (from “La protesta dei giovani”, pp. 81–82)"

"One need only follow the usual manifestations of the ruling class, the speeches of its most representative figures, the appeals of the highest authorities, to realise the emptiness of their words and the coldness of their souls. There are still those who are capable of massive faith in the values they have been brought up with, but most are already far removed from them and continue to extol them because they are incapable of replacing them. Thus, the gap between the generations is not even mitigated by esteem and affection for those who believe sincerely, and the detachment of young people takes the form of explicit condemnation. (from “La protesta dei giovani”, p. 85)"

"The world of politics is coming to an end because there is no one left who can aspire to formulate and implement programmes inspired by a precise and achievable ideal. The world is breaking away from utopia and is guided by forces whose composition no one can scientifically anticipate. The history of the twenty-five years is a clear demonstration of the impossibility of continuing to pursue messianic mirages, which no one can any longer fantasise about, let alone translate into reality. (from “Introduction”, p. 37)"

"Ci sono delle donne, ma la donna non c'è."

"Il vero amore è come una finestra illuminata in una notte buia. Il vero amore è una quiete accesa."

"Di queste case non è rimasto che qualche brandello di muro Di tanti che mi corrispondevano non è rimasto neppure tanto Ma nel cuore nessuna croce manca È il mio cuore il paese più straziato."

"Chiuso fra cose mortali (Anche il cielo stellato finirà) Perché bramo Dio?"

"Stalin will never make socialism; rather Mussolini will."

"Fascism has made grandiose Social Revolution, Mussolini and Lenin, Soviet and Fascist corporate state, Rome and Moscow. Several stands already taken had to be rectified, we have nothing of which to ask pardon for as both in present and past we are impelled by the same ideal: the triumph of work."

"Long live Mussolini! Long live socialism!"

"I saw that it was this that tormented him the most: the attraction that fascism exercised upon the extreme left. He had been a teacher with Mussolini in a little Italian village, he knew him well and even while hating him liked him a little."

"Mussolini is clever, demagogic, devoid of scruples, and he has learned a great deal from the Russian Revolution."

"Fascism discovers sovereignty to be inherent in society when it is juridically organized as a state. Democracy, therefore, turns over the government of the state to the multitude of living men that they may use it to further their own interests; fascism insists that the government be entrusted to men capable of rising above their own private interests and of realizing the aspirations of the social collectivity, considered in its unity and in its relation to the past and future. Fascism, therefore, not only rejects the dogma of popular sovereignty and substitutes for it that of state sovereignty, but it also proclaims that the great mass of citizens is not a suitable advocate of social interests for the reason that the capacity to ignore individual private interests in favor of the higher demands of society and of history is a very rare gift and the privilege of the chosen few."

"Fascism does not look upon the doctrine of economic liberty as an absolute dogma. It does not refer economic problems to individual needs, to individual interest, to individual solutions. On the contrary, it considers the economic development, and especially the production of wealth, as an eminently social concern, wealth being for society an essential element of power and prosperity."

"Rocco was one of the foremost juridical thinkers of his generation, the leading ideologue of the Italian Nationalist Association, and the man who, as Mussolini's Minister of Justice between January 1925 and July 1932, planned the laws which were the basis of Fascism's transformation from government into totalitarian state."

"For liberalism, the individual is the end and society the means… For fascism, society is the end, individuals the means, and its whole life consists in using individuals as instruments for its social ends. The state, therefore, guards and protects the welfare and development of individuals not for their exclusive interest but because of the identity of the needs of individuals with those of society as a whole."

"T[he clerks who are blackmailing the State, the politicking socialists, and the full-belly fanatics are not part of the nation. Nationality is a spiritual fact, not a physical phenomenon. It is not people who are born and live in the national territory who belong to the nation, but those who feel spiritually bound to it."

"Thus liberalism, democracy, and socialism appear to be, as they are in reality, not only the offspring of one and the same theory of government but also logical derivations one of the other. Logically, developed liberalism leads to democracy; the logical development of democracy issues into socialism. It is true that for many years, and with some justification, socialism was looked upon as antithetical to liberalism. But the antithesis is purely relative and breaks down as we approach the common origin and foundation of the two doctrines, for we find that the opposition is one of method, not of purpose. The end is the same for both, namely, the welfare of the individual members of society. The difference lies in the fact that liberalism would be guided to its goal by liberty, whereas socialism strives to attain it by the collective organization of production."

"Fascism on the other hand, faces squarely the problem of the right of the state and of the duty of individuals. Individual rights are only recognized insofar as they are implied in the rights of the state. In this preeminence of duty we find the highest ethical value of fascism."

"The nation that refuses to behave nationalistically, when all the other nations are doing so, is fatally destined to die."

"I believe in the legal and social necessity of penalties, for penalties are not made only for delinquents. Penalties are made for all, because their essential function is to hold in sight of all citizens a threat of consequences, which operates powerfully as a psychologic motive, and does cause most citizens to observe the law."

"Woe betide the Italian people if, while others are engaging in super-imperialism, they do not at least engage in nationalism!"

"Fascism replaces, therefore, the old atomistic and mechanical state theory that was at the basis of the liberal and democratic doctrines with an organic and historic concept… The important thing is to ascertain that this organic concept of the state gives to society a continuous life over and beyond the existence of the several individuals."

"The relations, therefore, between state and citizens are completely reversed by the fascist doctrine. Instead of the liberal-democratic formula, ‘society for the individual,’ we have, ‘individuals for society’ with this difference, however: that while the liberal doctrines eliminated society, fascism does not submerge the individual in the social group. It subordinates him but does not eliminate him, the individual as a part of his generation ever remaining an element of society however transient and insignificant he may be."

"The stronger and more powerful a state, the highest and richer the life of its inhabitants."

"Fascism therefore has transformed the labor union, that old revolutionary instrument of syndicalistic socialists, into an instrument of legal defense of the classes both within and without the law courts. This solution may encounter obstacles in its development (the obstacles of malevolence, of suspicion of the untried, of erroneous calculation, etc.), but it is destined to triumph even though it must advance through progressive stages."

"This idea of the state as a force (which as a result of the current general state of ignorance is seen as a German Prussian idea) is plainly a Latin and Italian one. It is directly linked with the intellectual tradition of Rome and was refurbished by Machiavelli’s political philosophy."

"Rocco saw the modern era as a long war between the forces of social cohesion and individualism."

"In sociology, just as in biology, uniformity and immobility are death."

"Thus the facts demonstrate that, while the epoch of nationalities was coming to a close with the national reconstitution of the last remaining peoples yet to accomplish it, the epoch of empires of super-States was opening, bringing colossi which dwarfed the great empires of history."

"How many times has Fascism been accused with obtuse malevolence of barbarity? Well yes: once you understand the true significance of this barbarity we will boast of it, as the expression of the healthy energies which shatter false and baleful idols, and restore the health of the nation within the power of a State conscious of its sovereign rights which are its duties."

"It is necessary to distinguish between socialism and socialism—in fact, between idea and idea of the same socialist conception, in order to distinguish among them those that are inimical to Fascism. It is well known that Sorellian syndicalism, out of which the thought and the political method of Fascism emerged—conceived itself the genuine interpretation of Marxist communism. The dynamic conception of history, in which force as violence functions as an essential, is of unquestioned Marxist origin. Those notions flowed into other currents of contemporary thought, that have themselves, via alternative routes, arrived at a vindication of the form of State—implacable, but absolutely rational—that finds historic necessity in the very spiritual dynamism through which it realizes itself."