Factors behind the rise of Fascism in Italy

This article explores the reasons behind the rise of Fascism in Italy, including the aftermath of World War I, political instability, economic struggles, and the influence of Communist and Socialist movements. It discusses how Benito Mussolini founded the Fascist Party and gained support from various groups, including ex-soldiers, factory owners, and peasants. The article also highlights the role of the Catholic Church in supporting Fascism.

Why do you think Fascism appeared when it did in Italy? What were the factors, both local
and international, that influenced this?
The 20th century saw the rise of ideologies that are enslaved the masses. One such ideology was
fascism. This ideology appeared for the first time in Italy. Under these circumstances, it becomes
significant to consider the factors that are responsible for the rise of fascism in Italy. In the
present work, the reasons behind the initiation and dissemination of fascist ideology and how the
Fascist Party came to power in Italy will be considered. Benito Mussolini founded the fascist
organization on March 23, 1919. The origin of the word fascism can be traced to the Italian word
'fascio' which means "bundle or the alliance". The organization that was created by Mussolini
was known as 'Fasho di Kombatimento" or in other words, Union of Struggle. In the beginning,
there were only a few dozen members of this organization. However, soon it started to grow
mainly as a result of former soldiers, a combination of social demagogy and fierce nationalism
was typical in case of all the activities of the fascists (Lyttelton, 1987).
However, it needs to be noted that there were several factors that were responsible for the rise of
fascism in Italy. First of all, Italy had fought with the victorious Allies in the First World War.
But after the war, Italy was a defeated nation. The country was not happy with the terms of the
settlement. The reason was that the play was not given what was promised to her in the Treaty of
London that was concluded during the Great War. As there was a conflict at the peace
conference between the interests of Italy and Yugoslavia, the Allies favor Yugoslavia. Therefore,
it was natural that Italy felt disappointed and disheartened. The self-esteem of the country was
significantly wounded (Smith, 1983). The Italians felt that there have been displaced in the eyes

of the world and surrendered by their own politicians. Italy had paid a huge price for the war.
The country was drained of money and there was huge budget deficit of more than twelve
thousand million lire as a result of which the cost of living increased significantly.
Moreover, as a result of the war, Italy had to resort to demobilization. The result was that there
was serious unemployment in the country which resulted in discontent among the people.
Consequently, there were widespread strike and lockouts. A number of uprisings were upheld by
the hungry mobs. There were frequent riots in the country. Even the middle classes were also
impoverished. The current Democratic government was considered as too feeble to deal with the
large number of problems that were the country at that time (Payne, 1995).
There was nearly complete, political instability. During 1919 and 1922, there were six coalition
government, formed in the country. People started to believe that only a strong government can
take the country forward under such circumstances. This position was fully exploited by the
fascists and their leader Mussolini. They gave an idea that people that they were capable of
providing a strong and a truly national government.
Another reason behind the rise of fascism in Italy was that the Italian leaders were also inspired
by the Russian Revolution. The socialist leaders in Italy, tried to exploit the extremely bad
economic conditions that the present in the country after the First World War. They made efforts
to transplant the Soviet system in the country. Consequently the organized lockouts, strikes and
riots in the country. As a result, chaotic conditions were created in Italy. This situation was also
exploited by Mussolini in its favor.
The fourth reason was the faulty system of franchises that was present in Italy. This was also a
major reason behind the rise of fascism. According to the current system of franchise, several
political parties enter the parliament. The members belonging to these parties generally just as

irrelevant matters, and were not concerned with the welfare of the people. As a result of their
usual differences, these parties were not in a position to take any concerted action against
terrorists. Such situation also significantly contributed to the rise of Fascism.
The economy of the country flourished when Italy entered the First World War. However, even
if the industry flourished, they were only a few industrialists who did well under these
circumstances. . In reality, the production was related with the war. However after the war, there
were a number of problems faced by the factories. It was obvious that production needs to be
changed into peace industry. But it required much time and effort as well as large amount of
money. At the same time there was also a significant problem with the workers. The workers had
worked hard and for long hours during the War. However, after the War, the wartime discipline
was flagged. The workers did not favor longer working hours. At the same time, the wages fell
by 25 percent during 1915 in 1918. The result was that it became very difficult for the workers to
keep up with rising prices. This fact was a cause of frustration among the workers as they were
inspired by Communism and Marxism. Both these ideologies will popular among the workers at
the time. There was a big enterprise in the membership of trade unions and the work is starting to
go on sites. The trade unions provided financial support to the workers during these strikes, as
there will not be during the strike. The workers asked for higher wages and less working hours.
The result was that the production in factories stagnated (Bosworth, 1998).
At the same time, the situation in case of agriculture was also not any better. The prices were
falling significantly. Agriculture was the main occupation in south of Italy. But this part of the
country was rather poor. As compared to it, the northern part of the country has been developed
as a large industrial center and had become quite rich. Similarly, the political situation in the
country was also not good. Italy had to face political struggles before it had entered the First

World War. Significant political debate was going on regarding the country joining the War. The
Prime Minister and the foreign secretary had made secret alliances regarding the entry of Italy in
the War. The result was that the Pope, and as a result, the Catholic Church did not support the
War. It was termed as the useless slaughter by the Pope.
The soldiers who were returning from the war had to face the worsening economic conditions. A
large number of soldiers were disappointed by the poor reward that they have received for their
sacrifices. They felt that they were not care for and their places in factories or wherever they
were working earlier had been taken by the persons. The industry was not in a position to take
any more new workers. The result was that there were more than 2 million unemployed people
when the demobilization started in 1919. However, it was not possible for all the soldiers will
return directly. Some of the soldiers had to wait four years before they were allowed to return
back to civilian life.
Under these circumstances, Mussolini offered a solution for all these problems. At the same
time, he also made a promise that he would rescue the country from a "feeble government".
Mussolini made a promise to the people that we will create a public delivery person will have the
right to vote. He also assured that the government will be decentralized, and conscription would
be abolished. This is particularly significant for the families that had suffered the loss of their
relatives.
Similarly, Fascism also took the shape of an Anti-Communist and Anti-Socialist movement.
According to the Fascist point of view, Communism was considered as the main source of
disunity in the country due to its never-ending class conflicts and as a result the division of the
people. Another big factor that can be described as responsible for the rise of Fascism in Italy
was the support given by the Catholic Church.

Mussolini was of the opinion that continued to be governed by those who had fought the war.
Mussolini had also taken part in the war. This idea was enthusiastically approved by the ex-
soldiers. Mussolini propagated these views through his newspaper, II Popolo d'Italia (The People
of Italy). In the beginning, it was a newspaper for the veterans, but later on, it became the organ
piece of the Fascists.
The factory owners were also support of Mussolini. The reason was that he had made a promise
that he will end workers strikes as these strikes caused the loss to the economy and caused a lot
of money. The result was that the Fascist had much more money as compared to other parties.
The peasants also extended their support to Mussolini, as they were unsatisfied with the present
political situation. On the other end, Mussolini had made a promise that he will work for the
betterment of the economy. The military also supported Mussolini on account of the issue of law
and order. It always included the use of military and police. As a result, they expected financial
betterment, and also better technology. Mussolini had promised to reestablish law and order in
the country and end the civil war like circumstances that were present in Italy at the time.
Therefore, these were the lead because there were responsible for the rise of Fascism after the
First World War.

References
Bosworth, J. B. R. 1998, The Italian Dictatorship: Problems and Perspectives in the
Interpretation of Mussolini and Fascism. London
Corner, P., 1975, Fascism in Ferrara, 1915–1925. London and New York
Lyttelton, A., 1987, The Seizure of Power: Fascism in Italy 1919–1929. Princeton, N.J.
Payne, S. G. 1995, A History of Fascism, 1914–1945. Madison, Wis.
Smith, M. D., 1983, Mussolini. New York