liberty and majority of dictatorial regimes only bring suffering to the country and its people. Despite some imperfectness, democracy is still the best system so far and should be exercised and protected. To avoid the raising of dictators, both the government and the people should do the own part.
Firstly the government should be able to keep the democratic system running and avoid any form of dictatorship. After WW2, the Italian government rewrote its constitution and under the new constitution small parties should have certain seats in the parliament and thus avoid one party or one person from monopolizing the politics. This kind of constitutional adjustments should be followed by other democratic countries to ensure the safety of the democratic system. Secondly, the elected government must be responsible for the voters and try its best to bring improvements to the country. If it fails to do so the people may be disappointed and turn to dictatorship as can be seen from Mussolini’s rising up from the highly incapable elected government under Prime Minister Facta. One of the key features of fascism is violence. The fascists use violence to grab power and keep power in their hand. Therefore, thirdly, the government should not be frightened by any sorts of violent actions. Instead, it is its responsibility to stop violence. Even during the march to Rome the Italian government still had stronger army than the fascists however they were frightened by the black shirts and handed the power over to the fascists without a struggle.
Nevertheless, Mussolini was able to win over the power because he was decisive, charismatic and able to recognize the need of the people. The elected government should also not ignore the influence of the charisma of leaders. It should be able to find out the people’s utmost need. For example, in the recent economic downturn the Singapore government carries out policies to increase the employment rate to reach out to the utmost need of the people.
The people should also do their own part to avoid growth of dictatorship. First and foremost, they should avoid personal cult of any political leader. No one is perfect although the dictators always pretend to be. Take a look at all the dictators from ancient time to recently, the Roman generals, Napoleon, Stalin, and Mussolini, does anyone of them fail to establish a personal cult? And is anyone of them really as perfect as they claimed to be? Secondly, everybody should be careful about propagandas. Mussolini, as every dictator, propagated a paradise on earth under his regime. However, the result, as many dictators, is the suffering of people. You are not obligated to follow any thoughts and no one has the right to control your thought. Finally, people, especially those from nation states, should avoid extreme nationalism. “To revive the glories of the past” was Mussolini’s main appeal to the people. Under the name of nationalism he could carry out any policies by his will. Citizens should be loyal and proud of their own country but extreme nationalism like Japan and Italy during WW2 can only hurt the country itself.
Mussolini is an important figure in modern history. He created the largest human disaster in 20th century. His rise and fall conveys the whole human race a meaningful message that any regime that is against the equality and liberty of people will only be flooded away by the unstoppable trend of history. That is the end of our presentation. Thank you.