Fascism has sometimes been characterized as nothing more than a form of
totalitarianism — that is to say, a
grim and
faceless state under which
individuality is
suppressed by state control. Yet fascist movements would never have attracted
popular appeal if they offered nothing (or only
victimization) to their
participants. Particularly, the "totalitarian" model of fascism fails to recognize the roles of
romanticism and
identity in the fascist movement and the fascist state. To avoid and oppose fascism, though, it is necessary to understand what makes it appealing to its supporters.
Fascism romanticizes and glamorizes the state. Nazi and Italian Fascist propaganda was by no means solely focused on attacking and denigrating the enemies of the state. A great deal of it, rather, served to cast an attractive, heroic image on the nation — particularly the military, but also the working class, national ideals, and the home front in general.
Similarly, Fascist ideology encourages the participant to identify strongly with the nation and the state's goals. For this reason, other institutions with which one might identify — church, university, scholarly societies, labor organizations, or non-fascist political parties — may be suppressed. More often, though, they may be coöpted; their ideology and attention turned, implicitly or explicitly, towards the service and implementation of state goals.
(One might notice that the words "state" and "nation" have been mixed above. One of the other attributes of fascism is that it attempts to conflate the two — to identify the good of the populace and national identity with the particular goals of the state and leaders.)