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MUSSOLINI'S RISE TO POWER.
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Describes his youth, early political activities, change from socialism to fascism, ascent to power as Fascist dictator of Italy.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Describes his youth, early political activities, change from socialism to fascism, ascent to power as Fascist dictator of Italy.
Paper Introduction:
Mussolini: The Rise to Power
Introduction
In his exploration of 20th century fascism between the wars, Payne (1995) described Mussolini as the most liberal of the totalitarian personalities that dominated that period. Perhaps this was a vestige of his earlier involvement with revolutionary socialism, or a reflection from his early years. Yet, the fact remains that Mussolini, along with Hitler, was an architect of fascism and of the policies that led to World War II. The intention in the following pages is to explore Mussolini's rise to power, including his childhood and youthful political development.
The Early Years
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Mussolini: The Rise to PowerIntroduction In his exploration of 2 th century fascism between the wars, Payne(1995) described Mussolini as the most liberal of the totalitarianpersonalities that dominated that period. Mussolini himself was named after both a Mexican revolutionary and twoItalian revolutionary socialists. Forexample, his first important speech to the new party asserted that theFascists needed to oppose the Socialists, not because they supportedsocialist principles, but because the Socialist party in Italy had actedagainst the best interests of the nation. Payne, S.G.(1995). Lyttelton, A. Ultimately it brought him more power.Political Changes This desire for power and attention helps to explain the ongoingpolitical changes that characterize Mussolini's early political career.Although he began as a Socialist and rose to prominence in that party by1912, he abandoned it by 1914. It was in 19 8 that hebegan the main part of his political career, still a Socialist, writing aSocialist newspaper in Oneglia. Both eventually had an important influence on Mussolini'sdevelopment and choices. He continued to be an undisciplined individual whodrifted into jobs, relationships, and political involvements. Thefascists took credit for this achievement and publicized it as the firstelement of its antiparliamentary revolution. It was to be an antiparty, amovement, a force of nature, in which the whole of the people would involvethemselves with building a powerful nation (Lyttelton, 1973). It was to have its first victory in May of that year,although the victory was overstated. His basic attitude toward other human beings seemed to be one ofcontempt, despite his early Socialist leanings. He indicatedthat Mussolini did not care that the people love him, but that they noticehim. However, his mother was deeply religious, conformist, andconservative. As a consequence, he muddled along, graduallydeveloping his ideas and principles, often in opposition to others. Mussolini. There he wandered much of the time, became involved with a numberof women, and spent much of his time with revolutionaries, both Italian andRussian. Young Mussolini and the intellectual origins ofFascism. Although heserved for a short while as a schoolteacher, this was not satisfying tohim. By theend of 1921, the Fascist movement had become a mass movement and thelargest political organization in Italy (Payne, 1995). Still, he remained undisciplined, even while obtaining a diplomato serve as an elementary teacher. They had, in otherwords, found the heart of the people. He did not think well of the passivists in theSocialist party, nor the reformists. (1964). The seizure of power: Fascism inItaly, 1919-1929. Records of his behavior and demeanorin school indicated that he reacted poorly to any kind of authority andorder, was passionate and unruly, hated discipline, and sought revenge inthe case of any slight or injury. London. It was during his service in the war that Mussolini's ideas underwentfurther change. His later schooling, however, was more successful. He asserted that Italy had tojoin those forces which were working to defeat the old European empires,and he actually received support from business interests which supportedintervention (Payne, 1995). Mussolini believed, however,that neutrality failed to serve the interests of the Italian state, whichwas relatively undeveloped. This was the time when the Fascists went from one successful candidatein November 1919 to control of the government by 1929. At the age of 29, then, Mussolini had obtained quite a bit ofattention and power. Madison, WI: The According to Kirkpatrick (1964), it was Mussolini who essentiallydetermined the program of the party, although with great difficulty. Likethe Nazis in Germany, the new movement had few supporters in the beginning,with an initial attendance of less than 15 men. Mussolini, B. He had gained new pride, along with Italy, andhe wanted to solidify Italy's position in the modern world, making it oneof the powerful nations. My autobiography. It is important to remember that Mussolini always distrusted thebourgeoisie and its institutions, whether church or parliament. A history of Fascism, 1914-1945. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. From being a Socialist with an elitist stance onrevolution, he became an extreme nationalist, with the desire to meldnationalism with socialism in a way involving the entire country. Thisis interesting since the two men ultimately wound up on opposite sides ofthe struggle. He was dissatisfied with the paceof change within the country and felt that the Socialist party wasinadequate to the challenges of the times. This revolution was more nationalist andinvolved the masses in its development and implementation. This was the official Socialistnewspaper (Payne, 1995). This set the stage for Mussolini's ongoing ascension to power,beginning with his service as prime minister in 1922-1925 and hisdevelopment of the Fascist dictatorship from 1925-1929. Hisinvolvement in the military seems to have given Mussolini new ideas aboutdiscipline and order, too. As a Socialist, he had advocated violentrevolution, rather than the gradual, evolutionary approach favored by manyin the party. Kirkpatrick, I. Yet, the fact remains that Mussolini, along with Hitler,was an architect of fascism and of the policies that led to World War II.The intention in the following pages is to explore Mussolini's rise topower, including his childhood and youthful political development.The Early Years Benito Mussolini was born in July of 1883 in Varana di Costa, avillage in the Commune of Predappio in Romagna. Mussolini hadchanged into a nationalist and this was the ruling element in thedevelopment of his program. Again, he had a very poor attitude towardmost of his peers. The initial break occurred in 1914 when Mussolinidisagreed with the official Socialist position on World War I. Kirkpatrick (1964) noted that Mussolini seemed to be motivatedprimarily by the desire for attention than anything else. (1979). Instead of being anti-bourgeoisie, Mussolini and the Fascists became anti-slacker. (1928). NY: HawthornBooks, Inc. This seems to have been the course of hisearly life, which included much violence and encounters with the police. They supportedall productive Italians, of whatever class, seeking to meld the classestogether to create an ordered, disciplined, self-sacrificing state able totake its place at the center of world politics. This was a rejection of his earliest political connection, and arejection of the philosophy of his father and grandfather. New York. Again, these arecharacterized by Mussolini's opportunism and tendency to compromiseprinciples in favor of power. He returned to Milan after the warand became party leader again, only of the Fascists, not the Socialists.The Fascist movement actually became a viable political party only withMussolini's intervention and revitalization of the movement in 1919. He was still extremely anticlericaland he began to speak for the most revolutionary element of the Socialistparty. They obtained their support from the middle andupper classes, but also from some of the lower classes, interested inItalian pride more than Socialist class struggle (Lyttelton, 1973). He was not agood companion, nor an individual who had much respect for the rights ofothers. He joined the FascioRivoluzionario in December of that year, involving himself with aconglomeration of forces and movements that still emphasized revolution,but with a different orientation. The rhetoric, too, began to change. The next decade was the important one, representing the advent ofFascist power in Italy. He was not a settled young men, and he was a resentful,rebellious, disorderly one. From henceforth, the elements of discipline andself-sacrifice were to be important aspects of his political philosophy(Payne, 1995). He became a political activist and political writer, like his father,but he was essentially conservative, like his mother. This change in both temperament and politics were the final piece inhis development as a political leader. He controlled the press of the Socialist party andwas an acknowledged leader of its revolutionary, and leading, faction.Nonetheless, this was not satisfactory. Both his grandfather and his father werepolitically involved, his grandfather in the struggle against the papacyand his father in the struggle to institute revolutionary socialism inItaly. James Gregor (1979) noted thatMussolini was basically an authoritarian Socialist who shared much incommon with Lenin, who actually endorsed Mussolini's success in 1912.Gregor indicated that both opposed bourgeois parliamentarianism, bothbelieved that the masses were unable to lead the revolution, and bothbelieved in a leadership of a minority of professional revolutionaries.Both also supported ongoing organized violence as a means to an end, andboth thought that revolutionary consciousness would be imposed on themasses from without, rather than emerging from within (Gregor, 1979). Perhaps this was a vestige ofhis earlier involvement with revolutionary socialism, or a reflection fromhis early years. Instead, he determined to emigrate to Switzerland, which some haveasserted was simply to avoid being drafted into the military service inItaly. References Gregor, A.J. A career as a political agitator seems much moreappropriate.Youth and Early Political Ventures Ultimately, this was the course Mussolini followed. Always the movement was led by Mussolini, althoughhe had an executive committee working with him. Thatposition was neutral and non-interventionist. The Fascist movement wasactually decreed to be the antithesis of traditional parties, which wereassociated with corruption and rigidity. The FascioRivoluzionario itself was reorganized in January of 1915 and renamed theFasci d'Azione Rivoluzionaria. Mussolini himself waschallenged for the leadership of the party in 1921, but compromised some ofhis positions on violence in order to develop a more centralized andorganized movement. Payne (1995) indicated that Mussolini's stance now changed to supportrevolutionary war, rather than revolution within. He was eventually asked to leave theschool (Kirkpatrick, 1964). It was an era of rural nonconformity. Unlike his father, henever exhibited compassion for people, but scorn. His writing and speaking ability helped gain him power inthe party and the editorship of Avanti. These were the Black-shirts, analogousto Hitler's brown-shirts. This was the nascent fascist movement thatMussolini joined. At this time, hebegan his involvement in politics and became known as an excellent publicspeaker. Mussolini himselfasserted that his greatest love was for his mother, and that she had muchinfluence on his character development and behavior (Mussolini, 1928).That character, at least in his early years, seemed to be unruly,rebellious, and anti-authoritarian. Hewas never a very astute political thinker and was most often ruled by hisemotions and his desires. Although he received high marks inseveral of his subjects, his personality and character seemed highlyunsuited to that career. A study in power. (1973). These were not the result of Mussolini's revolutionary principles, butof his temperament. The turn began withthe decision by the Fascist movement to counterattack the Socialists in therural area, using violent measures. Nonetheless, in these early days, Lenin and Mussolini were similar intheir thinking. Ultimately this man spoke to theheart of the middle-class, but not in these early years. According to IvoneKirkpatrick (1964), Romagna, at that time, was a hotbed of anticlericalismand republicanism. He was against anything that was established, anything thatseemed connected to the middle-class. The fascists, along with many others interested in intervention,mounted enormous protests in May, which ultimately pressured theparliamentary deputies into voting for intervention in the war. Eventually, this one-time Socialist becamethe quintessential leader of the middle classes, and an authoritariandictator who relied on symbols and myths of ancient Roman glory to unitethe nation behind him. From boththe Socialist side and the Fascist side, he wanted to destroy thesecompromised institutions in favor of a more ideal, ideologically purenation-state. At that time, the Fascist movement became the PartitoNazionale Fascista, with a central committee, an executive committee, andMussolini, who had now become known as Duce (Payne, 1995). Mussolini believed that it was actually more profitable to him forpeople to fear him than to love him. In order to protect those interests, he favoredintervention on the side of the Entente.
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