The Faces of Fraternalism

This is a comparative sociological study of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and 1930s Imperial Japan. The author focuses on the very similar and highly unusual social policies of these three regimes. He uses the term "fraternalism" to describe their unique social policy of attempting to instil in a modern society the primeval type of social solidarity found in clans and tribes, and known to sociologists as "mechanical" solidarity. He begins by describing the regimes' social origins, and then explains how their Fraternalist social policy arose from a desire to prepare their societies for the rigours of a total war like that of 1914-18. He goes on to describe the implementation of this policy by examining the three national or racial solidarity-building cults - National socialism, Fascism, and State Shinto - and the dozens of indoctrinating organizations used to propagate them. He also discusses such matters as industrial relations, Church-state relations, and the structure of the regimes themselves, and concludes by evaluating the success of the regimes' attempts at indoctrination.
This examination throws fresh light on the efforts of three major 20th century powers to create and maintain social solidarity, and should enhance our understanding of the phenomenon of fascism.