31795

Mussolini

May 10, 2023•900 words

Benito Mussolini

Life

  • Pre-fascist era: Liberalism
    • Small government
    • Free market capitalism
    • Individual rights
    • Democracy
    • Great Depression created growing support for extremist illiberal ideas
    • Leads to a rise of fascism and communism
    • 1917-1945: Crisis of democracy
  • Formation of Italy
    • Congress of Vienna 1815: Monarchical absolutism
    • Italian revolutions: spread from Spain, occur throughout Italy
    • Return of the French in 1849: Reinstate pope
    • Italy 1861” Victor Emmanuel II is King, Kingdom of Sardinia,
    • 1871: Rome becomes capital again, Austrians expelled
  • Risorgimento
    • Re-rise, hate toward foreign powers (French) and love for own country
    • Revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini became loyal to Sardina, reunification under monarch
  • Early life
    • born July 29, 1883, Predappio, Italy
    • Lived from 1883-1945
    • Eldest child of the local blacksmith
    • Father was a part-time socialist journalist too and son of a lieutenant in the National Guard
    • So, Mussolini grew up with nationalism and socialism
    • Mother was a schoolteacher
    • Mussolinis were rather poor
    • Father spent all his time discussing politics in tavern and spending money on his mistress, neglecting his family
    • As a child, Mussolini was disobedient, unruly, aggressive
    • Bully at school
  • Education
    • Sent to board with the strict Salesian order at Faenza, continued to get in trouble like in stabbing a pupil with a penknife and attacking an instructor that tried to beat him
    • Expelled and sent to Giosuè Carducci School at Forlimpopoli, from which he was also expelled after assaulting another pupil with a penknife.
    • Passed his examination, obtained a teaching degree but soon decided he did not like such work
    • At 19, goes to Switzerland and worked various jobs to escape military service
    • Studied Nietzsche and Sorel
    • Advocated for violent strikes
    • Gained a reputation for rhetorical talents
    • Formed no coherent philosophy of his own but still impressed his companions as a potential revolutionary
    • Arrested add imprisoned several times

Italy

  • WWI
    • 1915: Joins Entente powers with Treaty of London
    • Declares war on Austria-Hungary
    • Paris Peace Conference granted very little territorial gains (Vittoria Mutilata)
    • Unemployment was high, soldiers did not get promised land from their government (but they got the vote)
    • Blamed government
  • Unrest
    • Red Biennium: increased support for socialist parties
    • Others turned to Mussolini’s fascists, many unemployed soldiers joined the blackshirts and fought communists
    • PM Giovanni Giolitti called an election, forms a coalition with Mussolini hoping it would keep them in check
    • Communist party also gained seats
    • 1921: Fascists become a formal political party PNF (Partito Nazionale Fascista)
  • Mussolini takes power
    • October 28th, 1922 they march on Rome, Mussolini was not there, ready to flee
    • King did not allow the army to violently put down the group, made Mussolini the PM
    • Changed proportional representation system
    • Giacomo Acerbo puts reforms in place so that the winning party gets a clear majority, supported by most parties
    • January 3rd, 1925: Dares chamber of deputies to remove him, they do not
    • He later becomes head of government rather than PM, Il Duche
    • Banned opposition parties

Philosophy

  • Nationalism
    • Promoted Italy’s joining the Entente in WWI
    • Kicked out of his socialist newspaper
    • Ultranationalist autocracy: Strong leader (Machismo), national patriotism
    • Interest of the country of highest order, self-sufficiency (Autarky) and self-ruling\
    • Need for high birth rate for the economic and military manpower needed for war
  • Fascismo
    • From Italian word fascio, meaning bundle, strength in unity
    • Image of the sheath is very old, bundle around an axe
    • State creations the nation
    • Loyalty to family, state, country, history
    • 1915 Establishes Fasci D’Azione Rivoluzionaria
    • Anti-socialist, in favor of economic intervention
    • Economy exists for the state
    • Force as legitimate part of politics (black shirts)
    • Anti-democratic, absolute control of state
    • Saw democracy as weak and ineffective
    • Aggressive foreign policy, cultural superiority

  • Conclusions

    • His Doctrine of Fascism (1932) rejects 19th century facsism
    • Fascism was the new ideology of the century
    • Imperialist, authoritarian
    • Mussolini condemns this work later, shifting position again

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  • Qualities of totalitarianism

    • Collectivism over individualism
    • Authoritarian strong leader, image of the leader well-preserved
    • Military hierarchy
    • Everything within the state
    • Economic intervention, centralized/planned economy
    • Maintained by violence
    • No separation of power and abolition of other parties
    • “total” control and uniformity
    • Control of art and media
    • Use of symbols
    • Education controlled by regimes
    • Mass movements, workers
    • Workers benefits
    • Youth movements
    • Funded massive projects

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  • Differences between communism and fascism

    • Fascism is national, communism is international
    • Communists look to the future, fascists look to their history
    • State control: Fascism still had the corporate state and private property
    • In communism, everything under the state and no private property
    • Organization: society is classless, fascist it is hierarchical
    • Mussolini devised division of corporatism, classes by economic activities
    • Fascism more militarist
    • Communism: history is a struggle between classes
    • Fascism: history is a struggle between states and people
    • Nazism: history is a struggle between races

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Impact

  • Nazi party
    • Idolized by Nazis early on
    • Adopted fascism from them

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