How Did Benito Mussolini Contribute To Fascism
Mussolini's Fascist Italy The rise of a new ideology often means a destruction of the old or previous one. After World War I, many countries such as Italy faced social discontent due to a staggering number of deaths that occurred and had left the economy weak. The working class believed in opposition of the liberal government, which led to other political ideologies taking the stage. Italy’s move toward fascism was due to the people’s fear of a socialist revolution. Fascism is a political ideology that took over Italy in 1919. It is referred to as a non democratic government that supports nationalism, loyalty to the state, violence, and expansion of the country. It also is known to be anti-communist and anti-liberal. The Italian people were not in favor of the liberal government that was taking place at this time because of WW1 and its economy's inflation. Thus cleared the path for Benito Mussolini to spread fascist ideas. The fascist movement was introduced by Italy's new dictator Benito Mussolini by the support of the
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people during the March on Rome. This lead to stability and success for a short time period before its decline. The March on Rome influenced the fascist movement and helped establish Mussolini's dictatorship through the use of nationalism, totalitarianism, and other elements of fascism that strengthened his power.
The term fascists is derived from the latin word “fascio” which means a pack together is stronger than a single individual. The symbol of fascism is a bundle of sticks grouped together, which dates back during the Roman Empire where it was a representation of unity and strength. This symbol has been used in other revolutions before Mussolini had introduced it to the people of Italy. It inspired Mussolini to create the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, which means the revolutionary league of Italian combats in 1919. It was not until later on in the early twenties that Mussolini led this league onto the March on Rome. This league was still developing and its main foundation concentrated on being highly nationalistic.
In fascism, nationalism is highly supported and is one of the reasons why this ideology gained encouragement from the people in the beginning. Nationalism is referred to as citizen’s pride of their country and its people as well as the state's ability to triumph. After the Great War Italians sensed a loss of nationalism and by introducing fascism through the March on Rome, citizens were able to gain that pride back. Fascism uses nationalism as a way to unify the nation together for triumph and success as an entire country. The people need to be willing to put the nation first. Moreover, it is closely linked with national control over a homeland and highlights the country’s customs. Italy went through a reactionary form of nationalism, which was a response to fundamental economic changes that created a sense of anomie. This psychological state of rootedness or despair was solved by Italians when they favored the fascist movement and supported the March on Rome. Nationalism is used by fascists to explain why other elements such as aggression are implemented. Although fascism prides itself on maintaining nationalistic components, it also uses totalitarianism which is not part of the nationalism movement. Fascism is a political ideology that also uses aggression as a tool to create social change. Totalitarianism is used in this ideology, which is maintaining total power through the use of violence as a way to control all social and political factors of the country. However by doing so, it affects the citizen’s domestic lives significantly. This type of government proclaims to have dominance over institutions as a one party state, eliminating any other political parties that consider running against it. Therefore, in this particular ideology, no other party has the power to decide how to run the government. According to Michael Mann, a professor on sociology at the University of Los Angeles, states “...all social movements wield combinations of control over ultimate meaning systems (ideology), control over production (economic), control over organized physical violence (military) and control over territorial institutions of regulation (political)” (Mann 2). This emphasizes that all social, economic, and military are controlled by the state and the ability to suppress these institutions is in the hands of the leader who has the power to control his people. By controlling the means of production, the state has the authority to make trade deals, as well as suggest what products can be produced, and overall maintain the economy. In Italy Mussolini approved of capitalism as a way to stimulate the economy. Moreover, by having control over the military, strengthens the power of the dictator because he has the ability to make sure everyone follows his rule and if not he can punish those who do not abide by the orders. This ideology has several other differences compared to the other non democratic ideologies.
Fascism has elements that intersect with Nazism, but differs because it does not support the theory of superiority of a particular race. Nazism used media as a way to distort the facts by extreme use of propaganda. Both of these ideologies believe in running the government based on implementing laws that give little to no freedom or equality as a way to maintain power and control. In order to run the government, fascism and nazism believe the people need to exclude their personal interests and focus on the nation’s growth. Most importantly, these ideologies have a dictator that sets the foundation of rules the nation follows through for its success.
Benito Mussolini was known as the founder of fascism in Italy and through his dictatorship he paved the path toward the fascist movement.
The March on Rome signified a revolution without having a civil war break loose. Mussolini's military consisted of a large amount of supporters from the elite to the middle classes, therefore it intimidated King Emmanuel III and he agreed to make him Prime Minister of Italy because he feared a socialist revolution. Giulia Albanese, a professor at the University of Padova, Italy states “[f]ascist propaganda repeatedly recalled this event, and celebrated it as a revolutionary turning point” (Albanese 405). This indicates the March on Rome helped ignite the revolution and turned Italy from a monarchy into a dictatorship. Furthermore, the March on Rome indicated the advancement of the use of propaganda as a tool to convince people it was the right time to unite and take the country back to the path of
success.
The March on Rome played a significant role in the rise of fascism because it led to the collapse of King Victor Emmanuel III. The March on Rome was when Mussolini's fascist supporters marched through the capital of Italy. His leadership was supported by the blackshirts who were part of a loose band military group that later become known as (MVSN) the formal military of Italy. The army of Rome was much larger than the blackshirts so the prime minister at the time did not see the small group as a threat because he created a document that would prevent the march from occurring. However, King Emmanuel III neglected to sign because he did not trust the his own army. Since King Emmanuel did not sign the document, Mussolini decided not to march and instead came on a train. This became a turning point in history of Italy because if Emmanuel III would have signed the document the fascist party would have not rose into power. After the success of March of Rome, Mussolini slowly transformed his role of prime minister into a dictatorship.
Mussolini used intimidation as a technique to attain dictatorship. When he became prime minister of Italy he stated the Bivouac Speech to the parliament where he then used intimidation to win votes of approval. In the speech he states “ I could have barred the doors of parliament and formed a government exclusively of fascists, but I choose not to, at least for the present” ( Morgan 85). This speech was his way to let the members know that they do not possess power any longer. Furthermore, the blackshirts were implemented to set his authoritarian power because he used them to threaten the members. His threat was if they did not vote in his favor he would eliminate the parliamentary system as well as anyone else who stood in his way of completing his goal of a fascist nation.
Fascism rose after WW1, which created a revolution where the government went from King Emmanuel III's rule into Mussolini's Dictatorship. The March on Rome helped Mussolini receive support from Italians and used the blackshirts as a weapon against the army that was in place at the time. Mussolini's use of fascist ideas helped him achieve his goals on obtaining control over Italy as a dictator. He used nationalism as a main component to enter the hearts of Italians and obtain their support, as well as aggression to maintain total control over the government. Fascism is a political ideology that Mussolini implemented to achieve his goal of acquiring power. His small group of military known as the blackshirts helped him achieve his way into the parliament government. After WWII, Mussolini's regime fell and Marshal Pietro Badoglio became prime minister with the help of the Allied Powers. Today, Italy is known as a republic where the people choose elected officials to represent them and have a president as well as a prime minister represent the government. The collapse of Mussolini impacted Italy overall because it created a time where dictatorship led the country into a fascist movement that promoted extreme levels of oppression, however after WWII Italy was able to become a republic that it is known as today.
people during the March on Rome. This lead to stability and success for a short time period before its decline. The March on Rome influenced the fascist movement and helped establish Mussolini's dictatorship through the use of nationalism, totalitarianism, and other elements of fascism that strengthened his power.
The term fascists is derived from the latin word “fascio” which means a pack together is stronger than a single individual. The symbol of fascism is a bundle of sticks grouped together, which dates back during the Roman Empire where it was a representation of unity and strength. This symbol has been used in other revolutions before Mussolini had introduced it to the people of Italy. It inspired Mussolini to create the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, which means the revolutionary league of Italian combats in 1919. It was not until later on in the early twenties that Mussolini led this league onto the March on Rome. This league was still developing and its main foundation concentrated on being highly nationalistic.
In fascism, nationalism is highly supported and is one of the reasons why this ideology gained encouragement from the people in the beginning. Nationalism is referred to as citizen’s pride of their country and its people as well as the state's ability to triumph. After the Great War Italians sensed a loss of nationalism and by introducing fascism through the March on Rome, citizens were able to gain that pride back. Fascism uses nationalism as a way to unify the nation together for triumph and success as an entire country. The people need to be willing to put the nation first. Moreover, it is closely linked with national control over a homeland and highlights the country’s customs. Italy went through a reactionary form of nationalism, which was a response to fundamental economic changes that created a sense of anomie. This psychological state of rootedness or despair was solved by Italians when they favored the fascist movement and supported the March on Rome. Nationalism is used by fascists to explain why other elements such as aggression are implemented. Although fascism prides itself on maintaining nationalistic components, it also uses totalitarianism which is not part of the nationalism movement. Fascism is a political ideology that also uses aggression as a tool to create social change. Totalitarianism is used in this ideology, which is maintaining total power through the use of violence as a way to control all social and political factors of the country. However by doing so, it affects the citizen’s domestic lives significantly. This type of government proclaims to have dominance over institutions as a one party state, eliminating any other political parties that consider running against it. Therefore, in this particular ideology, no other party has the power to decide how to run the government. According to Michael Mann, a professor on sociology at the University of Los Angeles, states “...all social movements wield combinations of control over ultimate meaning systems (ideology), control over production (economic), control over organized physical violence (military) and control over territorial institutions of regulation (political)” (Mann 2). This emphasizes that all social, economic, and military are controlled by the state and the ability to suppress these institutions is in the hands of the leader who has the power to control his people. By controlling the means of production, the state has the authority to make trade deals, as well as suggest what products can be produced, and overall maintain the economy. In Italy Mussolini approved of capitalism as a way to stimulate the economy. Moreover, by having control over the military, strengthens the power of the dictator because he has the ability to make sure everyone follows his rule and if not he can punish those who do not abide by the orders. This ideology has several other differences compared to the other non democratic ideologies.
Fascism has elements that intersect with Nazism, but differs because it does not support the theory of superiority of a particular race. Nazism used media as a way to distort the facts by extreme use of propaganda. Both of these ideologies believe in running the government based on implementing laws that give little to no freedom or equality as a way to maintain power and control. In order to run the government, fascism and nazism believe the people need to exclude their personal interests and focus on the nation’s growth. Most importantly, these ideologies have a dictator that sets the foundation of rules the nation follows through for its success.
Benito Mussolini was known as the founder of fascism in Italy and through his dictatorship he paved the path toward the fascist movement.
The March on Rome signified a revolution without having a civil war break loose. Mussolini's military consisted of a large amount of supporters from the elite to the middle classes, therefore it intimidated King Emmanuel III and he agreed to make him Prime Minister of Italy because he feared a socialist revolution. Giulia Albanese, a professor at the University of Padova, Italy states “[f]ascist propaganda repeatedly recalled this event, and celebrated it as a revolutionary turning point” (Albanese 405). This indicates the March on Rome helped ignite the revolution and turned Italy from a monarchy into a dictatorship. Furthermore, the March on Rome indicated the advancement of the use of propaganda as a tool to convince people it was the right time to unite and take the country back to the path of
success.
The March on Rome played a significant role in the rise of fascism because it led to the collapse of King Victor Emmanuel III. The March on Rome was when Mussolini's fascist supporters marched through the capital of Italy. His leadership was supported by the blackshirts who were part of a loose band military group that later become known as (MVSN) the formal military of Italy. The army of Rome was much larger than the blackshirts so the prime minister at the time did not see the small group as a threat because he created a document that would prevent the march from occurring. However, King Emmanuel III neglected to sign because he did not trust the his own army. Since King Emmanuel did not sign the document, Mussolini decided not to march and instead came on a train. This became a turning point in history of Italy because if Emmanuel III would have signed the document the fascist party would have not rose into power. After the success of March of Rome, Mussolini slowly transformed his role of prime minister into a dictatorship.
Mussolini used intimidation as a technique to attain dictatorship. When he became prime minister of Italy he stated the Bivouac Speech to the parliament where he then used intimidation to win votes of approval. In the speech he states “ I could have barred the doors of parliament and formed a government exclusively of fascists, but I choose not to, at least for the present” ( Morgan 85). This speech was his way to let the members know that they do not possess power any longer. Furthermore, the blackshirts were implemented to set his authoritarian power because he used them to threaten the members. His threat was if they did not vote in his favor he would eliminate the parliamentary system as well as anyone else who stood in his way of completing his goal of a fascist nation.
Fascism rose after WW1, which created a revolution where the government went from King Emmanuel III's rule into Mussolini's Dictatorship. The March on Rome helped Mussolini receive support from Italians and used the blackshirts as a weapon against the army that was in place at the time. Mussolini's use of fascist ideas helped him achieve his goals on obtaining control over Italy as a dictator. He used nationalism as a main component to enter the hearts of Italians and obtain their support, as well as aggression to maintain total control over the government. Fascism is a political ideology that Mussolini implemented to achieve his goal of acquiring power. His small group of military known as the blackshirts helped him achieve his way into the parliament government. After WWII, Mussolini's regime fell and Marshal Pietro Badoglio became prime minister with the help of the Allied Powers. Today, Italy is known as a republic where the people choose elected officials to represent them and have a president as well as a prime minister represent the government. The collapse of Mussolini impacted Italy overall because it created a time where dictatorship led the country into a fascist movement that promoted extreme levels of oppression, however after WWII Italy was able to become a republic that it is known as today.