Heidegger

I recently saw a movie with George C. Scott playing the main character,
about the life of Mussolini, as reported by his son, Vittorio. Mussolini was
very proud to use chemical weapons against Aybssinian “primitives”, in order
“to spread civilization” and build an Italian Empire. Scott (playing
Mussolini) says something like “we killed half a million to one million
primitives” and considers that a heroic deed, a service to his country.

So, I guess, he was implied in genocide, but not against Jews. He did
promulgate racist laws aimed at the Jews, but he did not send them to
concentration camps. (His daughter has been in love with a Jew, and the
Italian count she later married was executed because he betrayed Mussolini).
After the coup d’etat of the King and Fascist Council, which wanted to put
an end to war for Italy, in 1943, Mussolini did came back to power, aided
and controlled by Hitler’s troops, being in fact put under Hitler’s
supervision.

The film is not very critical on Mussolini, he is praised therein by Thomas
Alva Edison as “the man of the century” and by Mahatma Gandhi as a
“superman”, for wanting to create a lasting peace in Europe. All his
subsequent involvement in war appears due to Mussolini being lured by the
prospect of victory in a war which was already taking place, and otherwise
being compelled by circumstances to go along with Hitler. In fact, in the
film, a general advises Mussolini that it is sheer madness to go to war,
because Italy lacked modern weapons and its army was so poor that soldiers
did not have proper shirts to go to war with. Accordingly, Italy’s defeat in
attempting to conquer Greece appeared as the consequence of its real
military capability. Italian army was saved from annihilation by Hitler’s
troops.

If the film has any morals, it is that morality of princes (political
leaders) has nothing to do with the morality of commoners, which is what
another famous Italian (or something like that) said centuries ago. As I
have put it elsewhere, politics is unadulterated will-to-power, it consists
of power games of imposing one’s principles unto others. What it would be
indeed to wonder were if this did not hold true.

Allan Bloom said that democracies sought a harmony between public morality
and political power, never before politics had to conform to moral
standards. So, that’s why I believe democracy can no longer be taken
seriously, since Bush returned to what princes always did, namely fight wars
because of the egotistic interests of their groups (or countries) and in
order to impose one’s principles unto others.

The film presents indeed Mussolini as an idealist, a man of principles,
willing to die together with his troops, rather than seeking refuge in
Spain. The film suggests that he chose for the wrong ideals, and that he was
in the wrong place at the wrong time, otherwise he was a quite admirable
politician.

Greetings,

Tudor

> —–Original Message—–
> From: heidegger-bounces at soca.ecu.edu.au [mailto:heidegger-
> bounces at soca.ecu.edu.au] On Behalf Of Philip Baker
> Sent: donderdag 26 oktober 2006 21:45
> To: heidegger at soca.ecu.edu.au
> Subject: Italian Fascism [was Little girl on Iranian TV: Kill
> CondoleezaRice]
>
> In article ,
> Eskandar Sadeghi writes
>
> >What about the plaudits and rewards received by Italian sympathizers
> >of Mussolini from the Israeli government - a man who shipped off
> >thousands to their deaths in the camps
>
>
> It was the SS that sent Italian Jews to the death camps during the
> German occupation of Italy, by that time Mussolini was dead. Many
> Italian Jews joined the Italian Fascist Movement in its early days
> although later, in the 30s, Jews were removed from the higher government
> posts.
> –
> Philip Baker

Posted on Tuesday, October 31st, 2006 at 9:25 pm
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