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Discuss the causes leading to the rise of fascism in Italy
Mussolini's impact in Italy
Mussolini impact in society
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Each and every individual country has its own ideologies, economies, and ways of governing. In the early 1900’s Italy had developed its own ideology that had a huge impact on the lives of the Italian people. This ideology was known as Fascism. Fascism was not only a way of governing, but it was also known as a social organization. Fascism became what it was in response to the movement of social theories. There is much more behind the idea of fascism such as where it came from, who the creator of Fascism was, and why it was popular among many civilians.
Fascism was present in multiple areas around the world, but the seeds were first planted in 1919 in Italy. Many different aspects are responsible for leading to the creation of Fascism. Fascism
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Italy after the war was filled with an assortment of embittered veterans, republicans (anti-monarchists), anarchists, syndicalists and restless socialist revolutionaries. Many socialists and working people were impressed by the "worker 's revolution" in Russia, and they were ready to support revolution in Italy.” This explains some of the many reasons why Fascism was so attractive to Italian Citizens. Even though this way of governing went against citizens’ self-interests, they accepted it because they were angry with certain problems regarding the government in Italy. Despite the strong Italian nationalism, these citizens still desired a strong leader for stability. Because of the nationalism, citizens wanted to feel superior in their country. Of course there were still opposes to this fascist movement, but many people agreed with Benito Mussolini in an abundance of areas. They accepted Fascism for the military part of the deal; they believe that Italy can only survive by proving its military superiority. These people also had a strong desire to expand the territories, and Mussolini made it seem like he would be able to make that happen. There were many people who disagreed with Communist and socialist ways, so they seemed to like this “third-way” that Mussolini created. Due to the fact that it is a combination of ideas from other social groups, many people were able to relate and agree with
The allied powers promised Italy land in exchange for joining them against the central powers during WWI. But, Italy was mostly ignored during the Treaty of Versailles and received very little land. This can be seen as one of the reasons Mussolini aligned with the Axis powers in WWII. He knew that the allies did not treated Italy fairly so he went against them in the next war. He also began invading countries in Africa such as Ethiopia so that Italy could establish itself as the rightful leading power of the Mediterranean. While the invasion of other countries may seem bad, Mussolini did it to increase the power of his own country. He fought for Italy first, proving himself a true nationalist. Another example of this can be found when Hitler came to power and it became apparent to Mussolini that Austria was threatened. He wanted Italy to have influence in Austria, so he threatened to go to war with Germany in the event of an invasion of
Fascism is one of the great political ideology in the 20th century. It is a kind of authoritarian government that, according to Wikipedia, “considers the individual subordinate to the interests of the state, party or society as a whole.” Two of the most successful and to be in the vanguard of fascism government is Italian fascism – led by Benito Mussolini, and Nazi Germany – led by Adolf Hitler. Fascism in Italy and Germany, though in many regards very similar - have the same political ideologies, still have many aspects to them that make them different from each other. Before analysing the similarities and differences between the fascism that emerged in Italy and Germany since the very first of 20th century, it is better to discover - what is fascism.
From the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century major historical events such as the Industrial revolution had occurred. During this period of time Europe was switching into an economy that is focused mostly in the industrial field. From this emerged two social-economic classes, the rich bourgeoisie and the poor proletariats. Furthermore tension brewed from the two groups since the bourgeoisie source of wealth was from the exploitation of the proletariats. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ book The Communist Manifesto responded to the situation and created a vision of an equal communist society. The Communist Manifesto was defined by the abolishment of the bourgeois sovereign rule that followed to a revolution against capitalism
Certainly a more complex definition of fascism is required. However, the framers of fascist thought itself, Mussolini and Hitler, never truly bothered to define fascism for their supporters or for posterity. Mussolini tried in the Enciclopaedia Italiana of 1932, published a full 10 years after Mussolini took power. Mussolini said that his “own doctrine, even in this period, had always been a doctrine of action” (Mussolini, 586). This is the most obvious facet of fascism, its love of action; it is in the name of action that no true doctrine was ever laid out (Mussolini, 587). Mussolini proceeded from there to explain fascism in negative terms, saying:
Fascism is defined as, “an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.” Peter Hyland reports that throughout the 1920s and the 1930s, an economic depression was growing and becoming widespread throughout the world. People were losing faith in their democracies and in capitalism. Leaders who gained power supported powerful militarism, nationalism, and initiated the return of an authoritarian rule. J.R. Oppenheimer says that the rise of fascism and totalitarianism in Europe and Russia instigated a “critical step on the path to war.” In 1922, Benito Mussolini held leadership in Italy, promising a proficient and militaristic nationalistic state. During his control as prime minister, he gained a large group of followers, banned the disparagement of government, and used extreme violence against his enemies within the parliament.
Mussolini came into power in 1922 and sought to make Fascism the only party in Italy, because he believed it was superior to all other parties. Both Mussolini and Hitler wanted to create a better economy for their countries, and had big plans to change the way their countries viewed things. Mussolini abolished democracy, and would not listen and shunned any ideas or citizens who opposed his political views. Although the men were quite similar in the ways they set goals for their countries, Hitler was extreme in his plans for future Germany. According to the lecture, Hitler’s plans were to make it known the Germans were the superior race, Jews and Gypsies were subhuman, Hitler promised to take back the land taken from the after the war, and Lebensraum. Both men had their countries became a part of the Axis powers, and along with Japan became Fascist nations. Mussolini’s rise to power came through his influence on the fascists people. According to the lecture it was fascists that marched to Rome in October 1922, and the people demanded that the king put Mussolini in charge of the government. It was through fear that Mussolini gained his power. Hitler on the other hand was
The ideas of fascism during 1919-1939 were incredibly appealing to Europeans, as they were looking for a system to rely on during the Great Depression and recovery after the First World War. To understand why fascism is so reliable, one should observe the strengths it gave the people. War economy, allowing the people to work and grow as a country. Leadership, Mussolini and Hitler won over the crowd, promising a better future. And Nationalism, a major goal and part of Fascism, is bringing the people together.
Unlike Marxism, Fascism does not believe that class conflict can bring about change, instead fascism believes that class conflict can hurt the integrity of a country. Fascism emerged in Italy in the 20th century to stop the rapidly growing workers movement which was pushing up wages and threatening revolution. Led by Mussolini, they were funded by various wealthy big businesses (the rich minority) in order to smash picket lines and attack left-wing organisers. Fascism was very attractive in its time as democracy was new in much of Europe and not very well established, many of the countries had been run by the monarchy; democracy appeared weak in comparison to a strong charismatic leader.
The first source that will be evaluated in depth is the book How Fascism Ruled Women: Italy, 1922-1945. The origin of this document is valuable because the author, Victoria De Grazia, graduated from Columbia University where she received her Ph.D. in history with distinction in 1976. The book itself was published by the University of California which further strengthens the document due to the
A Fascist Government is a political system where the people have no say and everyone has to obey the government or they will be harshly punished (English Online, n.d). In the time of the Great Depression, people came into power in Italy, Germany and Japan that said that they would fix the country’s economic problems and expand their borders. Since, few countries responded to their attacks, they continued to build their armies and invade other territories. The leaders of the US thought that it would be good not to get involved with this but they found out that this only allowed the conflict to increase. After the fall of France in 1940 the US fought against fascism and became part of WW2 (US Department of State- Office of the Historian, n.d). An example of a fascist government was in Italy. A dictator called Benito Mussolini told his people that he would bring back pride to Italy and make it a great nation. His followers forced the rest of the nation to obey him. Similar things happened in Japan and Germany (English Online, n.d.). These countries wanted to make their nation a world power and made sure that they didn’t have to depend on other countries (Pearson History Group, 2013, pg 49). The rise of fascism started World War Two because people supported their fascist governments to solve their problems and also because if they disobeyed they would be punished (English Online,
Encyclopedia Britannica defines fascism as a “…political ideology and mass movement...” commonly characterized by “…misdirected anger and frustration…”, and the “… [the emphasization of] professional or class advantages…” It is believed to be motivated by a desire for “…cultural regeneration...”, or fear of communist revolution and commonly includes characteristics of strong militarism, a nation that uses its’ military liberally to defend national interests, and misogyny, dislike and prejudice of women. ( britannica.com). Large fascist movements have been pursued in Italy, Austria, Portugal, and Norway between 1920 and 1945, but are largely uncommon in the
...eir fascist Party, who’s name was derived from the groups of workers know as fasci--brought together under the hand of Mussolini to agitate for a change in social order." (159) Mussolini’s change of social order was to rule over several nations so he could be a powerful leader. He is willing to turn everything upside down. Mussolini is a heartless man or "god" who creates his own party so that he can rise to power.
This type of aggressive nationalism extensively emphasized the importance of a strong state. At the head of this state was Benito Mussolini. He came to power wanting to revolutionize Italy and restore its influence and glory. Mussolini did this by appealing to the Italian nation by intensely distributing and promoting propaganda. Looking at The Doctrine of Fascism, Mussolini addresses the loss of self in the promotion of total collectivism. He writes “fascism reasserts the rights of the state as expressing the real essence of the individual.” Mussolini associated fascism with religion and tradition. Fascism is to permeate throughout one’s life and work tirelessly to better the nation and more importantly the state. To expect complete devotion to the state is no small step. This requires a person to willingly conform and give one’s own individualistic power to the state. This effectively characterizes Fascism as extreme
In 1925, Mussolini declared himself dictator, and he established the OVRA and the Fasci di Combattimenti to exercise his will upon the population of Italy. He used these strongarm organizations to quell any possible threat to the unity of the state. Mussolini, operating as the dictator of Italy, answered to no one. His excess power led him to directly and indirectly commit many immoral acts. He was responsible for several war crimes committed against the Ethiopians during the second Italo-Abyssinian war, as well as the subjugation and indoctrination of his own people through the use of propaganda. In Mussolini’s Italy, the individual was at the very bottom of the totem pole of priority--one of the main aspects of Mussolini’s fascist ideology was that the state was always more important than the individual. However, Mussolini’s crooked use of power did not stop there. As seen in one aspect of his fascist propaganda, Mussolini states “We dream of a Roman Italy.” He attempted to revive the Roman Empire through imperialism, and justified his actions with a strong sense of nationalism. Mussolini used this same sense of nationalism to marginalize political dissent, branding those who opposed him as unpatriotic and as enemies of the state. Lastly, Mussolini both relied on and created reverence for other dictators of the time, such as
What is ideology? How can it help us understand media? Use academic literature to support your argument.