How Did Benito Mussolini Contribute To The Rise Of Fascism
The end of the First World War left Italy vulnerable. Italian citizens were largely unhappy with the state of their war-torn country and dissatisfied with the results of the Versailles Peace Conference. Due to the monetary pressures inflicted by the war, many had trouble surviving in the post-war economy. Frustrated with their current political system, unsettled citizens turned to violent, revolutionary groups who were willing to use any amount of force necessary to create change. Soon, a charismatic man named Benito Mussolini rose to power within the fascist movement. Mussolini’s power quickly grew; his threat of massive force convinced the king to appoint him prime minister of Italy. Mussolini’s fascism had infiltrated the government, allowing
…show more content…
him to force upon the nation his radical ideology. Mussolini, with support from the king, the Vatican, and the Italian military, attempted to create a society based upon several tenets of Mussolini’s fascism: glorification of the state, totalitarianism, use of violence as a political tactic, and national regeneration. Perhaps the tenet most central to Mussolini’s fascist ideology was the glorification of the State as supreme to the individual. Mussolini described the State as an absolute entity, which “is itself conscious and has itself a will and a personality” (Mussolini, 1932). He even went so far as to compare the State to life itself, asserting that “there can be no conception of the State which is not fundamentally a conception of life” (Mussolini, 1935). This philosophy of national unity recognized an individual as legitimate only when he or she acts within the context of the State. According to Mussolini’s fascism, a man that succeeded in his quest to exalt the State above all else and managed to align his own interests with those of the state, would “achieve that purely spiritual existence in which his value as a man exists” (Mussolini, 1935). It was believed the state “stands for the conscience and the universal will of man as a historic entity” (Mussolini, 1935); in other words, the state provided a standard to which all citizens must hold themselves.
Mussolini’s famous slogan, “All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state” (Cardoza, p. 61) proved just how supreme he wanted the government to be. Mussolini took severe measures to ensure allegiance to the Fascist State: he made it illegal to openly oppose fascism, and required all state employees to pledge their dedication to the government. Further, the dictator wanted his citizens to be dependent on the state to survive. In order to achieve this, he provided high-ranking jobs for citizens who openly supported fascism and arrested those who did not (Cardoza, p. 61). Mussolini saw children growing up under fascist regime as a prime way to create a nation dedicated to their government: schools were required to perform the Roman salute, and teachers seen as antifascist were removed. School supervisors gained the power to regulate the ideology of teachers and students alike (Cardoza, p. 62). Fascism’s glorification of the state was arguably the most significant tenet of Mussolini’s radical ideology, because it allowed the leaders of the state to form a powerful dictatorship. The dictatorship formed under Mussolini’s reign is the foundation of another tenet of fascism: totalitarianism. Fascist ideology strongly rejected liberalism and democracy as impractical and old-fashioned and instead promoted a totalitarian regime.
A government controlled by the people was seen as overly complex and illogical. According to Mussolini, “fascism denies that the majority, by the simple fact that it is a majority, can direct human society” (Mussolini, 1932). It was believed that universal suffrage would give power to those who were not capable of handling it. The leaders of the Fascist State, it was believed, were the only ones fit to make decisions for individuals acting within that state (Mussolini, 1932). Similarly, fascists viewed liberalism’s policy of nonintervention as exhausted and unwarranted. Liberalism, like democracy, gave too much power to the individual, clashing with fascism’s view of the state as all-encompassing. “Liberalism denied the State in the name of the individual: Fascism reasserts the rights of the State as expressing the real essence of the individual” (Mussolini, 1935). According to Mussolini’s fascism, the state could thrive only under totalitarian government. The Fascist State took of its citizens “all useless and possibly harmful freedom” (Mussolini, 1932). Mussolini was able to transform Italy into a totalitarian nation from his position as prime minister of Italy and with the support of the Vatican and the Italian military. The king, too, helped Mussolini in his rise to dictatorship: he willingly abolished the laws that made Italy a nation of liberalism (Cardoza, p.
88). Even in its earliest state, fascism used violence and warfare as the main component of political strategy. Such an immediate reversal of Italy’s governmental system naturally met opposition from some of its citizens. However, outspoken antifascists were detrimental to the totalitarian nation Mussolini was trying to create. Violence, in Mussolini’s opinion, was justified when an individual refused to conform to the Fascist State. Mussolini viewed the revolutionary movement as inevitable and direly needed, and were willing to take “necessarily severe measures” to ensure its success (Mussolini, 1932). Additionally, fascists strongly supported Italian involvement in World War I and believed “neither in the possibility nor the utility of perpetual peace” (Mussolini, 1932). Mussolini viewed pacifism as nothing more than cowardice; he argued that fighting in a war is noble work, and was the only true test of courage (Mussolini, 1932). Mussolini held this view long before his rise to power as a fascist leader; in fact, he was removed from the socialist party due to his support of Italian involvement in the First World War. Even after his exit from socialism, he argued that war was the best way to unify the nation (Cardoza, p. 103). After his rise to power, Mussolini further showed his brutality by ordering a militarized attack on Ethiopia in an attempt to assert his power as a world leader to be feared. The fascist leader wanted a quick victory, and ordered that his troops utilize “all means of war necessary, I say all, both from the air and on the ground” (Cardoza, p. 111). His actions, if having occurred today, would classify Mussolini as an international war criminal (Cardoza, p. 109). Furthermore, Mussolini militarized the Italian police force in his attempt to retain dedication to the State. He ordered police to move “aggressively against any form of overt political protest or opposition” (Cardoza, p. 60). Mussolini viewed the implementation of fascism as the national regeneration of which Italy was in dire need. He argued, “never before has the nation stood more in need of authority, of direction and order” (Mussolini, 1932); the totalitarian, nationalistic government fascism sought to provide would bring just that. He described earlier ideology as outdated and useless, and even threatened to use severe force against anyone who attempted to resist the new ways. Mussolini desired to make fascism the ideology that defined the new century: “if every age has its own characteristic doctrine, there are a thousand signs which point to Fascism as the characteristic doctrine of our time” (Mussolini, 1932). He asserted that fascism was a direct result of the mundane individualism that characterized the 20th century’s predecessor, and was thus meant as an antidote for the flawed political system that had arisen (Mussolini, 1935). Said flawed political system was one of liberalism and democracy; it focused more on the rights of the people than those of the state. Mussolini worked to reverse that order and establish a nation that would willingly submit to, and fear, its leader.
him to force upon the nation his radical ideology. Mussolini, with support from the king, the Vatican, and the Italian military, attempted to create a society based upon several tenets of Mussolini’s fascism: glorification of the state, totalitarianism, use of violence as a political tactic, and national regeneration. Perhaps the tenet most central to Mussolini’s fascist ideology was the glorification of the State as supreme to the individual. Mussolini described the State as an absolute entity, which “is itself conscious and has itself a will and a personality” (Mussolini, 1932). He even went so far as to compare the State to life itself, asserting that “there can be no conception of the State which is not fundamentally a conception of life” (Mussolini, 1935). This philosophy of national unity recognized an individual as legitimate only when he or she acts within the context of the State. According to Mussolini’s fascism, a man that succeeded in his quest to exalt the State above all else and managed to align his own interests with those of the state, would “achieve that purely spiritual existence in which his value as a man exists” (Mussolini, 1935). It was believed the state “stands for the conscience and the universal will of man as a historic entity” (Mussolini, 1935); in other words, the state provided a standard to which all citizens must hold themselves.
Mussolini’s famous slogan, “All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state” (Cardoza, p. 61) proved just how supreme he wanted the government to be. Mussolini took severe measures to ensure allegiance to the Fascist State: he made it illegal to openly oppose fascism, and required all state employees to pledge their dedication to the government. Further, the dictator wanted his citizens to be dependent on the state to survive. In order to achieve this, he provided high-ranking jobs for citizens who openly supported fascism and arrested those who did not (Cardoza, p. 61). Mussolini saw children growing up under fascist regime as a prime way to create a nation dedicated to their government: schools were required to perform the Roman salute, and teachers seen as antifascist were removed. School supervisors gained the power to regulate the ideology of teachers and students alike (Cardoza, p. 62). Fascism’s glorification of the state was arguably the most significant tenet of Mussolini’s radical ideology, because it allowed the leaders of the state to form a powerful dictatorship. The dictatorship formed under Mussolini’s reign is the foundation of another tenet of fascism: totalitarianism. Fascist ideology strongly rejected liberalism and democracy as impractical and old-fashioned and instead promoted a totalitarian regime.
A government controlled by the people was seen as overly complex and illogical. According to Mussolini, “fascism denies that the majority, by the simple fact that it is a majority, can direct human society” (Mussolini, 1932). It was believed that universal suffrage would give power to those who were not capable of handling it. The leaders of the Fascist State, it was believed, were the only ones fit to make decisions for individuals acting within that state (Mussolini, 1932). Similarly, fascists viewed liberalism’s policy of nonintervention as exhausted and unwarranted. Liberalism, like democracy, gave too much power to the individual, clashing with fascism’s view of the state as all-encompassing. “Liberalism denied the State in the name of the individual: Fascism reasserts the rights of the State as expressing the real essence of the individual” (Mussolini, 1935). According to Mussolini’s fascism, the state could thrive only under totalitarian government. The Fascist State took of its citizens “all useless and possibly harmful freedom” (Mussolini, 1932). Mussolini was able to transform Italy into a totalitarian nation from his position as prime minister of Italy and with the support of the Vatican and the Italian military. The king, too, helped Mussolini in his rise to dictatorship: he willingly abolished the laws that made Italy a nation of liberalism (Cardoza, p.
88). Even in its earliest state, fascism used violence and warfare as the main component of political strategy. Such an immediate reversal of Italy’s governmental system naturally met opposition from some of its citizens. However, outspoken antifascists were detrimental to the totalitarian nation Mussolini was trying to create. Violence, in Mussolini’s opinion, was justified when an individual refused to conform to the Fascist State. Mussolini viewed the revolutionary movement as inevitable and direly needed, and were willing to take “necessarily severe measures” to ensure its success (Mussolini, 1932). Additionally, fascists strongly supported Italian involvement in World War I and believed “neither in the possibility nor the utility of perpetual peace” (Mussolini, 1932). Mussolini viewed pacifism as nothing more than cowardice; he argued that fighting in a war is noble work, and was the only true test of courage (Mussolini, 1932). Mussolini held this view long before his rise to power as a fascist leader; in fact, he was removed from the socialist party due to his support of Italian involvement in the First World War. Even after his exit from socialism, he argued that war was the best way to unify the nation (Cardoza, p. 103). After his rise to power, Mussolini further showed his brutality by ordering a militarized attack on Ethiopia in an attempt to assert his power as a world leader to be feared. The fascist leader wanted a quick victory, and ordered that his troops utilize “all means of war necessary, I say all, both from the air and on the ground” (Cardoza, p. 111). His actions, if having occurred today, would classify Mussolini as an international war criminal (Cardoza, p. 109). Furthermore, Mussolini militarized the Italian police force in his attempt to retain dedication to the State. He ordered police to move “aggressively against any form of overt political protest or opposition” (Cardoza, p. 60). Mussolini viewed the implementation of fascism as the national regeneration of which Italy was in dire need. He argued, “never before has the nation stood more in need of authority, of direction and order” (Mussolini, 1932); the totalitarian, nationalistic government fascism sought to provide would bring just that. He described earlier ideology as outdated and useless, and even threatened to use severe force against anyone who attempted to resist the new ways. Mussolini desired to make fascism the ideology that defined the new century: “if every age has its own characteristic doctrine, there are a thousand signs which point to Fascism as the characteristic doctrine of our time” (Mussolini, 1932). He asserted that fascism was a direct result of the mundane individualism that characterized the 20th century’s predecessor, and was thus meant as an antidote for the flawed political system that had arisen (Mussolini, 1935). Said flawed political system was one of liberalism and democracy; it focused more on the rights of the people than those of the state. Mussolini worked to reverse that order and establish a nation that would willingly submit to, and fear, its leader.