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Radical Politics Of Rich People: British Upper Class Support Of Interwar Communism And Fascism, Michal Rebecca Yadlin

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines why members of the British aristocracy and upper class supported communism and fascism during the interwar period. The pre-1900 generation attempted to hold onto their pre-war status and power by supporting fascism and its tenets of authoritarian rule, strict class division, and social regeneration through uber-nationalism. Meanwhile, the post-1900 generation rebelled against their elders and used communist ideology centered on an equal utopia to create a new political, economic, and social balance in the post-war era. Although the two generations aligned themselves with vastly different radical politics, their reasons for the change in support were similar. …