Fascism’s rise combined petit-bourgeois base with big-bourgeois patronage

Evidence

With respect to fascism, Zinoviev in his opening address tended to dismiss it as a transitory phenomenon. He concentrated his fire on the social-democrats—whom he now defined as the “left wing of the bourgeoisie”. Radek’s report on the capitalist offensive, however, was in marked contrast—and may very well have been influenced by Gramsci. It stressed the petit-bourgeois components of fascism, the sectarianism shown by the proletarian organisations towards the ex-combatants, and the aid of the big bourgeoisie in fascism’s rise to power—while reiterating that the fundamental class contradiction remained that between bourgeoisie and proletariat. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 126

Categorization

• XREF: Connects forward to the Islamophobia module’s later use of Gramsci’s analysis of how ruling classes mobilize petit-bourgeois movements — analogous to how populist-nationalist movements channel middle strata against their own interests. — connects to: Anglo-American financial acceptance was crucial for Fascist consolidation — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 1425; Fascism arrested class polarisation before the bourgeoisie formed its own party