Fascism seems to be a relatively new phenomenon. It requires a strong and numerous but threatened and besieged middle class to flourish, one that can be manipulated by an avaricious elite to mobilize against the ubiquitous scapegoat: the lower or working class.

This situation doesn't appear to be much repeated, historically, prior to the 20th century. There have been middle classes in the past, but they have been characterized by wealthy and powerful groups, like merchants or landowners, who were NOT members of a hereditary aristocracy. These upstarts wanted to displace the aristocrats, and directed their anger upwards. Today's middle classes want to JOIN the executive/ownership aristocracy. They feel they are entitled to join the club, and they adopt its ethos and ape its values. Their hostility is directed downwards, to the working classes, the immigrants, the poor, the racial underclasses they see as their competition.

You start seeing this around the late 19th century, when industrialization simultaneously created a need for increased numbers of middle-tier mangers/technocrats AND vast quantities of unskilled labor to tend the machines.

Prior to industrialization, the role of fascism was taken up by the institutions of feudalism. This form of social organization took over when the centralized empires became unworkable (Greece, Rome, Mogul India, Warlord China, the Japanese Shogunate). Feudalism at least provided social stability, even if the price to be paid was almost constant warfare.

But at least, there was law and order and the trains ran on time.