Rise of Fascism and Inter-War Economics
Fascism and the Road to World War II
The inter-war period, from 1918 to 1940, was marked by significant economic and political shifts.
Inter-War Economic Landscape (1918-1940)
From an economic point of view, there were two distinct phases in the capitalist bloc: the period from 1918 to 1929 saw economic expansion, followed by the Crash of 1929 and a Great Depression that affected the U.S. and Europe. Communist countries, such as the USSR, did not experience these two phases but had a more regular evolution.
The Market and Consumer Society
The solution proposed for the market in the early 1900s, which was poor because the mass of the population was poor, was to increase salaries, thus enabling the consumption of non-essential products. Americans invented consumer society and the middle class. Henry Ford was one of the pioneers; his company paid a consumption wage of $5, and everyone wanted to work there. Employees were more productive and had a positive attitude towards work.
Taylorism Explained
Taylorism is the division of tasks in production processes. It involves the isolation of the worker and the imposition of a variable wage proportional to the value the worker adds to the process. It represented a new form of industrial organization intended to increase productivity and prevent workers’ control over their working time.
Keynesian Economics and the Welfare State
In 1932, Roosevelt implemented reforms to address the crisis, influenced by Keynes. Keynes’s proposal was the end of liberal capitalism and the advent of a new supply/demand model. The state must intervene to regulate the economic system and protect the individual. Keynes invented the welfare state, where the state guarantees a minimum quality of life and ensures minimum standards in areas like education, health, and housing.
Stalin’s USSR: Planning the Economy
Stalin came to power and abolished the NEP (New Economic Policy) in 1927, which had shown positive results. However, the anticipated revolutions in Europe had failed, and the USSR remained the only socialist state in the world. To ensure energy independence and develop industry, Stalin directed all the country’s resources towards heavy industry.
The Gosplan and Five-Year Plans
In 1921, the Gosplan (State Planning Committee) was created as the highest economic planning body. It established a new model based on perspective planning, such as the five-year plans. Stalin abolished the NEP and implemented these five-year plans.
First Five-Year Plan (1928-1933)
Aimed to create a basis for large public works and abolish private property. From 1930, property from the NEP era was confiscated, leading to the system of kolkhozes (collective farms) and the persecution of kulaks (wealthier peasants).
Second Five-Year Plan (1933-1937)
Aimed to develop light industry and consumer goods. Efforts were made to motivate employees (e.g., through Stakhanovism) to increase production. There was significant industrial growth despite limited consumer goods production.
Third Five-Year Plan (1938-1942)
Intended to continue the focus of the second plan, but the Second World War led to the destruction of major industries and the reorientation of the economy towards war production.
Objectives of the Five-Year Plans
The objectives included abolishing private property and establishing collective ownership. The state wanted to make the USSR a powerful nation and prove that communism was an efficient system. From a social point of view, the middle class disappeared.
Understanding Fascism
Fascism is a political ideology that emerged in Europe during the inter-war period (1918-1939). It seeks to establish a totalitarian state and an economy directed by the state, based on strong nationalist identity and the subjugation of the individual. It is against liberal democracy and the traditional labor movement. Examples include Mussolini’s Italy, Nazi Germany, and Francoist Spain, which had differences but shared core ideological tenets.
Ideologies of the Inter-War Period
Democracy
Characteristics: liberal, nationalist, separatist, autonomous unit.
Communism
Core ideology: Marxism.
Fascism
Characteristics: nationalist, anti-democratic, anti-bourgeois. A very practical ideology, anti-communist, anti-Marxist. Features a command economy directed by the state, belief in national superiority and racial hierarchy. Political system: one-party dictatorship. The masses are considered important (as a collective).
Rise of Fascism in Germany
Why did fascism become established? How did it come to power in Germany after 1918? From 1871 to 1918, the German Empire was ruled by a conservative ideology. The Empire fell after World War I, and a new form of state, the Weimar Republic, was established in 1918. It was initially formed by Socialists led by Ebert, and later by Hindenburg.
Political Instability and Failed Revolutions
The fall of the empire and the creation of the republic created instability. This instability was exploited by some Germans to attempt a communist revolution against the republic. This movement was led by Rosa Luxemburg, a Marxist. However, the Spartacist revolution failed, and Rosa Luxemburg was killed.