Benito Mussolini and several others formed the National Fascist Party and managed to rise to power and take control of Italy in 1922. The Fascist Party grew in popularity among the people of Italy, as it had seemed Mussolini had all the answers to Italy’s problems. As a young politician, Mussolini supported Italy’s entry into the war and was able to present solution to the Italian people of the working and middle class in the aftermath following the war. Mussolini organized his March on Rome in 1922 in order to bring down the government. He organized a paramilitary unit known as the "Black Shirts," who terrorized political opponents and helped increase Fascist influence. After threatening a march on Rome, King Victor Emmanuel, fearful of a civil war, appointed Benito Mussolini prime minister. However, prior to Mussolini’s rise to power, Italy was already a country in dismay. They were torn between monarchy and right-winged fascism. Italy had fears of a Communist revolution occurring as riots broke out and the Italian people began to rise up against their trusted leader and government.
After Mussolini forcefully turned his temporary dictatorial powers into to a permanent setting, he began to establish his own vision of a “corporate state”. In this sense, each individual had guaranteed employment to work for the welfare of the entire nation with wages that were satisfiable. Mussolini carried out an extensive public works program and reduced unemployment, making him very popular with the people. These establishments came with a catch, laborers were not allowed to strike or question the authority of the Fascist government. Mussolini strived to allude his regime to that of the ancient Roman Empire. He was able to give Italy the direction and dignity they needed at a time of rebuilding, but it came with the suppression of civil rights and liberties of the Italian population.
Mussolini was one of the most notorious dictators of the twentieth century, leaving an important body of writings that reveal his transition from socialist agitator to founder and leader of Italian fascism. During Mussolini’s control, he wrote about and published “The Political and Social Doctrine of Fascism” in which he described fascism as “… it was born of the need for action and it was itself from the beginning practical rather than theoretical.” Mussolini’s work included written reforms of Socialism and the ideas behind Italy’s government and society during his reign. The basic idea of fascism according to Mussolini is founded upon several principles, one of which is strength in unity. Since unity was one of the goals for Mussolini, he believed that in order for his society to be truly free they had to become united first by following the simple steps… “Believe, obey, fight”. So, the main obstacles Mussolini had to face to achieve a powerful nation were the individuals, independent groups and the social class divide that was already established in the Italian culture. Mussolini stated that “The individual is deprived of all useless and possibly harmful freedom, but retains what is essential; the deciding power in this question cannot be the individual, but the State alone …” There are several similarities that link Nazi Germany to Fascist Italy. One similarity being, individual freedom would only badly affect the state. So, they made people believe that their freedom is to serve the state. However, there are some important factors that separate Adolf Hitler from Benito Mussolini. According to Hitler, the state should only consist of those of the inferior race (Aryan Nation) where Mussolini does not take it to that extent.
The belief is that when all people in a society have the same ideas and values, the society will be stronger than a one where is not. This formed of government is commonly characterized by extreme nationalism. This form of government also does not allow for any form of questioning against leaders or policies. At times, militarism will be enforced to ensure that this does happen. He described the use of a heavily military based government because he believed that violence would solve most answers. However, the main goal of fascism is to have complete state control of society and expand those boundaries and spread around the world. Mussolini promoted the cultural and political values of the Italian Fascists by using lots of propaganda across Italy. This large amount of propaganda displayed across the country is important because it made the Italian population become more focused on fascism and military power, which strengthened Mussolini’s power in his dictatorship. Mussolini used nationalism to promote the growth and need of militarism in Italy along with Italian Strength. He used the patriotism from his country to give Italy the idea that if they want to become a force as big as they were during the Roman Empire that they would need to have a strong military and constantly promote Italian values. This use of militarism to enforce national superiority and strength was important because it made Italy become a large threat to neighboring countries and also threatened the balance of power and created a potential for war.
Mussolini in his document is especially critical of socialism and democracy. Since, Marxian Socialism explains human civilization as “the conflict of interests among various groups.” So, if actions are influenced by economic motive according to socialism, and the view of Fascism is “the complete opposite…” that would cause a few issues in the way that Mussolini perceives politics and what he deems is the right way. Since actions of socialism are not influenced by Fascism ways of economic motive, according to Mussolini, it is influenced by “holiness” and “heroism”. Mussolini and Fascist politicians believe Democracy to have unconventional truths because of “political equality… happiness, and indefinite progress” promises that are not delivered. Despite Mussolini’s stated dislikes of democracy and socialism, he willingly engaged in electoral politics and gave the appearance to the citizens of Italy by submitting to democratic procedures. He had even proposed an electoral reform if he was elected. Although Mussolini insisted that he wanted to save Parliament rather than undermine it, the law Mussolini and the Fascists enabled when he was brought into office, undermined all he said and they were able to take control of Parliament the following year and impose a dictatorship.
Fascism is a political ideology that places a strong emphasis on nationalism and totalitarianism. Mussolini was one of the most influential advocates of fascism and was the leader in Italy prior to and during World War II. This political ideology follows the idea that individuals are weak, and that economic, political and social decisions should not be subject to the majority. Instead, decisions are made in order to protect and benefit everyone in a nation. Mussolini’s reign and force to have Italy's involvement in the war turned out to be a catastrophe. Italy suffered devastating defeats in Africa and Greece, and Mussolini himself fell into problems. King Victor Emmanuel and Fascist Party leaders quickly lost confidence in Mussolini, removing him from office and placing him in prison. German planes attempted to help and rescued him from prison. Soon, Allied forces moved further into Italy, and an Allied victory was imminent, Mussolini was captured by communist rebels when he tried to escape from his failing empire to Austria. He was later executed by machine gun fire and as a sign of Mussolini's total political failure, his body was hung in a public square in Milan. Despite his alliance with Hitler, Mussolini was well-regarded by his fellow Italians and by many in the international community. This was largely because of his reputation from his political upstart with impressive plans for Italy and because, unlike Hitler, he focused his message on Italian nationalism rather than racial purity.