The word ‘Fascism’ comes from the Latin word fascis, meaning a bundle of rods, including an axe, symbolising the power of a magistrate, stemming from Etruscan civilisation. It was inherited by ancient Rome and then taken up by the National Fascist Party in Italy with Mussolini. Fascism is perhaps best defined as a form of far-right authoritarian ultra-nationalism characterised by dictatorial power and forcible suppression of any opposition, with a strict regimentation of society and government regulation of the economy.
