"The whole is greater than the sum of the parts". Metaphors of inclusion and exclusion in the British and Italian Fascist Discourse of the 1930s

The rationale behind this work lies in the current economic, political, and social turmoil and the crisis of modern democracies. Adopting a Cognitive Linguistics standpoint, the paper looks at metaphorical instantiations of nationalistic issues in the British and Italian Fascist press of the 1930s. More particularly, it explores what metaphors are employed in English and Italian to convey the notion of “totality” implied in the theory of totalitarianism. Furthermore, it investigates how metaphors contribute to the legitimation of inclusion and exclusion strategies which are at the basis of nationalism. Findings show the presence of universal conceptual framings across cultures such as PEOPLE ARE ANIMALS and NATIONS ARE LIVING ORGANISMS even though different lexicalizations were found due to cultural factors.