The title of this small volume expresses clearly our intentions
regarding its form and its purpose.
Here we offer neither an abstract, scientific exposition of the
theory of race, nor a survey of the various racial doctrines. To
achieve that purpose, we would have had to repeat things which we
have already written, because we have already carried out this
project in our book 'Il Mito del Sangue', published a few years ago
by Hoepli.
We do not intend to proceed to a doctrinal and critical examination
of the fundamentals of racism, biological, philosophical or
spiritual, either, since the reader will be able to find these
matters discussed in a more recent work of ours, also published by
Hoepli, namely 'Sintesi di Dottrina della Razza', while, for a
general account of some of the historical and traditional
perspectives linked with the problems of race and 'Aryanity', he can
always refer to our main work, 'Revolt against the Modern World',
again published by Hoepli.
Our task in this small volume is more specialised : it does not
include abstract expositions which would be used as bases of a
generic 'education' and information, nor considerations designed to
give more depth to the doctrine, but rather it aims to clarify the
ideas - we may say the 'key ideas' - needed in order for the educator
to carry out, with respect to racism, his true task. Simple notions,
but clear and suffused with suggestive force, able to act on the
souls of the young people rather than on their intellects, so as to
promote a certain formation of their will and a certain orientation
of their best vocations.
The educator must bear in mind, in this connection, the essentially
political and ethical value which the theory of race must have in
Fascism, and thus in the Fascist school. He must understand fully
that the 'race' in question is something very different from the one
of which biology and anthropology spoke until very recently. Our
racism goes far beyond the limits of such disciplines, which are, in
fact, basically, in their most common, positivistic, and scientistic
formulations, in sharp contrast to the true racist idea. True racism
is a frame of mind rather than a specialised discipline : its
influence thus extends to fields which, according to general opinion,
and especially that of the so-called 'intellectuals', would seem to
have nothing to do with problems of this kind.
The instructions of Mussolini are precise : "You must know, and
everyone must know, that, even in regard to the question of race, our
aims will be precisely calculated." He has added, alluding to certain
well-known insinuations : "To say that Fascism is imitating someone,
or something, else, is simply ridiculous."
However, we must not conceal from ourselves the fact that, despite
these instructions, in the two and a half years which have passed
since the declaration by Fascism of its official racial stance, not
much has been done. The reasons for this are, more or less, as
follows :
First of all, there is the assumption, already mentioned, that racism
is merely a branch of natural science, to which, for contingent or
even opportunistic reasons (as, for instance, with respect to the
Jewish problem), a certain role has to be conceded, a bit larger than
it would normally be expected to have, alongside the other
disciplines, which exist unaffected and are to be left the way they
are.
Secondly, many have suspected, and still suspect, that racism is an
imported product, having little bearing either upon serious culture,
or upon our tradition, the characteristics of which they hold to
be 'Latinity', as opposed to 'Aryanity', and universalism, as opposed
to dependence upon any given race.
Finally, there is a technical reason, related to lack of competence
and preparatory study. Various causes have seen to it that, until
now, racism in Italy has been mainly the product of a propaganda
campaign conducted by incompetents who have become Fascists or anti-
Semites overnight, and for whom sloganising has served as a
substitute for principles and serious information.
These causes for delay must be removed. It is necessary to persuade
ourselves, and to convince others, that, rather than being a flash in
the pan whose day is almost done since, nowadays, there are so many
very different things to think of, the racist idea has a precise
future, not only for its own intrinsic reasons, but also for
historical reasons related to the epoch into which we are entering,
as we have argued elsewhere.
Now, in order to achieve any real progress in the racial field, we
must commit ourselves to developing formative and educative activity
among the new generations, both within the youth organisations of the
Party and in the schools. It is essential that we do not delude
ourselves about the effect of merely journalistic propaganda on a
public such as ours which, in this field, is unprepared if not
downright skeptical. Equally, it cannot be claimed that elements in
which fixed views and mental habits have already crystallised can
sincerely change their orientation and make their own ideas new to
them which they fought against, or did not know at all, until
yesterday.
We must count entirely upon the new generations : new generations
both of educators and of pupils. And, let us repeat, here we speak
about the formation of a mentality and of a sensibility, not of
intellectual schemes or of classifications of natural science.
It is to this end that we have written this small volume, in which we
will present in the most living and direct manner the fundamental
essence of the ideas which integrate the racist orientation into the
main issues of the ethics and the general world-view of Fascism.
Those readers who wish subsequently to go further into any of the
various arguments will find what is needed to satisfy their wish both
in our own works, already mentioned, above, and in those of the
authors from whom we shall have occasion to quote here and there,
below.
http://thompkins_cariou.tripod.com/id4.html