Mussolini's Battle For Lira example essay topic

Throughout his tenure as Prime Minister of Italy, Benito Mussolini tried to implement policies in order to make Italy appear successful to his public and critics whether Italy was or not. Mussolini attempted several policies to show that he was in control of Italy. He needed to enhance international prestige for Italy and he tried to do this through his domestic policy. He wanted to create autarky or self-sufficiency within Italy. That way there would be no doubt that Italy was a strong and leading country in Europe. Mussolini also had to deal with potential threats from within his country.

He would then be able to go on and stabilise his political system. Meanwhile to garner support he would create the Cult of the Duce to make him seem almost God-like. If Mussolini could do all this, he could be seen as making Italy a success. Mussolini first wanted to create autarky within Italy.

Therefore Italy would be self-sufficient and wouldn't need to rely on any other countries in order to support itself. Mussolini embarked on a number of "battles" in order to gain true autarky. These battles's success in deciding whether Mussolini truly did achieve autarky. His first battle was The Battle for the Lira.

Mussolini's aims were to fix the Lira at 90 to the lb and reduce inflation. If this was achieved, it would give Italy an image as more stable and confirm the image of Fascism as being responsible for doing it. Mussolini went about this by making the banks instituting tight controls on the supply of money. The economy deflated which drove up the value of the lira. When the lira was returned to gold standard in 1927, the exchange rate for the lira was fixed. In some ways this worked as it showed the authority of the regime but at the same time harmed the economy and caused serious deflation in Italy.

The government was forced to impose a 20% cut in wages and by 1936, the lira was devalued. Mussolini also embarked on the Battle for Grain. Mussolini wanted to make Italy sufficient in grain, which would make Italy less dependant on imports in the event of a war. This would show Italy as a major power within Europe. Mussolini imposed high tariffs on imported grain and his government gave grants to farmers to improve machinery and fertiliser.

As a result, Italy almost achieved self-sufficiency in cereal but more dependant on fertilisers. Cereal production fell by the war as a result of the need for fertilisers something Mussolini had tried to avoid. The Battle of the Marshes involved the draining of the marshes in Italy for land reclamation and this can only be seen as a success with new towns such as Latina and Sabaudia created as showpieces. Mussolini's next plan of attack was to stabilise his political system and Corporativism was a big part of this. Mussolini's theory was that instead of workers and employers vying against each other, they would work for the interest of the nation. This was based on a system of corporations.

He saw it as a "third way" with all the advantages of capitalism and socialism. The Ministry of Corporations represented the interest of the nation, the employers were represented by themselves and the workers had Fascist syndicate representatives to represent them. Representation however was unbalanced and all power was merely subordinate to Mussolini. In reality, he made all the decisions. Corporativism was not Mussolini's best plan of attack in this sense in that it didn't really prove successful. It was however a facade so Italy appeared to be moving forward and appeared to be solving class conflict and poverty within Italy even if it wasn't.

In order for Mussolini to mould Italy into his own, he would have to create his own Fascist state in his own image. Mussolini encouraged subsidised leisure facilities and started replacing similar facilities that had already been there previously. The OND (the Opera Nazionale Dopo lavoro) was formed in 1925 to provide entertainment. The idea that it was good for your health and better for the nation was pushed. They tried to look like caring employers and offered compensation for low pay.

The idea of the OND was to gain support and not necessarily convert Italians to fascism. By 1939, over 3.8 million Italians had joined the OND and was the largest adult organisation. When the regime collapsed, it was renamed the National Organisation for Worker's Assistance (NOW). Mussolini also realised the importance of the church and settled the church-state quarrel to make Italy seem more together than ever before. Many see this as the greatest achievement of the Duce yet at the same time, this also limited Mussolini's dream of a new nation of Fascists. The church and the government began to have an effect after the Concordat was in place.

Religious Education was reinstated into schools and the crucifix was restored in classrooms. Mussolini gained prestige internationally as a result of the Concordat and Catholic political youth organisations were dissolved. Adolf Hitler would have problems with rival organisations to the Hitler Youth that Mussolini overcame as a result of the Concordat. The church could help Mussolini reach more of the masses and the church was seen by some as a Fascist ally.

The church now had a new Vatican state and Catholicism now had a larger role in education. It was very important that Mussolini made sure that the youth of Italy were behind him in order to ensure a long-term future as Duce. Mussolini himself said "the whole school... must educate youth to understand Fascism, to renew themselves in Fascism and to live in the historic atmosphere created by the Fascist Revolution". Mussolini made a lot of changes to the education system. Mussolini notebooks were handed out and a portrait of the PM was in every classroom. Prayers and songs for Mussolini were sung twice a day.

They gained control over the teachers also and could fire any teacher if they were "incompatible with the political aims of the government". Youth groups were also introduced for all age groups. The ONB / Barilla was introduced in 1929 and it was made compulsory for all to join by 1935. These groups were involved in sport, propaganda lectures, parades and rallies. Membership of the ONB increased throughout its existence, however the enthusiasm for Fascism was going down. Some just joined because their friends did, then they had to as it became compulsory.

Women were also an important factor in creating a Fascist State. The role of women was seen as to be at home, running it and maximising their childbearing. From the mid-20's, women were excluded from certain teaching jobs such as philosophy and history and by 1933, only 10% of women could have state jobs. More women however went to university during this time. Women would be given opportunities but then have them snatched away. They were allowed to vote in local elections in 1925 but they were abolished a year later.

Women were allowed to participate in sports in an attempt to get them healthy but it was thought it might encourage lesbianism or cause infertility. Mussolini's aim with the Battle for Births was to increase Italy's population from 37 million to 60 million in 30 years. There was much pressure for women to perform but women were awarded to. Bachelors were taxed heavily, divorce was illegal and abortion banned. For those who did have children, a silver bar was given to the mother per child, perhaps as a sign of pride. The Birth rate however continued to decline but the population rose to 47.5 million by 1960.

This means that people must have been living longer. The marriage rate also fell which could explain the declining birth rate. Mussolini needed to make himself look omnipotent as their leader and make himself a man to look up to and respect. He needed to create the Cult of the Duce.

Propaganda was a huge part of this. Mussolini had to look like the ultimate Italian man. Art, posters and radio were all used to get the message of Mussolini across. As already discussed, Mussolini was almost ever-present and was in every classroom, every workplace, in every aspect of your life. The youth groups showed their support for Mussolini and he needed to appear like a god to the Italian youth.

At the same time he needed to be what every woman wanted and what every man wanted to be. Photos were shot of him engaging in sport or other activities so he came across as a virile, full blooded Italian man. This was very important to show Italy under the influence of a strong leader who would make Italy strong again. All of these plans of attack were used to increase the profile of not only Fascism but also Mussolini himself and as a result this would in theory make Italy look stronger if not actually become stronger. Autarky was not achieved but this was perhaps an impossible aim anyway. Although Mussolini's Battle for Lira was not successful in the long term, in the short term it gave Italy prestige abroad as did the successful Battle of Marshes.

The Battle for Grain may not have been successful but it showed that Mussolini wasn't a quitter and would try to get what he wanted. He integrated himself into all aspects of Italian life and moulded it the way he wanted although in the long run it wasn't exactly successful as enthusiasm for Fascism fell and the regime eventually crumbled. What Mussolini did do was make it look like everything was brilliant and rosy and as a result made Italy more optimistic. In this way Italy did improve in many ways, Mussolini even settled the church-state argument but Mussolini didn't achieve what he had set out for- a nation of committed Fascists and complete autarky.