EPILOGUE	345
has taught me that it is not the programme but the tactics
of a revolution against which we must defend ourselves,3
The fascist method is tactical rather than doctrinal. Its
supreme resort is the fait accompli, which is of no effect
unless it finally leads to the seizure of power. Absolute
power.alone enables fascism to overcome its inherent incon-
sistencies and to maintain its advance, for the spoils can
be used to satisfy the most varied appetites, the prestige of
victory to attract supporters, and the power of the state to
crush its enemies into submission for a long while. This is
how the fascist writer Curzio Malaparte, in his Technique
of the Coup d'Etat, describes the political crisis which pre-
ceded the march on Rome :c These same liberals, democrats,
conservatives, while they were summoning the fascists to
join the National Bloc, were eager to install Mussolini in
the Pantheon of the C£ saviours of the country "... but
they were not so ready to resign themselves to the fact that
Mussolini's aim was not to save Italy in accordance with the
official tradition, but to seize the state, a much more sincere
programme than the one he had proclaimed in 1919.'
Hence the importance to fascism of organization, especi-
ally armed organization. Every fascist movement has its
armed organization, without which it is powerless. This
does not mean that every fascist goes about armed, or that
the movement has immediate access to arms dumps and
arsenals. But its organization is military, with its cadre of
officers, discipline, meetings, training, and the firm belief of
every member, from top to bottom, that this organization
is a necessary and effective instrument for the conquest
of power. Fascism always begins by declaring itself * anti-
party * and ends by turning itself into a political party ;
in all the great countries* however, its military organization
remains its chief characteristic. Mussolini was able to
enrol the entire party in the squads in December 1921, and
in 1936 de la Rocque could convert his squads Into a party,
with the same aim of saving the military organization by
disguising it. This organization lies at the heart of fascism
and determines its very nature.