Marxist-Leninist systems, such as Stalin's Soviet Union and Mao's China, and fascist systems, such as Mussolini's Italy, are theoretical opposites; hence their respective designations as ôleft-wingö and ôright-wing.ö Yet Marxist-Leninist and fascist regimes share many of the same features, such as militarization, charismatic leadership, and the consolidation of power in one person. This paper will identify the common characteristics of Marxist-Leninism and fascism, and explain why the systems display such similarities.
In general, Marxism-Leninism and fascism are diametrically opposed. Marxist-Leninist thought calls for a revolution from below, in which the masses rise up to overthrow the capitalists and create a dictatorship of the proletariat. Wealth is redistributed so that everybody shares equally and classes are eliminated. Boundaries become meaningless because membership in the class of workers supplants national origin as the source of identity. Marxist-Leninist thought is cosmopolitan and internationalist, dedicated to the notion of spreading its philosophy around the world.
Fascism is inherently conservative and reactionary. Leadership comes from the top, in the form of a dictatorship that exercises substantial control over most aspects of society. Fascist systems are designed to harness all of the state's assets for the benefit of the state. Fascism is an ultra-nationalist philosophy, a system that looks on the rest of the world with suspicion. Aggrandizement of the state is the primary goal of fascists.
In practice, both systems vary from these ideals, which can often lead to convergence. This convergence began not long after Lenin took over in Russia and created the Soviet Union. A. James Gregor writes that ô[o]ver the years, Marxist-Leninist systems adopted and adapted more and more of the political, social, economic, and military features of Mussolini's Fascism.ö Certainly charismatic politi...