I don't know if you can call it independently. It's a bit like how clothes from the 70s keep coming back in style. They're not being invented again; it's an homage.
this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2025
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chapotraphouse
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I cooka the fascismo 
if you think fascism existed in ancient rome you're defining the word fascism so broadly that it basically doesn't mean anything anymore
So, legit question, is the fasces completely separate from fascism? I understood from Plutarch that historically lictors would utilize the rods from the fasces for corporals punishment, and the axe of the fasces for capital punishment of those who defied the republic (ie ruling class). I’m not a historian by any means, so I’m sure there’s a ton of nuance I’m missing, but I thought the etymology was indicative of the roots
The fasces existed as a symbol of magisterial power for nearly 3000 years before Mussolini came along and named his ideology after it.
That makes sense - I just assumed there was a consistent usage of it during the in-between, and had never heard otherwise. Thanks!
Fun fact: fasces is also the etymological origin of the slur for a gay man that also means a type of odds-and-ends meatball and a bundle of sticks.
In that case, as long as we separate it from the “fascist” connotation, I think anyone who doesn’t identify as cishet should be encouraged to carry/use sticks and axes during pride month. Only seems fair
good question. i'm no historian either but my understanding is that italian fascists in the 20th century used the fasces (among other roman symbols) to harken back to an imagined glorious past for the italian people and associate themselves with a golden age. i.e., fascism is inspired by rome and by the fasces in particular, but the roman empire itself was not fascist because fascism didn't exist and could not exist in the ancient world
A good day to be questioning my education of “everything with sticks and axe is fascism” lol. Thanks