Roman Lictor, from the Cancelleria Reliefs; the fasces is carried on the shoulder.
2,441 words
The following amplifies the concept of ur-fascism advanced by Umberto Eco.
Ur-fascism is both unity and multiplicity, like life itself: Unity in its embodiment of a single phenomenon and multiplicity because of the diversity and disparity within that phenomenon. “Ur” means primal or primordial: For example, in the form of Heidegger’s “ur-grund” (“primal ground”) or ur-volk (“primeval people”) as well as Goethe’s “ur-phenomenon” (“archetypal pattern”).
“Fascism” comes from the Latin, fasces, meaning “bundle”: politically, a people unified. Read more …
Richard Overy’s 1939: Countdown to War
Richard Overy
1939: Countdown to War
New York: Viking, 2010
For all the rhetoric of honour, the reality of war in 1939 was not to save Poland from a cruel occupation but to save Britain and France from the dangers of a disintegrating world.
So ends 1939: Countdown to War, by historian, Richard Overy. Read more …