As regards the Liberal doctrines, the attitude of Fascism is one of
absolute opposition both in the political and in the economical field.
There is no need to exaggerate the importance of Liberalism in the
last century--simply for the sake of present-day polemics--and to
transform one of the numerous doctrines unfolded in that last century
into a religion of humanity for all times, present and future.
Liberalism did not flourish for more than a period of fifteen years.
It was born in 1830 from the reaction to the Holy Alliance which
attempted to set Europe back to the period which preceeded '89 and had
its years of splendour in 1848, when also Pius IX was a Liberal. Its
decadence began immediately afterwards. If 1848 was a year of light
and poesy, 1849 was a year of weakness and tragedy. The Roman Republic
was killed by another Republic, the French Republic. In the same year
Marx issued his famous manifesto of Communism. In 1851 Napoleon III
made his anti-Liberal _coup d'état_ and reigned over France until
1870. He was overthrown by a popular movement, following one of the
greatest defeats registered in history. The victor was Bismarck, who
always ignored the religion of liberty and its prophets. It is
symptomatic that a people of high civilisation like the Germans
completely ignored the religion of liberty throughout the whole
Nineteenth Century--with but one parenthesis, represented by that
which was called "the ridiculous parliament of Frankfurt" which lasted
one season. Germany realised its national unity outside of Liberalism,
against Liberalism--a doctrine which seemed alien to the German spirit
essentially monarchical, since Liberalism is the historical and
logical ante-chamber of anarchy.
The three wars of 1864, 1866 and 1870 conducted by "Liberals" like
Moltke and Bismarck mark the three stages of German unity. As for
Italian unity, Liberalism played a very inferior part in the make-up
of Mazzini and Garibaldi, who were not liberals. Without the
intervention of the anti-Liberal Napoleon we would not have had
Lombardy, and without the help of the anti-Liberal Bismarck at Sadowa
and Sedan it is very likely that we would not have got Venice in 1866,
or that we would have entered Rome in 1870.
During the period of 1870-1915 the preachers of the new Credo
themselves denounced the twilight of their religion; it was beaten in
the breach by decadence in literature. It was beaten in the open by
decadence in practice. Activism: that is to say, nationalism,
futurism. Fascism.
The "Liberal Century" after having accumulated an infinity of Gordian
knots, sought to cut them in the hecatomb of the World War. Never did
any religion impose such a terrible sacrifice. Have the gods of
Liberalism slaked their blood-thirst?
Liberalism is now on the point of closing the doors of its deserted
temples because nations feel that its agnosticism in the economic
field and its indifference in political and moral matters, causes, as
it has already caused, the sure ruin of States. That is why all the
political experiences of the contemporary world are anti-Liberal, and
it is supremely silly to seek to classify them as things outside of
history--as if history were a hunting ground reserved to Liberalism
and its professors; as if Liberalism were the last and incomparable
word of civilisation.