Fascism Defined and Described by Oswald Mosley

Tyler Cowen

Fascism: One Hundred Questions Asked and Answered Answered is a book published in 1936 by British fascist Oswald Mosley, and it is arguably the clearest first-person introduction to the topic for an Anglo reader, serving up less gobbledygook than most of the Continental sources. Mosley actually makes arguments for his point of view, and thinks through what possible objections might be, which is not the case with say Marinetti. Beyond the basics, here are a few points I gleaned from my read:

1. Voting still will occur, at least once every five years, because “The support of the people is far more necessary to a Government of action than to a Democratic Government, which tricks the people into a vote once every five years on an irrelevant issue, and then hopes the Nation will go to sleep for another five years so that the Government can go to sleep as well.”

2. Voting will be organized by occupation, not geographic locality.

3. If an established British fascist government loses a vote, the King will send for new ministers, but not necessarily from the opposing party.
By removing the struggle for foreign markets, fascism hopes to bring perpetual peace.



4. The House of Lords is to become much more technical, technocratic, and detailed in its knowledge, drawing more upon science and industry. The description reminds me of the CCP State Council.
5. A National Council of Corporations will conduct much of economic policy, and as far as I can tell it would stand on a kind of par with Parliament.
6. “MPs will be converted from windbags into men of action.”
7. A special Corporation would be created to represent the interests of women politically. Women will not be forced to become mothers, but high wages for men will represent a very effective subsidy to childbirth.
8. The government will spend much more money on research and development, with rates of return of “one hundred-fold.”
9. Wages will be boosted considerably by cutting out middlemen and distribution costs. The resulting higher real wages will maintain aggregate demand. Cheap, wage-undercutting foreign imports will not be allowed.
10. Foreign investment abroad will be eliminated, as will the gold standard and foreign immigration into Britain.
11. “…foreigners who have not proved themselves worthy citizens of Britain will deported.” And “Jews will not be afforded the full rights of British citizenship,” as they have deliberately maintained themselves as a distinct foreign community.
12. Any banker who breaks the law will go to jail, just as a poor person would.
13. Inheritance will not be allowed, but private property in land will persist and will be accompanied by with radically egalitarian land reform.
14. To restore the prosperity of coal miners, competition from cheap Polish labor and Polish imports will be eliminated.
15. The small shopkeeper shall be favored over chain stores, especially if the latter are in foreign or Jewish hands.
16. All citizens, rich and poor, are to have the right to an education up through age 18. Overall there is considerable emphasis on not letting human capital go to waste, and a presumption that there is a lot of implicit slack in the system under the status quo ex ante.
17. Hospitals will be coordinated, but not nationalized. That would be going too far.
18. Roosevelt’s New Deal is distinct from fascism because a) the American government does not have enough “power to plan,” and b) it relies on “Jewish capital.”
19. The colonies will sell raw materials to Britain, and produce agriculture for themselves, but will not be allowed to compete in manufactures. And this: “If we failed to hold India, we should be 1/100th the men they were.”
20. By removing the struggle for foreign markets, fascism will bring perpetual peace.
Mosley was later interned from 1940 to 1943.