by Max Barry

Latest Forum Topics

Advertisement

2

DispatchFactbookPolitics

by The 4th of august party. . 57 reads.

Metaxism and the 4th of August Regime

Metaxism is an authoritarian, Greek nationalist ideology that was implemented by the Archigos (leader) Ioannis Metaxas during the reign of the 4th of August Regime (1936 - 1941). The core principles of Metaxism include the following:

Greek nationalism: Metaxas promoted cultural purity of the Greek nation and endorsed the creation of a "Third Hellenic Civilization".

Monarchism: Metaxas considered the institution of monarchy a pillar of national unity.

Anti-communism: Metaxism was very hostile to left-wing and communist ideologies.

Anti-Parliamentarianism: Metaxas denounced the old parliamentary system as a cause of anarchy, division and economic decline.

Corporatism: Metaxas worked strongly through corporations

Protectionism: Metaxas considered the market-liberal policies of the old state to have failed.

Anti-imperialism: Metaxas opposed the domination and influence of Greece by foreign powers.

Metaxas considered the modern Greek nation and people as the "Third Civilisation" as he acknowledged that the Greek people were not direct descendants of the Greeks of Ancient and Byzantine times but rather a continuation of their civlisation through common roots. The Third Greek Civilisation was based upon the militarist societies of ancient Macedonia and Sparta, which constituted the "First Greek Civilization"; and the Orthodox Christian ethic of the Byzantine Empire, which represented the "Second Greek Civilization."

Through this, Metaxas asserted that true Greeks were ethnically Greek and Orthodox Christian as any other features that would claim otherwise was considered foreign and not native to Greece. Whilst he did exclude Albanians, Slavs and Turks from this mantle, he did so under the basis of them not assimilating to Greek culture and for having treasonous sympathies with outside forces.

His regime was also known to tolerate those of a different religion and ethnicity, provided they assimilated, and their is no record suggesting that he planned or conducted any mass killings towards enemies of the state. This included many prominant Communist leaders, who would later aid the Communist troops in attempting to seize power during the Greek Civil War, as they were either exiled to islands of Greece or imprisoned rather then executed.

To quote wikipedia: "Although the Metaxas government and its official doctrines are often described as Fascist, academically it is considered to have been a conventional totalitarian-conservative dictatorship akin to Francisco Franco's Spain or António de Oliveira Salazar's Portugal. The Metaxist government derived its authority from the conservative establishment and its doctrines strongly supported traditional institutions such as the Greek Orthodox Church and the Greek Monarchy; essentially reactionary, it lacked the radical theoretical dimensions of ideologies such as Italian Fascism and German Nazism."

Feats of the 4th of August regime:

Economic:
unemployment insurance

maternity leave.

a five-day, 40-hour workweek.

guaranteed two-week vacations with pay (or two weeks' double pay in place of the vacation).

stricter work safety standards.

Allowed the Greek economy to grow and expand during the Great Depression

Social
Promotion of Arts, Dance, Theatre and Music in Greece

Promoted Demotic Greek (in the conservative form) in the education system

Created the National Youth Organisation (EON)

Created the first state radio system (YRE) which later became the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT)

Military
Gave the Allied powers their first victory in the Second World War by defending Greece from Italian imperialism which saw Greek troops march all the way up to Northern Epirus.

Created the "Metaxas Line", which was a series of fortifications that would defend Greece from an invasion from the Turkish front or the Bulgarian front.

Political
Promoted the perceived Spartan ideals of self-discipline, militarism and collective sacrifice, while Byzantium provided an emphasis on a centralized state and devotion to the monarchy and Greek Orthodox Church

Was responsible for the destruction the Communist Party of Greece's (KKE) influence in the Greek parliament

Reinstated the Greek Monarchy which lasted until 1973

To Antifa members: This differed his regime and ideology from Nazi Germany as he did not activly kill unwanted ethnic groups or political opponents. He limited their influence as to keep Greece from falling into chaos or into a Communist regime that would see the deaths of millions.

This differed from the ideology of Nazism as he was loyal to traditional institutions (the Monarchy and the Church) and preached against Imperialism of any kind, even going so far as to protest against the Greco - Turkish War of 1919–1922. Nazism preaches for ethnic purity through mass genocides and preaches for Imperialism as shown by their policies of Lebensraum and through their actions during WWII.

Claiming Metaxism is synonymous with Nazism is false!

(Sidenote: I might edit this later)

The 4th of august party

RawReport