Totalitarianism in Italy

A totalitarian state is defined as “a few control everything,” and “the government controls every aspect of the citizens life.” This cannot be better exemplified than by Italy under the rule of the ruthless and violent dictator, Benito Mussolini. What a totalitarian state is, the characteristics it has, and how Italy turned into one are three points that will be studied in this essay. A brief look into Mussolini’s life and his rise to power will also be examined, as well as how his reign resulted for Italy and in turn, how it affected the whole world. An assessment of Italy as a totalitarian state will bring this essay to a close.

A totalitarian state is a highly centralized government controlled by one political group, and usually one leader. The duties of the citizen to the state are all-important. Political, economic and social life are all directed by the official party. Totalitarianism has one official plan that covers all vital aspects of human existence. The government monopolizes police, weapons, all means of mass communication (press, radio and films, art, music and literature), and has tight control of the country’s economy. It is used to train people to think and behave in a specific way.

In Italy, the development of a totalitarian state was made possible because fascism appealed to Italians. There was much unrest in Italy, and it seemed to be the only option. In the summer of 1920, dissatisfied workers caused the unrest, and growing populations of socialist parties worried middle-class Italians. Mussolini used turmoil to gain power.

Benito Mussolini was born on July 29, 1883 in Varnano dei Costa. He was named for the Mexican patriot Benito Juavez. He was the top of his class growing up, but he wasn’t quite a model student - he hated rich children and was almost expelled for stabbing one with a knife. This seems to be the first hint of a very violent future for Mussolini. As a young man, Mussolini worked as a union organizer and was expelled from Switzerland and Austria for Socialist agitation. He was a very talented writer; he wrote poems and a novel, The Cardinal’s Mistress, and edited a newspaper, Avanti. After WWI, in 1922, Mussolini organized a March on Rome with 26,000 followers. This massive display of political support convinced the King to make him Prime Minister. He was the youngest Prime Minister Italy had ever seen.

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... way of what he believed to be a perfect society. Evidently, things didn’t turn out as planned for Mussolini, but during his time as the leader of Italy, he definitely controlled the lives of many Italians and had things done his way. It was said of him “He is not, like Hitler, condemned out of his own mouth, nor by the notoriety and magnitude of his evil deeds. It may be that he began well and meant well, like so many of the Caesars before him, but that he ended ill as they did owing to the corruption of power.”4

1 Josh Brooman, Italy and Mussolini, p.17

2 Josh Brooman, Italy and Mussolini, p.19

3 Josh Brooman, Italy and Mussolini, p.23

4 Derek Heater, Case Studies in Twentieth-Century World History, p.79

Bibliography

Skipper, G.C. Mussolini: A Dictator Dies. Children’s Press: Chicago, 1989.

Brooman, Josh. Italy and Mussolini. Longman Group Limited:

New York, 1985.

Heater, Derek. Case Studies in Twentieth-Century World History.

Longman Group Limited: New York, 1988.

Benito Mussolini. http://history1900s.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.falange.org%2Fbenito.htm.