A Biography Re-Examines Mussolini

[Michel Ryckx]

For what it's worth (and between two very well-built sand-castles at the beach):

One has to be a pervert to say that a (general) strike, led by communists 
and/or socialists leads to fascism.  If so, France and Belgium had to have 
fascist governments in the thirties, which was not the case.  And let's not 
forget the Spanish republicans ('If you tolerate this, your children will be 
next').

Breaking the influence of the Catholic Church in Italy was demanded not only by 
the left, but by the non-catholics in general.  This was -since the 
Enlightenment- a very important portion of the Italian intellectuals and/or 
population (as was the case nearly everywhere in Europe).

Antonio Gramsci, leader of the Communist Party, and democratically chosen, was 
arrested on November 8, 1926 (he was sent by the PCI to the Soviet Union in 
1924 in order to have him NOT arrested). He died in prison on April 27, 1937.  
This must have been the period of the real nice Mussolini, I think. I'll leave 
out the more than 30 other communist leaders who were convicted in 1928.

Whatever the relation of fascism/nazism and capitalism may be -and that's a 
tricky problem- fascism always tries, at least in its initial phase, to gain 
popularity by accaparating leftier demands.  They are always set aside when 
they are in power, or when there's a perspective to gain power.

But it's ice cream time now.

Michel.


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