Totalitarianism in Italy

Totalitarianism is generally defined as political system that uses a high level of control over individuals, restricting individuals’ freedoms and suppressing their opposition to the state and more generally subordinating many aspects of individual life to the authority of the state. According to Wikipedia, totalitarian regimes “are often characterized by extensive political repression, a complete lack of democracy, widespread personality cultism, absolute control over the economy, massive censorship, mass surveillance, limited freedom of movement (most notably freedom to leave the country) and widespread use of state terrorism”. Moreover, totalitarian regimes often control communication with individuals through propaganda and by controlling the media. The extent to which the domestic policies of the Italian fascist regime meet these criteria and so should be considered totalitarian probably requires an assessment of not only its activities during its period of government but also an assessment of the extent to which it had the consent of the people.

Legal Framework of Fascism

Benito Mussolini, leader of the Partito Nazionale Fascista (PNF, National Fascist Party), was invited by King Victor Emmanuel III to form a new government in 1922. Although fascists made up only a small part of his first government, his stranglehold on power increased over the coming years. In 1923, his government passed the Legge Acerbo (Acerbo Law), which granted a two-thirds majority of the seats in parliament to the party (or group of parties) that won at least 25% of the votes. In the 1924 election, Mussolini’s National List won 60% of the votes, and Giacomo Matteotti, the leader of the socialists, was assassinated. By January 1925, Mussolini has assumed responsibility for political violence undertaken by the squadristi (Blackshirts).

From 1925 to 1927, Mussolini introduced numerous laws, including changes to the constitution (leggi fascistissime), resulting in Italy becoming a de facto legal dictatorship. In December 1925, under the Christmas Eve law, his title changed from ‘President of the Council of Ministers’ to ‘Head of the Government’. At this point, he could only be removed from power by the King, no longer by Parliament. In addition, central control was strengthened by the replacement of elected mayors with podestàs that were appointed by the Senate.

Although Italy had in effect already been a one-party state, all political parties except the PNF were outlawed in 1926. Following this, the Gran Consiglio del Fascismo (Grand Council of Fascism) selected a single list of PNF candidates that were presented at future general elections. In the 1929 election, the list was approved by 98.43% of voters.

The Tribunale Speciale per la Difesa dello Stato was a special tribunal introduced in 1926 to try anti-fascist subversives (sovversivi) and imprisoned or exiled thousands of opponents of the regime and imposed 31 death sentences. According to the historian Alberto Aquarone: “Il Tribunale Speciale per la difesa dello Stato fu indubbiamente uno degli strumenti più odiosi ed efficaci della dittatura e la sua attività”.

In 1927, the Opera Vigilanza e Repressione dell'Antifascismo (OVRA, secret police) was established with the aim of stopping anti-fascist activities. OVRA’s activities effectively superseded those of squadrismo, but in a more organized fashion, compiling files on potential subversives with a large network of informants. By 1930, OVRA was conducting around 20,000 raids each week.

Other elements of the leggi fascistissime included the banning of free trade unions and the introduction of press censorship.

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The Cult of the Leader and Propaganda

Totalitarianism often involves leaders who develop a strong personality and cult following and Mussolini was no exception. He portrayed himself, through propaganda and his control of the media, as a fascist Ubermensch of quasi divine capacities. He fashioned himself as the ‘duce’ (leader) and used propaganda to support this image. Moreover, he exercised tight control over the appointment of newspaper editors, all of whom required the approval of the PNF, and the press inevitably supported the image he sought to create.

Mussolini used many aspects of his economic policy to garner support for himself as leader, using these policies as an opportunity for propaganda to support himself as duce and father of the nation with positive elements of his policies being communicated as the consequence of his personal intervention.

Economic and Social Policies

In 1924 Mussolini launched the first of his ‘battles’, the Battle over the Southern Problem. The aim of this was to ameliorate the living standards of Southern Italians and to deal with the problem of under-employment. This initiative promised to build thousands of new towns throughout the South and Sicily, but never followed through with these promises and as a result not a single new town was constructed.

In 1925 the Battle for Grain was launched, an initiative which encouraged farmers to grow more grain (in particular wheat). This ‘battle’ was as a result of Italy’s increasing dependence on imported grain, and Mussolini’s obsession with achieving autarchy. The Battle for Grain was successful in increasing national production of cereal crops, making Italy self-subsistent in wheat. However, it directly resulted in diminishing livestock and non-cereal crop exports, as well as dependency for foreign imports of olive oil.

In 1926 Mussolini launched the Battle for Land, in an effort to increase the country’s available farmland. This promised the draining and subsequent transformation of marshland into new farmable plots of land. The only notable success of this policy was the area of the Pontine Marshes which was drained and plowed to allow for a large number of new farms to be constructed which boosted employment and contributed to the increasing production of cereal crops which Mussolini desired.

Later that year Mussolini would introduce the Battle for the Lira in response to the value of the Lira dropping. The Lira was re-valued in an attempt to suppress internal inflation and improve international standing. This resulted in causing severely detrimental effects to the Italian economy; starting a recession and further increasing national unemployment. In the following years the increasingly dire state of the Italian economy was only intensified by the Great Depression.

1927 saw Mussolini start his ‘Battle for the Births’, in an effort to increase the Italian population by 50% over a 20-year period. This saw numerous policies introduced which heavily penalized unmarried people and granted tax-relief and more employment opportunities to those who were married with children. Another key point of the ‘Battle for the Births’ was the heavy emphasis placed on both restricting women’s employment (initially at the state level and then subsequently also within private firms) and enforcing a social image of women predominantly as mothers throughout society. This ‘battle’ can be regarded as a failure, with the birth rate actually declining over the following 15 years.

Conclusion

By any reasonable measures, the legal tools introduced and used by the fascist regime would define it as a totalitarian regime. In particular, the regime sought to control individuals, restrict their freedoms and suppress their opposition to the state: there was extensive political repression, a lack of democracy, mass surveillance and widespread use of state terrorism. The fascist regime’s use of propaganda, and the personality cultism that surrounded its leader Mussolini, are hallmarks typical of a totalitarian regime. Similarly, its use of censorship and control of the press are typical for such a regime. In summary, and although the regime delivered numerous economic benefits, Italian fascism as observed through the legal framework it created, its propaganda and its economic and social policies is a clear example of totalitarianism.