For years, I’ve seen headlines, political commentators and...
Sizwe SikaMusi@SizweLo
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Mar 20, 2025
~6 min read
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For years, I’ve seen headlines, political commentators and politicians calling the Economic Freedom Fighters fascist.
This did not make sense to me because I casually understood fascism to be a “capitalist” phenomenon, while the EFF is decidedly Marxist.
I attempted to find out.
This did not make sense to me because I casually understood fascism to be a “capitalist” phenomenon, while the EFF is decidedly Marxist.
I attempted to find out.
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Fascism is a 20th-century ideology invented by Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, who was inspired by the writings of French polymath Gustave Le Bon.
Le Bon believed that at the end of the 1800s, the nature of politics was changing.
Le Bon believed that at the end of the 1800s, the nature of politics was changing.
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In his book, The Crowd, published in 1895, Le Bon wrote that politics was shifting away from what he called “ancient beliefs” and “old pillars of society” like conservatism (hereditary aristocracy) and liberalism (individualism) and towards “the power of the crowd.”
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Le Bon theorised that to gain power, politicians needed to target ordinary people instead of focusing on the elites, as had been the case until then. The support gained from this would be exercised through the crowd. He called the crowd “the only force that nothing menaces.”
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According to Le Bon, when individuals become part of a crowd, they lose the ability to think for themselves and instead think with the crowd. He called this “the psychological law of the mental unity of crowds.”
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Individuals swept up in a crowd become “hypnotised” and can be directed and influenced. As Le Bon put it, in this state of hypnosis, “will and discernment are lost. All feelings and thoughts are bent in the direction determined by the hypnotiser.”
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Le Bon believed that “The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master.”
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Benito Mussolini believed that the 1800s were the century of individual liberalism, but the 20th century would be the century of collectivism. This is similar to Karl Marx’s theories.
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Now, it’s important to note that by the early 1900s, there were various interpretations of Karl Marx’s communist theories, with two main branches.
The first branch was Marxism-Leninism, which placed the class struggle at the centre. i.e. working class vs capitalist class.
The first branch was Marxism-Leninism, which placed the class struggle at the centre. i.e. working class vs capitalist class.
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The other Marxist path—which was followed by Mussolini—was pioneered by French historian Georges Sorel. Unlike orthodox Marxists, Sorel believed focusing on just class and economics was too narrow; that revolutionaries also needed to pay attention to sociology.
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Sorel believed that to achieve the ideological unity necessary for the Revolution, it was necessary to have political “myths.” These myths are stories consisting of what he called “all the strongest inclinations of a people, of a party or of a class.”
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Sorel’s ideas were adopted by the Italian Fascist Party, which at their core, particularly as applied by Musollini’s regime, did not even resemble Marxism.
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One primary way in which fascism diverged from Marxism was that the fascists believed Marxism was innately divisive by pitting sides of the population squarely against one another: the working class against the capitalists (property owners)
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Further, fascists believed Marxists were too rigid and uncompromising by following Marx’s theories without compromise. They decided it was time for new, fresh and positive ideas. Mussolini said, “It was necessary to imagine a wholly new political conception.”
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Following Sorel’s theory of the “myth”, the fascists needed an idea they would mobilise people around—all people—working class and elites. They needed an idea that would excite and bind everyone together.
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The myth political myth the fascists chose was “national consciousness”. This replaced the “class consciousness” so “rigidly” followed by orthodox Marxists.
In his Naples Speech in 1922, Musollini was clear that this was a myth in the true sense of the word:
In his Naples Speech in 1922, Musollini was clear that this was a myth in the true sense of the word:
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“We have created our myth. The myth is a faith, a passion. It is not necessary for it to be reality. It is a reality in the sense that it is a stimulus, is hope, is faith, is courage. Our myth is the nation. Our myth is the greatness of the nation.”
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Nationalism became the mystical mobilising myth of fascism. The fascists told the people that if one reached deep inside himself, he could feel his country deep in his bones. One of Musolinni’s most trusted philosophers, Giovanni Gentile, wrote:
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“Those who are Italian feel themselves a part of this Italy. They find themselves not only in the blue of its sky, in its hills & its water, nor only in the desolate or mountainous land that alternates with its fruitful plains and its smiling gardens...Italy remains in our soul.”
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Because all citizens of a country automatically share a national identity, fascism uses this by bringing emotion into it to get the public to forego any differences among them and unite behind the idea of the nation and the flag. To this myth, they “subordinate everything else.”
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Fascism further relied on the philosophies of Georg Hegel, who argued that in the history of the world, the only people that get noticed are those who form their own states. He said the state is the highest embodiment of the human spirit and will of the people.
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Next is what I feel is the most crucial bit of this whole conversation, as I think many people, myself included, readily associate it with what we assume fascism to be: a corporate state, a state closely intertwined with private capital.
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It turns out the idea of a corporate state is indeed a fascist ideology derived from Hegel, who said that a state is internally powerful when “the private interest of its citizens is one with the common interest of the state.”
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Mussolini himself wanted to create a new synthesis’ between liberalism and socialism, an “alliance” between capital and labour under authoritarian fascist rule. He claimed this would abolish class conflict.
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Socioeconomically, Musolinni’s fascists believed that the highest ideal was to achieve a situation where the state and the citizens wanted the same things. In this setup, the state “possesses the highest right”, while the citizen’s highest duty is to be members of the state.
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Fascism embraced totalitarianism, i.e. total control by the state. About Nazi Germany, Mussolini wrote: “Here is another great country in the process of creating a unitary, authoritarian, totalitarian State, i.e. a fascist one.”
What did this look like in practice?
What did this look like in practice?
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Fascists believed in force as a means of attaining their goals. Inspired by Sorel, they believed war was necessary to “unite the nation through the shedding of blood.” This is what Mussolini did. He did not believe in elections or other gradualist approaches to attaining power.
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In the end, fascist Italy never took off. Mussolini and co were unable to fully mobilise the public in their direction. The people were unconvinced that their identity came from being Italian instead of from their families, regions, gender, and, most crucially, their class.
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Mussolini wanted to create a new synthesis’ between liberalism and socialism, an “alliance” between capital and labour under authoritarian fascist rule. They claimed this would abolish class conflict.
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In summation, is the EFF fascist? I think the answer lies in how you feel about the party. As an anonymous person once said: a fascist is anyone who disagrees with me politically.
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Reference: youtube.com/watch?v=1T_98u…
