THE SCHOOL FOR DICTATORS
41
accompanied by an ideology that hinders, or at any rate does not
help, their transformation into fetishes. In the worker's eyes Socialism
stands for concrete things-his wages, his factory, his home. In his
case his flag simply remains his flag. In Russia, however, the Soviet
flag has become a fetish too. The process corresponded with the
gradual liquidation of the soviets. However, even if the other parties,
in spite of their different ideologies, did posses symbols of fetishistic
value, they were systematically ridiculed by the Fascists and dis–
honered in the eyes of the masses. That is why the Italian Fascists
used castor oil upon their opponents. They regarded the flowing black
tie worn by many Italian Socialists as a crude materialization of the
anti-patriotic idea, and, when circumstances permitted, the black tie
was seized and burned and its impure wearer wasforced to submit to
a huge dose of castor oil, sometimes having to swallow as much as
a liter of the stuff and remain in the public square until it had pro–
duced its effect. Thus did the Fascists eliminate the evil from the bod–
ies of their opponents. These practices, like Fascist fetishism and myth–
ology in general, were naturally only effective because of the nerv–
ousness and discouragement to which the masses were reduced as
a consequence of the war, the economic crisis, and the failure of the
Socialist attempts at revolution. The new savior presents himself to
the masses in the guise of a new kind of demagogue, surrounded by
the symbols and fetishes of patriotic mythology-eagles, swastikas,
lictor's fasces, flags and banners, and with .torches flaring in the
breeze. He is
not
generally a great orator, and seems to be ignorant
of the most elementary rules of the traditional art of public speaking;
in some ways he reminds one of a war propagandist haranguing
soldiers before going over the top, in others of the exact opposite,
the raw leader of a band of mutinous soldiers. However, his vehement
and uncultured improvisations serve to bring him closer to the masses,
who end by hearing their own voice in him. There really is a Fascist
kind of eloquence, false and artificial like every other. But when
used upon masses who have known war and prolonged unemploy–
ment, it is infinitely more effective than the old "operatic" elcquence
of Gambetta, Jaures, Lassalle, Enrico Ferri, Lloyd George. It is
superior to the old in the way in which
AI
]olson
is superior to Caruso.
Fascist eloquence is reinforced by the technique of Fascist propa–
ganda, but it would be presumption on my part to talk of propaganda
to Americans....
MR.
w.
Not for that reason. But it is very late, and
if
we are not careful
we shall be too late for dinner.
