Bread And Wine Socialism

Perry Wilson is a Professor of Modern European history and research co-ordinator for history at the University of Dundee. She was Chair of the Association for the Study of Modern Italy from 2006-09 and is currently Vice-Convenor of Women's History Scotland. In her article, The Nation in Uniform, she explains aspects of how uniforms were used in fascist Italy. Wilson argues that uniforms were an important element in establishing Fascist rule in Italy, and thus changing the ways Italians think and behave. Wilson goes on to support her thesis with two main arguments and a counter-argument.

Mussolini's Rise to Power. Anti Essays. Retrieved September 7, 2015, from the World Wide Web: http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/Mussolini-s-Rise-To-Power-342948.html

During the Second World War, Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was the leader of the Italian Nationalist Fascist government. He was head of the Italian government from 1922 till 1943. The significance of Mussolini is that he played a key role acting as the Italian Prime Minister and established a totalitarian regime, during this time, as the unchallenged supreme leader, known as ‘Il Duce’. Fascism consisted of many contributors of which Mussolini with all his quirks was the key to most of its failures and successes, making him the most significant player that is worthy of being investigated. This topic is worthy of being investigated as Mussolini made a lot of decisions that lead to the death of many, but the question as to

Italian Fascism is an authoritarian and nationalistic system of government and social organization, it was the political result of the relationship between socialist and nationalist rhetoric. It is a form of governance which employs intolerant views and practices, advocating traditionalism, interventionism and sameness rather than individualism. In order to promote their totalitarian ideals during the 1930s to 1945 fascist politicians such as Benito Mussolini, who had previously been a socialist newspaper editor, employed propaganda that included virtually all modes of media: the press, posters and film. The widespread dissemination of totalitarian ideals infiltrated into the school system where young Italians born from 1910 to 1935 were taught to “obey and fight.” The purpose of this paper is to analyse the diffusion of the Italian Identity through fascist propaganda from 1922-1943 and the identity that was diffused as a result of the exploitation of Mussolini’s various propaganda mediums. Did fascist propaganda contribute to the diffusion of an Italian identity? If so, what identity was diffused?

Giolitti’s government was extremely unsuccessful in promoting political stability in Italy. It seemed that the Italian liberal state suffered from political divisions all over the country; this was something no other Liberal western power had experience in the years 1903 to 1914. However under the ‘political divisions’, Giolitti was trying to reform and modernise Italy during his periods in power as Prime Minister. Giolitti and his government attempted to broaden support for Liberalism by appealing to traditionally hostile groups such as the Catholics and the working-class, created a grand trasformismo (a key concept used to

Here, he states, “We must go halfway toward meeting the workers… we must approach the workers who are returning from the trenches…we must therefore accept the demand of the working class” (Stone 2013, 38). In making this comment, Mussolini argues that the working class should be valued and recognized for their hard work and contributions. Where, his government will appreciate the common people, the Socialist party has done nothing but abandoned them. The socialist party does not care about taking responsibility of their citizens: those who have returned from war, those who work many hours without sufficient pay or insurance. Mussolini wanted to get the people on his side and to illustrate for them a world of economic democracy.

War is inevitable, as it is simply the manifestation of the strength and vigour of the Italian people that wishes to expand itself, never looking back. Peace was considered as merely a “mask to surrender and cowardice.” Mussolini stressed that Italians required “forces, duty, and sacrifice” in order to rise again to their former greatness, that of the Roman Empire. This is also Mussolini’s rationale for harsh and severe actions against any who would resist or try and undermine fascism.

In this Italian form of fascism, a few of Dr. Lawrence Britt’s defining characteristics of fascism are evident. Britt asserts the following are common of fascist regimes: “controlled mass media”, “religion and government are intertwined”, and “rampant cronyism and corruption”. Italian fascism saw numerous anti-fascist newspapers suppressed, and/or editors of such papers replaced with fascist supporters. Furthermore, Mussolini saw that his Catholic practices were brought to the masses through ‘legislation’. Mussolini passed laws

Consider the intricate sociopolitical climate of Italy just before the film’s release in 1948. Italy would hold its first election after almost twenty years of rule, Benito Mussolini was overthrown as head of Fascism and prime minister of the Italian government on July 15, 1943. The political framework of the Italians

Italy was a poor nation. Although Italy was one of the victorious Allies in World War I, Italians believed that their country had been betrayed by the peace settlement of 1919 by being denied the territory and status it deserved. A recently created electoral system based on universal manhood suffrage had produced parliamentary chaos and ministerial instability. The lack of coherent political programs only heightened the general disapproval with government that accompanied the peace negotiations. People were beginning to doubt the parliamentary regime’s hold on the future. It was under those circumstances that the Fascist party, led by Benito Mussolini (1883–1945), entered politics in 1920 by attacking the large Socialist and Popular (Catholic) parties.

To further their fear factor the black shirts went as far as murdering socialist politician Giacomo Matteotti, who deprecated Mussolini’s violent tactics to gain votes, to prove the supremacy the fascist party had over Italy. No one was capable of escaping the wrath of the Black Shirts. Even if they did fall through the grips of the Black Shirts; Mussolini had an exclusive police

Fascism such as that displayed in post-World War 1 Italy was in many ways a contradictory ideology; anti-modernism contrasted with technological obsession and anti-democratic views paired with capitalism. Despite this ambiguity of the fascist ideology, one clear characteristic among almost all fascists throughout history has been a heavy focus on militarism – an aspect of Mussolini’s Italy which was intrinsically tied to his use of terror and force to achieve fascist political agendas.

Giuseppe Mazzini was instrumental in unifying the Italian nation as his ideals spread throughout Italy’s intellectual community. Although many of his attempts at rallying the common people to a revolution failed, he circulated and popularized the idea of a fully unified Italy for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire. In his work “The Duties of Man,” Mazzini establishes that he is largely a romantic nationalist, since he draws heavily on history; however, he utilizes the power of certain liberal nationalist sentiments such as individuals’ rights in his own work.

The Italian fascist regime between the years 1922 to 1943 provoked many changes in areas such as education, religion, foreign influence and culture. In the film Un Tè Con Mussolini, Zeffirelli attempts to advocate certain implications to the viewers by purposely choosing to either conceal or reveal many of these transitions and their effects on the different sectors of Italian society. For instance, although the central character Luca is presented to have some form of schooling the film fails to address any of the educational procedures that the Prime Minister put in place in order to eliminate illiteracy and allow for all children to attain a decent education. Instead of highlighting the success in this part of the regime, Zeffirelli rather

Zeev Sternhell, have proposed the origins of fascism as a cultural or intellectual movement beginning in early 20th century France and Italy (cite). Does Pirandello's claim of partial intellectual ownership give creed to this theory? Certainly his flirtation with and later marriage (a metaphor used by Letizia Argenteri in her paper Pirandello and Fascism) to fascism seems to be more of an ideological than political affair. His early identification of Mussolini with his central philosophy of life and form justified his dedication to the strong leader, though he'd later disparage the distinctly fascist cult of personality. "Around him," Pirandello complains to Marta Abba, "there must be a level of heads that can barely reach his knee, not one inch more" (Argenteri 134). We also see Pirandello speak — through a drunken character in one of his earlier novels — on his distrust in democracy in relation to the dictator. Democracy, after all, had failed to prevent the Great War which had so affected the Italian consciousness. Perhaps the Italians would do better under a united regime. "When you have one boss, he knows that it's his job to satisfy many people; but when everybody has a say in running things, everybody thinks of satisfying himself" (Late Mattia Pascal). Another interpretation of Six Characters presents the