5/8/2011 3:19 PM

If power is defined as political or social authority or control, particularly that exercised by a government, then Hitler and Mussolini had similarities in their rise to power (Hitler in 1934 and Mussolini 1924) with the way in which they were both helped and could therefore exploit the circumstances of their socio-economic problems caused by the current governments equally well, as well as their methods of violence and intimidation to deter and obstruct political opposition (used to a larger extent by Mussolini), but however had differences with their approaches towards gaining support from the church (more important for Mussolini), as well as gaining support from industrialists and the petty bourgeoisie (more important for Hitler).

  • The circumstances of the socio-economic problems caused by the governments of both Hitler and Mussolini made it very easy for them to rise to power, as they created widespread dissatisfaction with their current governments and provided a more attractive alternative to that government and thus, led the civilians to be more inclined to accept one party leadership. The dominant socio-economic problem caused by the Weimar republic was the Welfare state. As German economic historian ‘Borchhardt’ argues “The state was living beyond its means, with both subsidies and redistribution of wealth harmful to economic growth”. This is because the regime suffered from exaggerated expectations. For example, the unemployment insurance of 1927 failed because it was only viable if the total unemployment was less than 800,000. The Arbitration system aroused resentment of employers. This was shown in 1928 when Ruhr industrialists rejected the arbitration award and locked out 250,000 workers. The economy was also very insecure as it was dependent on foreign investments. There were investments of 14.10 thousand million marks in 1927 and only 10.80 thousand million marks of exports. As a result, high taxation and comparative redistribution of resources away from the elite only reinforced their suspicions of the Weimar. With all these problems, the German people were fed up with the government and wanted revolution. After Hitler’s Mein Kampf, more people started listening to Hitler’s ideas, especially as he provided appealing ways to get people out of the economic slump and restore pride in their country.
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By analyzing the long-term socio-economic effects of the reforms that the liberal gov’t of Mussolini’s time made, we can see how it paved the way for Fascism to flourish in Italy in 1924, just as Nazism flourished in Germany. The liberals exacerbated the division between ‘Real Italy’ and ‘Legal Italy’ because they failed to include the backward South in unification process. Their chronic poverty was worsened by soaring taxes and limited spending on social reforms. As well as that, Italy’s industrial development was hampered by lack of resources, and because  the government supported employers over workers, peasant unrest was created. ...

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