Ideologies
Ideology: a group of beliefs that guide an individual or nation
Communism
“From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” This phrase summarizes, in the simplest terms, the theory behind Communism. Communism has been described as a political system that abolishes private ownership and seeks to create a classless society. The underlying ideas of
Communism had been around for centuries, however, it was Karl Marx, building on the work of earlier
German philosophers, who developed the concept into a full-blown political philosophy in his 1848 book,
The Communist Manifesto.
From Marx’s works, an international revolutionary movement was born. Marx envisioned his workers’ revolution taking place in industrial Western Europe, however, his ideas took root first in Russia, a sprawling agrarian country which spanned from Eastern Europe to Eastern Asia. Vladimir
Lenin, inspired by Marx’s ideas, founded the Bolshevik Party, which eventually overthrew and killed the
Czar (King) of Russia, defeated several rival factions, and took control of Russia’s government.
On paper, Communism may sound like a good and fair system: Together all the citizens own all the land and all the factories (means of production), transportation, etc and all goods are shared equally.
The Communists stated goal was to abolish poverty and create a society without classes. To many in the
Depression era this sounded like a good idea, and some Americans joined the Communist party in the
1930’s because they were sympathetic to the plight of the working class which seemed to be at the mercy of the wealthy.
Unfortunately, Communism in practice turned out to be different from Communism in theory. The
Communism practiced by Lenin and Stalin (and later by others) was an authoritarian system which punished any dissent. All communication was tightly controlled and propaganda was devised to make the citizens believe what their leaders wanted them to believe. The best of goods and services went to the party members, not to the people.
Fascism
A fasces was a bundle of sticks with an axe blade attached. During the Roman Empire they were carried by servants who marched ahead of rulers and were a symbol of power. Benito Mussolini liked this image and named his party the Fascists, (Fascisti, in Italian) after this symbol of Roman authority, changing its meaning to emphasize the unity of sticks bound together. However, unity under Fascism is not voluntary, but strictly enforced. Fascism is a form of government which seeks to secure discipline and unity by centering power in a small group, headed by an absolute dictator. Under Fascism, the dictator rigidly controls the economic, social and political life of a country. Private ownership of property is allowed, but both labor and management lose their freedom.
A Fascist regime depends on the police to crush all opposition. This is why Fascist regimes are often called “police states”. Fascism is also highly nationalistic. Any disagreement with the government is seen as treason. Fascists sometimes combine racial or religious fanaticism with their nationalistic fervor.
Fascism is often combined with militarism, as the military enforces the dictator’s wishes and protects him.

Ideologies
To maintain their control, Fascists take over the means of communication, such as newspapers and radio, so that their citizens never hear information that contradicts or questions government policies.
Travel is often restricted as well, for the same reason. Fascists want a population which is ignorant of the true nature of their government so they will be easier to control.
Nazism
Many people believe that Fascism and Nazism are the same, and indeed they do share a number of characteristics. Like Fascism, Nazis are authoritarian, militaristic, nationalistic and intolerant of dissent.
However, Nazism bears the distinct marks of its leader, Adolf Hitler, who founded the party in 1919.
Many of Nazism’s ideas come directly from Hitler’s writings, especially his book Mein Kampf (My
Struggle ). The word “Nazi” is an abbreviation of a German word meaning National Socialist German
Workers Party. The name is misleading because it was not a socialist party, nor was it organized for the benefit of the workers. The name was developed in an effort to win the support of the German working classes.
After their defeat in World War I and the crushing terms of the Treaty of Versailles, German morale was low and a seething resentment was building. Hitler came on the scene preaching a renewal of
Germany’s might and power in the world. Many Germans listened and liked what they heard. Hitler capitalized on Germany’s problems by providing an “enemy” to aim their bitterness-the Jews. This extreme anti-Semitism (hatred of Jews) became a hallmark of Nazism. The nationalism of fascism was given a racial element, as Hitler preached the superiority of the German “race”, which he mistakenly called
Aryan, and the need to eliminate all who don’t fit the profile of the perfect white German. Nazis revived old German mythology and legend to inspire Germans to support these beliefs. Despite their official name, Nazis also vilified Socialists and Communists, which they often tied to the Jews.
Like other Fascists, the Nazi party controlled, but did not directly take over industry. Dissent of any kind was severely punished. All means of communication were controlled by the government, in fact propaganda reached previously unexplored heights under the Nazis. The population of Germany were bombarded with lies designed to keep them supporting Hitler and the Nazi regime. Travel was also tightly controlled. Militarism reached epic proportions as Nazis glorified the military of which Hitler was the leader.
Japanese Militarism
The military had a strong influence on Japan from the time of the restoration of the Emperor in
1868.Almost all of Japan’s leaders during that time were ex-Samurai or descendents of Samurai and shared the same values and beliefs. They viewed Japan as threatened by outside influences and superior to those in surrounding countries. They believed a strong military could not only defend Japan, but it needed to conquer and control other countries to supply its needs.
Japan did have needs. The natural resources of their home islands were limited. After acquiring
Taiwan in 1895 and Korea in 1910, Japan had enough agricultural colonies. They looked to the rich iron reserves of Manchuria, the rubber plantations of Indochina and ultimately to China for its vast resources.
Although they had business interests abroad, Japan increasingly looked to the military as the way to solve their resource problem.

Ideologies
Japan’s militarism shared an extreme nationalism with the Fascists and the jingoistic patriotism of
Nazism. But growing within Japan’s military was also a sense of divine mission to unify all Asia under
Japanese rule. Their emperor was viewed as a god and their devotion to their country was like a religion.
In the late 1920’s Japan began her move into Manchuria. In 1932 she attacked Shanghai.
Throughout the 1930’s Japan’s military pushed for more Asian conquests. By the early 1940’s their sights were set on the Hawaiian Islands, which led to their attack on Pearl Harbor. The leader of the Japanese
Navy, Admiral Yamamoto, feared this move would “awaken a sleeping giant.” That “giant” was the
United States, and the “sleep” was the sleep of isolationism.
U. S. Isolationism
In the aftermath of the Great War (WWI) American troops came home with sense of disillusionment over the continuing turmoil in Europe. In 1921, Secretary of State Charles Evan Hughes called for a Naval Conference in Washington D.C. to address the armaments race. At the conference
Secretary Hughes proposed disarmament. Following the conference American placed a moratorium on the building of many naval ships and scraped existing ones.
Throughout the 1920’s America rejected foreign ideas. From the Red Scare at the beginning and throughout the prosperous decade, a policy of 100% Americanism was promoted. America adopted a stance of indifference to the fate of Europe, and tightened restrictions on immigration and reduced the military. In the 1930’s the economy suffered, but isolationism remained. In fact, as America sunk deeper into the Depression, they retreated further into isolationism.
In 1935 the U.S. Senate held hearings on the causes of World War I. They concluded that armament dealers and bankers, the “merchants of death” as they called them, were responsible for forcing the U.S. into the war. The result of these hearings was the Neutrality Act of 1935, which was signed by
President Roosevelt and was very popular with American citizens.
When the Spanish Civil War began in 1936, it became clear that the Neutrality Act would prevent us from getting involved even when we thought there was a U. S. interest. As the storm clouds of war gathered over Europe once again and our allies such as Great Britain were threatened, it became clear to
President Roosevelt and others that the policy of isolation was not going to work. It took the dramatic attack on Pearl Harbor to finally shake the U. S. out of its isolationist sleep.