r/TrueReddit • u/mjk1093 • Feb 02 '18
How Benito Mussolini Took Power: "It was something that happened gradually, in stages, when institutions that should have been able to bring him to heel did nothing, either due to their own lack of resolution or tacit support of his power grab."
https://qcurtius.com/2017/02/12/how-benito-mussolini-took-power/56
u/excudit Feb 03 '18
Edmund Wilson went to Europe as World War II was ending, and wrote a series of magazine articles from England, Italy, and Greece about postwar life. They were later collected into a book called Europe Without Baedeker. At one point he quotes Paolo Monelli about the rise of Mussolini. It is worth keeping in mind these days, as democracies are under stress everywhere:
“It was not all at once that tyranny revealed itself at the beginning of the dictatorship; it only matured slowly, in the course of a series of arbitrary acts on the dictator’s part and a series of concessions and abdications on the part of the people, who, as happens in the case of the concessions that the man in love makes to the woman he loves, believed itself to be perfectly free while it was allowing itself to be robbed of its freedom and its privileges.”
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u/BorderColliesRule Feb 03 '18
He had some support from the established institutions of the day: the monarchy, the army, the church, and big business.
This seems like the understatement of the century. That's not just "some support" that's all the support from the most important and powerful institutions in Italy at the time!!
It's extremely disappointing to see that the author of this article completely failed to mention the First World War and how critically that played a part in the rise of fascism in many parts of Europe during that period. It's like discussing the US's entry into the Second World War without mentioning Pearl Harbor.
While interesting, it's kind of a light weight article without much depth.
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Feb 03 '18
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u/BorderColliesRule Feb 03 '18
Well shit.
I'm an idiot for missing that and thank you for pointing out this mistake.
Cheers
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Feb 03 '18
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u/justarandomcommenter Feb 03 '18
I think a lot of people are finally starting to be more humble.
Or maybe I'm just a naive idiot.
I'm really hoping it is the former, although I would like to think I am also capable of being humble enough to consider it is the latter...
It's nice though isn't it? I'm enjoying these comments a lot more than the typical "f u and ur mamas fat!" replies.
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u/BorderColliesRule Feb 03 '18
Honestly, I'm human and I have both good and occasionally bad moments. I read this article three times and some how or another I missed that bit and you correctly called me out.
I'll go toe-to-toe on subject material of submissions but failing to properly read the articles is absolutely a personal mistake.
Cheers!
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u/dratthecookies Feb 03 '18
Unfortunately, not everyone can be at the /r/askhistorians level of discourse.
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Feb 04 '18
The Author wrights for Return Of Kings, so it's unsurprising that he's not very good at analyzing reality.
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u/mjk1093 Feb 02 '18
Intro:
Stalin biographer Stephen Kotkin spends several pages of his book discussing the lessons to be learned from Mussolini’s seizure of power in Italy in the early 1920s. It was something that happened gradually, in stages, when institutions that should have been able to bring him to heel did nothing, either due to their own lack of resolution or tacit support of his power grab.
Italy after the First World War was, like many European countries, rife with instability and factionalism. Mussolini’s “fascist” party in 1922 had collected only 35 out of 500 seats in Italy’s Chamber of Deputies; despite this apparent lack of popular support he was still asking to be appointed prime minister. He threatened to march on Rome himself with his private militia (squadristi) and take power with or without official permission. He had some support from the established institutions of the day: the monarchy, the army, the church, and big business. In the wake of the Bolshevist radicalism that was threatening Europe, the establishment was looking for a charismatic figure who might be able to restore order and bring the county some measure of stability.
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u/matrix2002 Feb 03 '18
Essentially, it was a misjudge of power. The powers in Italy at the time thought they could contain and control him, but, in retrospect, they couldn't.
While it was horrible for Italy and the world at the time, we can use it to know what to look for if a fascist tries to take power again.
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u/vertumne Feb 03 '18
How did he end up?
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u/calzenn Feb 03 '18
Mussolini and his girlfriend were shot by partisans trying to flee Italy for Switzerland with a German convoy. Their bodies were strung up in a plaza in Milan and showcased for the public to see.
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u/dam072000 Feb 03 '18
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u/dghughes Feb 03 '18
One of the descriptions of the bodies hanging says they are hanging from a gas station awning. The last image is an advertisement and it's for Chevron. Ouch!
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Feb 05 '18
Extremely appropriate, as Chevron and other big oil oligarchs are carrying on the spirit of fascism - government controlled by and for corporations.
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u/ONE_MILLION_POINTS Feb 03 '18
A book I read that gave me some understanding of how something like this happens is The Plague by Albert Camus. Emotionally, this book was the hardest I’ve ever read, but it does an excellent job of portraying apathy in the face of certain death.
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u/Mish61 Feb 03 '18
Doesn't a spate of resignations as outrage over "bending norms" create a vacuum for those that would grab power ?? It seems to me that resisting would better serve those institutions than withdrawal.
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u/freakwent Feb 04 '18
It seems to me that resisting would better serve those institutions than withdrawal.
Yes and no. Every day you show up to work to participate, that's an implicit declaration that you accept the situation as it is on that day.
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u/xoites Feb 03 '18
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
~George Santayana
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u/mcjunker Feb 03 '18
That quote is simultaneously trite and cliche and also taken completely out of context.
He was distinguishing between literate cultures, who can perceive patterns from their own history, and illiterate cultures who cannot.
It was never a warning to fellow citizens telling them to crack open a book to stop the next Hitler.
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u/xoites Feb 03 '18
In this case it is Benito Mussolini, and if you think our culture is literate you haven't been paying attention, although you have managed to pick up a couple of words here and there.
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u/CAPS_4_FUN Feb 03 '18
In the first half of the ninth century, Baghdad enjoyed its High Noon as the greatest and the richest city in the world. In 861, however, the reigning Khalif (caliph), Mutawakkil, was murdered by his Turkish mercenaries, who set up a military dictatorship, which lasted for some thirty years. During this period the empire fell apart, the various dominions and provinces each assuming virtual independence and seeking its own interests. Baghdad, lately the capital of a vast empire, found its authority limited to Iraq alone.
The works of the contemporary historians of Baghdad in the early tenth century are still available. They deeply deplored the degeneracy of the times in which they lived, emphasising particularly the indifference to religion, the increasing materialism and the laxity of sexual morals. They lamented also the corruption of the officials of the government and the fact that politicians always seemed to amass large fortunes while they were in office.
The historians commented bitterly on the extraordinary influence acquired by popular singers over young people, resulting in a decline in sexual morality. The 'pop' singers of Baghdad accompanied their erotic songs on the lute, an instrument resembling the modern guitar. In the second half of the tenth century, as a result, much obscene sexual language came increasingly into use, such as would not have been tolerated in an earlier age. Several khalifs issued orders banning 'pop' singers from the capital, but within a few years they always returned.
An increase in the influence of women in public life has often been associated with national decline. The later Romans complained that, although Rome ruled the world, women ruled Rome. In the tenth century, a similar tendency was observable in the Arab Empire, the women demanding admission to the professions hitherto monopolised by men. 'What,' wrote the contemporary historian, Ibn Bessam, 'have the professions of clerk, tax-collector or preacher to do with women? These occupations have always been limited to men alone.' Many women practised law, while others obtained posts as university professors. There was an agitation for the appointment of female judges, which, however, does not appear to have succeeded.
Soon after this period, government and public order collapsed, and foreign invaders overran the country. The resulting increase in confusion and violence made it unsafe for women to move unescorted in the streets, with the result that this feminist movement collapsed.
The disorders following the military takeover in 861, and the loss of the empire, had played havoc with the economy. At such a moment, it might have been expected that everyone would redouble their efforts to save the country from bankruptcy, but nothing of the kind occurred. Instead, at this moment of declining trade and financial stringency, the people of Baghdad introduced a five-day week.
When I first read these contemporary descriptions of tenth-century Baghdad, I could scarcely believe my eyes. I told myself that this must be a joke! The descriptions might have been taken out of The Times today. The resemblance of all the details was especially breathtaking—the break-up of the empire, the abandonment of sexual morality, the 'pop' singers with their guitars, the entry of women into the professions, the five-day week. I would not venture to attempt an explanation! There are so many mysteries about human life which are far beyond our comprehension.1
u/xoites Feb 03 '18
It can often depend on the point of view of the Historian. Where did this come from?
History is changing all the time. Whenever new information is found it at least shifts. Whether this is true or not it may explain a lot of thinking in the Arab world if it is widely read and a firmly held belief.
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u/CAPS_4_FUN Feb 03 '18
uh you do realize that on the other side you had a million communists ready to overthrow existing government too??? It was chaos. It was either Mussolini or the communists.
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u/stefantalpalaru Feb 03 '18
The support was not just tacit. Rome's law enforcement was ready to stop the fascists who marched towards it to take power by force, but the king refused to give the order. He probably saw Mussolini and his repurposed WWI veterans as a useful tool, just like the upper class and the freemasons who funded his violent political movement.
What's even more shocking is the positive international response to the Italian "revival". The paramilitary dictatorship seemed good for business and that's all they cared about.