For Catholicism and Latium: The Ideology of Croixism
The cover of a Croixist pamphlet (1927)
Croixism, alongside Britannianism, Communism, and Nietzscheanism, was one of the major ideologies to emerge in the post-war West. Croixism was the ideology of choice in Catholic Europe, mainly France, Spain, and Portugal. Each of these countries would fall to a Croixist regime. While Brazil never went Croixist per se, the ideology did combine with other far-right Brazilian ideologies to form a melange of ideas for future leaders, with great effect on the Lusophone world in later years. To understand what happened in these places, we must first understand the ideology to which they ascribed.
Although Francois de la Rocque is often dubbed the Father of Croixism, the ideology's roots go back further. The three biggest precursors to Croixism in are Bonapartism, Traditionalist Catholicism, and Yellow Socialism. From Bonapartism, the Croixists took a belief in a centralized, authoritarian state in which government and governed are in harmony, as well as anti-elitism, a desire for a charismatic strongman, and heavy Rome fetishism, something they shared with the Britannianist movement. Rocque himself deeply admired Napoleon, but disliked his royalist pretensions. Despite Rocque's aversion to some of Napoleon's monarchical bearing, he maintained that Napoleon's reign over France was "
The ideal French state, with a strong national Father, and the peak of our political genius thus far." From the traditional strains of Catholicism, Rocque took a deep sense of Catholic religiosity and an aversion to a secular state. Rocque specifically held that France's recent waves of defeat were divine punishment for the nation's turn towards secularism and separation of church and state. Only by reinforcing the role of the Catholic Church in French life could France hope to attain glory and power once more. Economically, much of the Croixist program was based on Yellow Socialism. Unfettered capitalism was an unabashed evil, as was Communism. The solution was to make workers and capitalists cooperate within a state controlled framework for the good of the nation. In France particularly, this manifested in the creation of state run labor and employer's unions. In each and every industry, workers and employers were required to join their union, which could then negotiate with each other on an equal footing.
Rocque also used more modern ideas: eugenics, scientific racism, and the civilizing mission. While these were also pre-existing ideas, Rocque gave them a unique flair and stridency. Rocque was a strident proponent of eugenic sterilization, while simultaneously outlawing any kind of eugenic euthanasia. While the sterilization of prostitutes, single mothers, epileptics, the homeless, the mentally ill, those born with disabilities, and those in particularly rebellious ethnic groups could be painted as an act of "
preemptive Christian mercy, preventing the misery, damnation, and deaths of untold thousands" euthanizing these same people was seen as interference in God's Almighty plan. This was in contrast to Britannianism especially. Rocque's racial hierarchy was also very unique. It started in a unique place, by positing that it was solely neurological, as opposed to physical differences, defined the races. While the "
Latin Race" of the French, Italians, Greeks, Spanish, and Portuguese were held to be neurologically superior, another unique aspect was its view of the "
Teutonic Race." Notably, the Teutons (Germans) were actually held to be "
more physically powerful, fertile, and capable of conquest, industry, and governance" than the Latin Race. However, due to an alleged evolutionary quirk, they were mentally incapable of the creation of higher civilization, such as art, music, literature, and architecture. All examples of these from Germanic peoples are held to be crude imitations or the work of "
submerged Latins." The Teutons must be defeated because while they're more than capable of creating an industrious, powerful, prosperous world order, "
A Teuton world will be utterly soulless and devoid of great and beautiful things. The canvas will become concrete, the opera a military march, and the grand architecture a company town." Finally, and tied to the racial conception of the Latin Race as bearer of high civilization, was the civilizing mission. While the Latin Race might possess a unique genius for creating high culture, it was theorized that by gradually educating the various races and supplanting their native cultures, "
the neurological pathways of the brain would be trained into a Latin state of mind." In short, cultural assimilation could literally alter their African, Arab, or Teutonic brains, and make them racially Latin.
Now, let's tie all of these disparate aspects together the way Rocque did. The Latin Race was neurologically superior to all others, descended from the Romans. While they weren't as talented at industry and government as the Teutons, this was a blessing in disguise for "
The Teuton overindulges his genius, and makes life over regimented, like a factory." The Latin Race, while still in need of a powerful, authoritarian national Father, was relaxed enough to allow liberty and culture to flourish. The Latin Race was the first to truly appreciate and understand the truth and power of Catholicism, owing to their great genius. For this, God blessed them with great wealth and power. However, like so many other blessed peoples they had forgotten their blessings, and God punished them. Now, they had a choice. Using Catholicism, Croixism, and race science, they could reclaim their birthright and civilize the Earth. By pushing their way of life upon the many races of the world, the whole world could become a part of the Latin Race (although race mixing between Frenchified Africans/Arabs and Whites was still discouraged). The other choice was to continue down the path of secularism and Communism. That would result in the destruction of the Latin Race, and, in the long run, Teutonic triumph.
A note here, on Spanish and Portuguese/Brazilian Croixism. While they were mostly similar to the main French variety, there were national peculiarities. In Spain, the great racial enemy wasn't the Teuton, but the "
White Yankee and Negro Yankee." These races were held as consumerist, egalitarian, parasites who were nonetheless adept at conquering and "
bound to overrun the world" if not stopped. Despite this line of rhetoric, Spain would remain neutral in WWII (out of a very rational fear that the Yankees would bulldoze them). The Spanish and Portuguese also expanded the definition of the Latin Race to include mestizos. The Spanish undertook serious efforts to try and build a "
Latin Community" with Latin America and failed for the most part (Uruguay went along with it... for two years). Yankee money and might was far more attractive. The Spanish also continued the old whitening programs of the old colonial days, while Portugal had an even more laissez-faire attitude towards mixing (despite still having strong white supremacist undertones). Culture was generally more important.
Portuguese Croixist Youth march in the streets of Lisbon (1936)
Fransisco Franco, chosen heir of Weyler, and creator of Spanish Croixism
Croixist women march in Paris (1931)