The demographic obsession of fascism? A broken dream

Today that we have become too many, the number (content) is survival. One hundred years ago, when we were still few, the (excessive) number was power. Warrior power with which to frighten, instill fear more than respect in opponents and even in non-adversaries, if not even in friends; and of course number to be thrown into wars, whether world or colonial. Mussolini had very clear ideas in this regard. His conception of the number of Italians was genuinely warlike. Nothing else. Thus, when he complained that Italy had, according to him (and it was not true for the time), too few inhabitants, it was the wars he was looking at: those in which he was already entangled and those which by crook or crook were looming , knocking on the skies of the homeland to bring us the worst of destinies. The paradox of fascism is exactly this, that it strove to implement an authentic pro-natalist demographic policy with the fundamental, if not quite the only, objective of equipping Italy to become a great and menacing military power. There’s just no way to implement an authentic demographic policy, certainly not a long-term one, for that sole purpose.