"
Fascism: What it is and how to
fight it" is a compilation of
essays by
Leon Trotsky. It was first
published by
Pioneer Publishers in
August 1944, however, it is not
copyrighted. It describe
fascism as:
"a spontaneous movement of large masses, with new leaders from the rank and file. It is a plebian movement in origin, directed and financed by big capitalist powers. It issued forth from the petty bourgeoisie, the slum proletariat, and even to a certain extent from the proletarian masses"
It explains how this type of movement can quickly become
corrupted, and how in
fascism:
"for the most part that the workers' organizations are annihilated; that the proletariat is reduced to an amorphous state; and that a system of administration is created which penetrates deeply into the masses and which serves to frustrate the independent crystallization of the proletariat."
It then outlines how
Benito Mussolini rose to
power in
Italy, and the state of the
government of
Germany at the time, which was on the verge of adopting a form of
fascism itself, under
Adolf Hitler and the
Nazi Party. He goes on to describe the
proletariat and the
bourgeoisie classes, and under what conditions they will
revolt. Lastly he describes the
danger that the
United States are in, and, in a way that is relevent in our world today, how to defeat
fascism, and the necessity to build what he calls the
revolutionary party.
The entire text of the pamphlet can easily be found by searching for "fascism: what it is and how to fight it" in most search engines