[From Italian fasci: groups (of men), in which the Italian Fascist movement began.]
(politics) A form of nationalistic authoritarianism that originated in Italy and spread throughout other parts of Europe (especially Germany and Spain) and the world. Although fascism was ostensibly opposed to communism because it allowed private property (albeit under tight government control), it did not differ in essentials from other forms of collectivism in the 20th century (in fact fascism was a form of national socialism, in contrast to the international socialism of communism).