Millions stand behind me

“Fascism for the Million” is a pamphlet first published in 1936 by the British Union of Fascists (BUF). It was apparently written by BUF's leader Oswald Mosley. The contents are similar to those of “Fascism: 100 Questions Asked and Answered”, reviewed by my elsewhere on this site. The main difference is that “Fascism for the Million” isn't written in a question-and-answer format. The peculiar title refers to Mosley's insistence that fascism was a movement for the common man, not for a small elite. It reminds me of Hitler's frequently lampooned statement “millions stand behind me”.

Mosley had been a Labour Party politician before forming his own organization on a fascist basis. His pamphlet deals to a large extent with the Great Depression and its attendant problems of unemployment, low wages and poverty. It mentions the BUF's racial and anti-Semitic policies mostly in passing. Mosley regards the power of finance and “free market” capitalism itself as the root causes behind the depression. For this reason, he calls for a corporatist state and a kind of planned economy. Import substitution is an important plank of the program: foreign imports of manufactured goods and most food will be banned, expanding domestic production. An expansion of the agricultural sector is seen as particularly important. Imports of cheap raw materials will continue, however, and to that end, Mosley wants to keep the British Empire intact. Immigration will be sharply curtailed, criminal aliens extradited (including sweat shop owners) and the power of finance (including Jewish finance) broken.

As a fascist, Mosley calls for an authoritarian form of government, including a ban on strikes. In return, the workers will get full employment and protection against foreign capitalists. Lockouts will also be banned. He believes that most ordinary people will accept the fascist “New Order” (his term) since it will give them security and freedom from want. In the final chapter, the fascist leader waxes utopian, calling for a global fascist federation. Overall, the rhetoric is surprisingly moderate, Mosley claiming that his party wants to take power peacefully through Parliament, and that the BUF's Blackshirts (storm troopers) are merely defending peacefully rallies against Communist violence.

I don't know why Oswald Mosley failed. Perhaps he underestimated the staying power of British democracy and parliamentarianism, or the resolve of the socialist-inspired labor movement to stop him. Perhaps he even underestimated British nationalism – that is, British *anti-German* nationalism. The fascist leader was interned during World War II, and never managed to stage a credible comeback in post-war Britain.

That being said, I admit that his pamphlets are well written and somewhat intriguing. And no, I'm not a fascist. In the end, I give “Fascism for the Million” three stars.