The herald., 1922-11-23

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HE recent abortive attempt at
general strike in Italy has resulted
in what now appears to be a cOlos-
! sal disaster for the Italian social
- list government, writes Louis D.
(c.MYy7=.1 Kornfield from Rome TO the New
= Iii NNklD I'LL York Times Proletariat Organza
lS@N tons which had been dragged into
III I'm the strike against their WILL for no
e..U..O other object than TO assist n po-
litical maneuver which the social
ist deputies in the chamber endeavored, without
success to effect are now suffering for their in
discretion in the dismissal and suspension from
employment of thousands of their members.
Dstrustful of the leadership which prov oked
this calamity, they withdrawing from the Ital-
Ian Labor alliance and are passing into new syn
dcalist combinations which the socialist party for
the purpose Of future proletariat action, will find
difficult 10 control. The situation points clearly
10 dissolution of the Italian socialist structure
and movement toward new foundations.
Even more important than the actual fact of
the socialist rout is the manner in which it was
brought about. resort to armed force by the
b0urgeOise produced the debacle; not the armed
force of the government. but the force which the
bourgeolse created Of itself and for itself An the
Fascist. In short, ARMED bOurgeoise," phe-
nomenon novel to modern democracy, is Itay's
most recent and special contribution to the SCI
ence of class war. 1t is method of action which
cannot fail to stop strikes and crush any move
of the proletarat toward boshevism.
An armed bourgeoisie takes MARKHAM socialism
at its word. accepts class war a. a reality and
at every opportune moment actually takes the
offensive. 1t rushes In where the hesitant angels
of democracy fear to tread, and by swift organ
ized strokes drives the enemy to cover-or into
the hospitals-and thus restores order discipline
and industry.
An armed bourgeoisie presupposes, of course,
complete neutrality and noninterference on the
part of the government that is to say, unlimited
freedom of action during the period Of the crisis.
In fact 1t temporarily supplants government. In
Italy the government, conveniently took vaca-
ton until the classes in opposition had settled
their dispute.
For disnterested observers, the italian expert
ment of August 1 to August could not fail to
produce the conviction that, given an army Of its
own. independent of government authority such
as the Italian middle and upper classes have de-
veloped In the Fascist, the bourgeoisie Of any
country need never fear the success Of general
strikes or Bolshevist agitations. By reason of
superior intelligence superior leadership, superior
freedom of action and resources, an armed bour-
geoise can always win.
Consider, to begin with, the Fascistist move
ment: A Fascistist leader thus defined it to the
writer: "The Fascistist movement is the awaken
Ing of Italy to full sense of its greatness
and destiny as nation. Its appeal Is essentially
and always to the patriotism of the italian people
rs an Italian people and it proposes at any cost,
even at the cost of democratic conventions, to
crush any tendency that may threaten to drag the
Italian people into the morass of socialism, boil
shevism and internatlonalism"
Except for the fact that 1t specifically names
socialism In its Indictment this program is as old
as Italy itself. One naturally marvels that so old
an idea could have aroused great reclame in
q people recently emerged from the sophisti-
eating flames of European war.
The answer is to be found in the new genera
ton of Italian youth; the youth that had Just
missed the and yet had shifted the fumes:
the youth that found itself upon the declaration
of peace hunting for organizing ami
mating IDEAL such as wars or revolutions produce;
such as youth always hungers for; something for
which to shout, fight and die, If necessary.
But the cause of proetariat revolution in Italy
had not then and has not yet developed spokes-
man sufficiently eloquent and dramatic to capture
the imagination of the Italian youth Upon its
vision at Fiume four years ago there did burst
a skyrocket of great brilliancy, but it pointed
In another direction Gabrielle DAnnunzio! Dan.
nunzio had no new ideal to offer. He had an old
tdeal-Viva Italia (which he made seem new
through the force of his own Imagination fervor
ana magnetism. And the youth of Italy respond
ed. This fresh outburst of patriotism found an
objective In bolshevism, and from the contact of
the two hostile forces bourgeois nationalism and
proletariat internationalism, Fascismo was born.
Fascismo In every stage of its development natu-
rally encountered the bitter opposition of the
socialists This opposition reached critical
stage in July last when the liberal democratic ele-
ments Joined forces with the socialists in demand
ing suppressve measures against Fascsmo, on the
ground that Fascismo however patriotic In its in
tentions had adopted program of action openly
defiant of law. productive of internal disorder
and In direct contradiction to all the principles
and ideals Of democratic government