Fascism and ideology

The history of Fascist ideology, or fascism and ideology, is long and involves many sources. Fascists took inspiration from as far back as the Spartans for their focus on racial purity and emphasis on rule by an elite minority; it has also been connected to the ideals of Plato, though there are key differences. In Italy, Fascism styled itself as the ideological successor of Rome, particularly the Roman Empire. The Enlightenment-era concept of a ""high and noble"" Aryan culture as opposed to a ""parasitic"" Semitic culture was core to Nazi racial views; from the same era, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's view on the absolute authority of the state also strongly influenced Fascist thinking. The French Revolution was a major influence insofar as the Nazis saw themselves as fighting back against many of the ideas it brought to prominence, especially liberalism, liberal democracy, and racial equality; on the other hand, Fascism drew heavily on the revolutionary ideal of nationalism.Its relationship with other ideologies of its day were complex, often at once adversarial and focused on co-opting their more popular aspects. Fascists supported private property rights and the profit motive of capitalism, but sought to eliminate the autonomy of large-scale capitalism by consolidating power with the state; they shared many goals with and often allied with the conservatives of their day, and often recruited from disaffected conservative ranks, but presented themselves as holding a more modern ideology, with less focus on things like traditional religion. Fascism opposed the egalitarian and international character of mainstream socialism, but sometimes sought to establish itself as an alternative ""national"" socialism; it strongly opposed liberalism, communism, and democratic socialism.