Fascism: Comparison and Definition

Preface

Preface The purpose of this book is not to provide another description of fascism but to wrestle with some basic problems of definition and comparison. The general bibliography on fascism is extensive, especially in the areas of Germany and Italy, and there are a number of works that provide descriptions of the principal fascist movements. What is wanting in this literature, however, is a systematic review, however brief, that endeavors to define characteristics and make distinctions on a broadly comparative basis. It is to this enterprise that the present book is addressed. This study is therefore not designed as a catch-all history of fascism for the introductory student, though I hope that with the use of other works discussed in the bibliography it may be read with profit by students of fascism at all levels. It is logical and natural that study and commentary on the fascist-type movements have frequently generated as much heat as light. Forces that promoted a world-historical disaster are hard to view with scientific detachment, but my endeavvii viii I PREFACE or has been to disengage this analysis as much as possible from political emotions and overt moralizing. lowe a special debt to some of my friends and colleagues in fascist studies-particularly George L. Mosse, A. J. Gregor , and Juan J. Linz-though we naturally do not agree on every point of interpretation. Thanks are also due to Mary Maraniss of the University of Wisconsin Press, who for the second time in only a few years has edited a book for me with skill and diligent discretion. Madison, Wisconsin Mardz 1979 STANLEY G. PAYNE FASCISM ...