(Lat., fasces, the bundle of rods and axe carried before Roman consuls as insignia of authority) The loose amalgam of aspirations and influences crystallized in the early 20th-century governments of Mussolini in Italy, Hitler in Germany, and General Franco in Spain. Elements include nationalism; hostility to ideals of equality; hatred of minorities, degenerates, and deviants; élitism; hostility towards the ideals of liberalism, and in particular towards freedom of expression; the cult of the charismatic leader or Übermensch ; belief in the destiny of the race; and a love of political symbolism such as uniforms and other emblems of militarism. The whole cocktail is animated by a belief in regeneration through energy and struggle.
Philosophy dictionary. Academic. 2011.