Michael Rizzotti

Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes. And armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.

James Madison

Many articles have been written about the growing similarities between the rise of Italian fascism ─corporatismo─ and the current corporate capture of republics around the world. I propose some observations on a prevailing corporatist doctrine behind a global takeover by the Investor State.

The word fascism comes from the Italian fascio meaning bundle. Mussolini was attracted to this ancient Roman symbol representing strength and authority. It was meant to symbolize the different regions of Italy bound together to create a unified nation.

In order to understand fascism one has to keep in mind that Italy has been a country only since 1861 following what is known as il Risorgimento. Prior to the unification, Italy had been ruled by a dominant Church in Rome, by kingdoms and powerful city states and finally by foreign powers.Today Italy is made up of 20 regions, five of which have autonomous status. Each of these regions have their own dialect and distinct foods. They are different in many respects except Italian as their official language. Which was imposed to the whole country by banning the teaching of dialects in schools.

These dialects could very well be considered languages as they are incomprehensible to the inhabitants of other regions. Friuly, where I come from, is part of a n autonomous region that speaks Furlan that is recognized as a distinct language. Friulani for instance, don’t understand Sicilian and vise versa. You could say that Italy was, and still is, a cauldron of multiculturalism. This agglomeration of regional rivalries prompted Mussolini to remark: “It is not difficult to rule Italy, it is useless.”

Mussolini was born in 1883 in Dovia di Predappio in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna, famous for its Ferraris, Parmigiano and and its famed prosciutto. He was a turbulent student but got good grades. His father was a socialist and his son was too. In 1902 Mussolini emigrated to Switzerland in order to escape his military service. Not an uncommon trait among our more bellicose leaders. During his stay in Switzerland he became an active member of the socialist movement of the country. Benito later came back to Italy and dabbled in journalism and eventually founded a newspaper, Il Popolo d’Italia ─The Italian People. In 1917 he was called up for military service and was wounded in a grenade accident during a training exercise. The incident allowed him return to editing his newspaper and avoid the service.

Mussolini made his early mark in the world of politics mostly by fighting anarchists and communists allied with the Soviet Union. He eventually became prime minister with the help of King Victor Emmanuel III. The King was fearful that if he did not choose the fascist leader, Italy which was prone to regional discord, would end up in a civil war. Mussolini was quickly able to consolidate his power by exploiting fears of division in an environment of postwar depression and a general feeling of anxiety among the middle class.

Mussolini had been an active socialist member until he abandoned the idea of class struggle in favor of stati corporativi. A similar concept was promulgated by Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical Rerum Novarum in 1891. It was issued to counter the growing influence of socialism, communism and class struggle. Instead the Church promoted its own Catholic associations managed by “corporate bodies” as an alternative to class struggle. Mussolini’s change of heart made him appealing to a greater number of voters and powerful institutions. Under his leadership business owners, workers, trade unions, professionals, and other economic groups were organized into 22 associations—or guilds. They were given representation in a legislative body known as Camera dei Fasci e delle Corporazioni.

The symbol of the fascio (bundle) was meant to indicate the unifying strength of all the guilds and of corporations, most of whom had a non-profit charter. The unifying body also integrated a geographically fragmented and diverse Italy into a greater market area. This idealistic union led to a totalitarian political system that became known as fascism.

Prior to Italy’s move to fascism, the country had been a liberal democracy. Mussolini’s claim to be a compassionate leader helped him get the backing of liberals in parliament. With their support Mussolini introduced strict censorship laws and changed the rules of elections in 1925 and 1926. His victory helped him seize dictatorial powers and proceeded to discredit all his political opponents. With the support of his allies he skillfully used his control over the press to create the myth of Il Duce . The Leader who demanded total loyalty from his subjects. Any resistance was dealt with his fascist militia called the Brownshirts. With his alliance with Hitler and the unfolding WWII, he eventually succeeded in securing complete power. However, under his regime his government became too centralized, incompetent and corrupt.

In 1929 Mussolini signed a concordat with the Vatican that recognized Vatican City as a state. In return the Church recognized Italy as a sovereign nation. The name Benito, meaning “blessed”, is an appropriate depiction of a mutual anointment by the Church and State. Il Duce then promoted the idea of a new Roman Empire that made him increasingly popular. However, dreams of a grand empire did not extend farther than the bombing of Corfu, the invasion of Albania and later Ethiopia.

In June 1940 Mussolini declared war on Britain and France. He attacked Greece in October and as a result lost a great portion of Albania. Undeterred, he declared war on the Soviet Union in June 1941. Shortly after in December, he declared war on the United States. An act that would eventually seal his downfall.

Meanwhile, the US was fostering a deal with the mafia allowing the 1943 invasion of Sicily by an Anglo-American coalition to be met without resistance. Il Duce might have forgotten that in 1866, Palermo revolted against the political power of Italy. And to this day they do not consider themselves Italian but Sicilian.

Il Duce’s policies included subsidizing of big corporate business by the government: Most of it at the expense of small business, self employed entrepreneurs and the poor. As a point of reference, Mussolini consistently demanded wage reductions from labor. The one-time socialist leader also abolished the inheritance tax, a measure that resulted in further subsidizing of the wealthy by the poor. Eventually wages and living standards for the average Italian dropped sharply.

Mussolini allowed huge amount of money to be spent on public works and toward heavy industry and a growing “military industrial complex”. However, Mussolini who at the onset privatized a great number of state owned assets, later began reverting these policies and demanded strict centralized control over the country’s industries.

We owe the term corporatism to an Italian philosopher named Giovanni Gentile who defined it as the “the merger of state and corporate power”. In retrospect fascist era can be summarized as an alliance of corporate interests represented by old money and aristocracy who had shifted its wealth from feudal to corporate shareholding. And by the rise of industrial corporate leaders who endorsed Mussolini to unify a country and benefit from a bigger economic market.

Bundled Inc.

Laws enacted by Congress in the past three decades have been substantially more valuable to big business. The gradual erosion of antitrust legislation resulted in mergers and acquisitions resulting in the consolidation of corporate power. Ironically President Bill Clinton repealed federal antitrust laws that had been in place since the Great Depression.

Near zero interest rate policy has seen a transfer of savings into the stock market, excessive consumption and an unhealthy accumulation of debt. Leaving investors chasing bubble after bubble in an illusive speculation. This erosion of savings was compounded by relentless tax cuts in favor of the rich. With the nefarious effect that the bulk of the country’s economy was diverted in the hands of a growing number of wealthy billionaires, fund managers and CEO’s.

In the beginning of the US’ Republic, only men who owned property could vote. Today the rulers of the “ownership society” determine the outcome of an election. The process of cartelization and concentration of power is such that both parties are subservient to a corporatist agenda. And even if the majority of Congressmen and women are honest people, and we believe they are, only a minority of controlled swing votes can determine the outcome of important legislation favorable to special interests or big business.

In the US, the corporation is considered a legal person. All corporations have a similar legal structure, abide by the same accounting rules and practices. Corporations may sell or produce different things but in respect to their legal structure, they are one similar legal entity defined as an artificial person.

This legal person is not a full human being. Although a company is comprised shareholders that are human beings, each stockholder abdicates his or her individual humanity and submit to the corporation’s charter to be strictly profitable. And while corporations have the same rights as a citizens, their responsibilities toward society can be deferred indefinitely by putting their enormous financial resources into endless litigation or by declaring bankruptcy and morphing into another corporate entity.

The growing association of varied transnational corporations is depicted here as a bundle of one global incorporated body. This foreign body is exemplified by the emergence of the World Economic Forum (WEF) that has made public its goal to challenge and takeover the sovereignty of the individual and the nation-sate.

It should be made clear that the corporation plays an essential role in our economic development and is beneficial to society as a whole. However, there is a distinction between the role of domestic corporation and malignant corporatism. When the corporation becomes bloated through mergers and acquisitions and eliminates competition then becomes counter productive. When these corporations align themselves together with the government and the war industry, they can become a malignant threat to human civilization.

Since the Reagan years the process of cartelization of big business has been steady and relentless. The citizen is loosing more and more of his political representation and relegated as a mere consumer. Many political leaders are wearing a disposable mask of the corporate body.

One must remember that corporatism is made possible by a growing bureaucracy paid for by citizens’ tax money controlled by corporate lobbyists. And a population that is spied on by big tech and the deep state in order to expand its control over the population.

Furthermore, the great leaps of technological innovation made over the past few decades are now being used to promote a transnational corporate messianism. This new type of corporatism is defined by a doctrine that society should be organized in the image of the an artificial person known as a “corporation”. In order to convert human beings into trans-persons known as shareholders. With the ultimate goal to replace the sovereignty of citizens and the nation-state with the sovereignty of the Investor State.