Notes: “Fascism exemplifies the imperialism of those who have arrived late at the partition of the world,” wrote Lowenthal.

“Behind this imperialism lies a huge need for expansionary opportunities, but none of the traditional means for realizing them…. Fascist imperialism, the imperialism of the bankrupt, is the most aggressive force for war among all forms of imperialism.” “Bauer echoed this same theme.”

“The hostile responses of foreign powers led fascist regimes to search for substitute raw materials whose supply they could guarantee in the event of war. This reinforced policies of closed economy and protectionism.”

“World trade collapses. The crises of the international economy are exacerbated. The arms race leads everywhere to significant increases in the burden of taxation… so fascism plunges the world into an impasse from which it can find no other outlet except through war.”

“The disparate elements of the fascist movement were united around an instinctive ideology of conquest, directed first against the enemies at home, and then in struggle against the whole world.”

“The internal conflicts and contradictions within the fascist movement as it rose to power could only be kept in check by redirecting political energies to external targets. Hence war assumed a decisive importance in all activities of fascism.”

“Militarism was a product of multiple determining factors, all them having their origin in one dimension or another of the capitalist crisis. Fascism itself was unable to transcend the contradictions of the capitalist mode of production.”

[These notes were taken from the book Marxists in the Face of Fascism, by David Beetham]

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Debrief: The statement that fascism exemplifies the imperialism of those who arrived late in the world doesn’t explain Italy or Germany, whose lands are home to ancient tribes and civilizations, but it does explain places like the United States and Israel. In the cases of Italy and Germany, fascism arose alongside the call to make Italy and Germany great again; to reclaim a narrative of former glory – one that takes some liberties with myth-making.

With the part about finding places to extract resources, to use in the event of war, I am reminded of how the United States spends more money on its military than any other country, and how the United States has engineered economic imperialism throughout the ‘western’ (European industrialized) world, and imposed it in many other places, including but not limited to the ‘global south’ (developing/underdeveloped countries, especially in Latin America, Africa, Asia).

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Looking at things another way: If you begin to look at the world as if each nation were a child, some bigger than others, some a lot smaller than others, and world trade as if it were each child’s lunchbox, each lunchbox also varying in size, you can then begin to envision how the kids interact with one another.

Some are in cliques. Left to their own devices, they use the power of their clique to set and enforce the rules of the lunchroom. The clique claims the rules are fair, but the rules subjugate the smaller kids to the clique and make it so that the smaller kids always give up most of their lunch, therefore not getting enough nutrition to grow and thrive. If any of them refuse, the biggest kid in the clique comes over and beats them up, to get them in line. They’re always picked on, and always will be, under these rules.

If the biggest kid in the clique sees a smaller kid or an average size kid with a bigger lunchbox, especially if it’s full of snacks, they walk over and coerce them to share their snacks. If they refuse to share their snacks, they threaten to beat them up and take the whole lunchbox.

There is another clique though, not as popular. In fact, they’re more of a clique of outcasts, as seen by the more dominant clique. The biggest kid in the outcast clique isn’t quite as big as the big kid in the popular clique, but they’re formidable. If the big kids from each clique ever got into a fight, both kids would walk away with significant and potentially catastrophic, if not life threatening injuries, and other kids will probably get hurt in the fight.

As each big kid from each clique attempts to recruit other kids for their clique, through force, coercion, or persuasion. The big kids in the clique threaten each other to back off, claiming the other is a danger to the fairness and stability of the lunchroom. The big kids from each clique always seem to want to fight each other. Instead of fighting each other directly, because of the potential for disaster and the threat of losing their standing in the lunchroom should they be embarrassed or lose, the biggest kids in each clique tend to convince a small or average size kid who is in neither clique to fight the other, or convince a smaller kid in the clique to fight the other, with assurances that it will help provide training and resources in their fight.

The lunchroom operates largely under rules of intimidation and violence, if not coercion and persuasion, under the threat of violence.

The biggest kid in the most popular clique sets and enforces the terms of this environment. When anyone suggests the rules be changed to be more rational, reasonable, and cooperative instead of violent, manipulative, or coercive, the biggest kid in the biggest clique throws a tantrum and threatens to get violent, because they want the power and control over the lunchroom they believe they are entitled to, in part because their ego is astronomical and they believe themselves better than everyone else.

The lunchroom will not be able to establish better principles or fairer principles of engagement, that allow everyone the nutrition needed to grow and thrive, until the bully is humbled and the rules of the lunchroom are converted to a system of diplomatic cooperation and collective benefit.

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In the cartoon: Tailor, President McKinley, measures an obese Uncle Sam for larger clothing, while anti-expansionists like Joseph Pulitzer offer Sam a weight-loss elixir. As the nation increased its imperialistic presence and mission, like many, Pulitzer worried America would grow too big for its own good. [September 5, 1900]