7. The Individual and Liberty.

Anti-individualistic, the Fascist conception is for the State; it is

for the individual only in so far as he coincides with the State,

universal consciousness and will of man in his historic existence. It

is opposed to the classic Liberalism which arose out of the need of

reaction against absolutism, and had accomplished its mission in

history when the State itself had become transformed in the popular

will and consciousness.

Liberalism denied the State in the interests of the particular

individual; Fascism reaffirms the State as the only true expression of

the individual.

And if liberty is to be the attribute of the real man, and not of the

scarecrow invented by the individualistic Liberalism, then Fascism is

for liberty. It is for the only kind of liberty that is serious--the

liberty of the State and of the individual in the State. Because, for

the Fascist, all is comprised in the State and nothing spiritual or

human exists--much less has any value--outside the State. In this

respect Fascism is a totalising concept, and the Fascist State--the

unification and synthesis of every value--interprets, develops and

potentiates the whole life of the people.

Readings on Fascism and National Socialism Selected by members of the department of philosophy, University of Colorado · 第 19 / 64 题