Fascism gets a bad rap because of the excesses of the '40s and because the ideology did not have a major patron after the Second World War celebrating its virtues. In theory, it was a viable third way between communism and capitalism, almost an earlier form of 'compassionate conservatism', to borrow a phrase from that modern neo-proto-fascist George W. Bush. People could still excel, but there was always a place for everyone in society who was willing to work for the betterment of the nation as a whole. Harnessing the collective will of a nation towards certain goals in the way that fascism did can unlock national potential in a way that neither of the other ideologies can.

The problem, of course, was the accumulation of power by the political class. Absolute power... etc. The ideology requires strong military and industrialist classes, and the problems start when they are made impotent - usually by internal security agencies.