Fascist Ideology

Mussolini consolidation of fascist power in Italy in the years 1922-1929 could have been mainly due to the use of force and intimidation. However this was not a straightforward process, since fascism was a new thing. In the years 1922 to January 1925 marked the transition from the liberal parliamentary system to the fascist state. Like many political transitions, it was an untidy and complicated process. Although from the start Mussolini’s intentions were quite difficult to establish, however it could be that Mussolini wanted to set up from the beginning a totalitarian one party state.

Furthermore, people turned to fascism because of the Great Depression which cost many jobs and promise of a brighter future. Document A tells us that their economy fell pretty badly. It led to massive unemployment rates. There was not enough support for society because many nations were financially insecure due to the war. Fascist leaders painted a brighter picture of a booming economy and jobs to these people. The fascist leaders were able to pinpoint the supposed problems of the nations that caused them to decline. In document f, Hitler says that the Weimar Republic’s policies are to blame and the ideas that were spreading. Fascist leaders used the economic decline to their advantage by including it in their platform that they will work to bring jobs to everybody. In turn, Germany turned to fascism because they thought electing a fascist

Fascists believed that nations must struggle—peaceful states were doomed to be conquered.” (Hyperdoc Doc. 1). Mussolini believed that the nation must suffer through the Fascist ideals. Fascism also supports nationalism which is good for the morale of the country. Hitler agreed with the ideas of Fascism: “The Fascist worldview is

The rise of Fascism in Italy contributed to World War II because of it’s militaristic and nationalistic

Fascism admitted strong totalitarian overtones until it became interested in wars of colonial conquest. It had come to power because of the decaying social, economic and political conditions of post-World War I Italy. It had brought order out of chaos. Indeed, order was its strong selling point when, after a series of crippling strikes sponsored by the socialists, it had managed when the liberal democratic state could not manage.

The Importance of the Economic Factors in the Rise to Power of the Fascist Party in Italy

Benito Mussolini outlines several essential characteristics of his preferred political ideology, Fascism, in what has become known as the Doctrine of Fascism. In this paper, Mussolini outlines his vision of the ideology, and explains the major issues that Fascism will address once it becomes the leading political system in Italy. Mussolini’s major points as outlined in the Doctrine included an extreme emphasis on nationalism, organization and modernization of the state, persistent focus on religion, life as a struggle, and the notion that individuals exist only for the improvement of society as a whole. Wolfgang Schieder, after reviewing the Doctrine of Fascism, explains Mussolini’s success based on it and

The Fascists’ social and economic policies up to 1939 significantly aided their control over Italy yet may not be cited as the sole cause. The Fascist party’s social and economic policies along with other factors attributed to the overall control of Italy. Through such policies it was a certainty that the Fascist party would hold complete power over the population of Italy in each aspect of an individual’s life whether it was their leisure time through the Dopolavoro or at work under the corporate state system which was formally introduced in 1934. This complete domination of the Italian peoples’ lives could be argued to have been the instrumental factor behind the Fascists’ control over Italy up to 1939. Other factors which assisted the

The economic instability of Europe developed totalitarian goverments that began rising during the depression in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s. Germany, Italy, and Japan all became countries subjected to the rule of dictated military rule leaving no room for opposition. Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy in 1922 (Calvocoressi, Wint, p 777, 1999). Mussolini had his own philosophy that his destiny was to rule over Italy as Caesar in a more modern version while re-creating the Roman Empire. In his attempts in

Adolf Hitler and his Italian counterpart, Benito Mussolini, used fascism and its diabolical ideals to maintain power in their respective countries. Mussolini took power in 1922 by killing all of his opponents and silencing the rest. Italy became an authoritarian government depending from German aid in both military and economic aspects. Hitler on the other hand, created what he called “national socialism”, a form of government where he received all governmental powers and acted as such. Similar to Mussolini’s tactics, Hitler eliminated his opponents and anyone he saw unfit, such as: Jews, communists, gypsies, and other people who didn’t fit the Aryan stereotype. Fascism and socialism were just a few of the political views developed during the early 20th century, but were indeed the most

However, this ideology differs from anarchism in that fascists believe that the individual has power over the government, which is hinders social progress. Benito Mussolini, former Italian Prime Minister, coined the term fascism, and explains in The Doctrine of Fascism, explains how systems such as capitalism, democracy and liberalism did serve a historical purpose and led to progress in society, but they became problematic. He believed that liberalism caused problems in society because the individual put first before the state. State interests were denied in favor of individual rights, which made the state subservient. Mussolini also criticized socialism, explaining that it reduced all problems in society to economic problems, and advocated for class warfare, which causes a divide in society, causing harm to society as a whole. Liberal democracy does not work either because it is misleading, and based only on the interests of the majority.

Fascism was first detected after World War I in Italy. After the war, the people of Italy were ready for a new political aspect. Benito Mussolini was the man who brought this fascist ideology to Italy. Mussolini has been looking for the perfect opportunity to take complete control of a country and now was the time to do so. “In 1919 Mussolini and his followers, mostly war veterans, were organized along paramilitary lines and wore black shirts and uniforms.”(Halsall pg.2) After defeats at the polls Mussolini used his new financial backing to clothe a gang of thugs who

The economic issues in Italy lead to the rise of fascism. Mass unemployment meant that the socialists were rising in number. This meant that powerful industrialists turned to fascism as they would stop the trade unions from deciding workers’ rights. This leads to funding for the fascists helping them gain power. The economic crisis had brought about a huge rise in the support of socialism. The fascists became ever more appealing as their policies were anti socialist. They were not weak like the liberals in tackling socialism as they used

As a result of how Italy was created but not fully unified, the new Italian state suffered from a variety of weaknesses which the new liberal state was unable to tackle these. This made Italy susceptible to the appeal of fascism, and therefore aided Mussolini’s rise to power.

Fascism is anti- rationalist and counter-enlightenment which was a very late nineteenth century policy. The enlightenment was based on the ideas of universal reason, natural goodness and progress. It was committed to liberating humans from the darkness of irrationalism and superstition. Friedrich Nietzsche proposed that humans are motivated by powerful emotions rather than their rational mind which he called ‘will to power’. Many Fascists instead believe in vitalism where organisms gain characterises from instinct rather than reason. Anti-rationalism has influenced fascism in many ways. Firstly, it gave fascism anti- intellectualism reflected in its tendency to go straight into action. For example, Mussolini’s favourite slogans included ‘action not talk’ and ‘inactivity is death’. Secondly, by abandoning the standard of universal reason fascism placed its faith in history alone. For example, Mussolini promised to take Italy back to the time of the Roman Empire. While Hitler created a ‘Third Reich’ to follow