Historians' assessment of fascist economic policy Flashcards
What was Tannenbaum’s view?
Economically fascism was a failure
Says that the corporate state did nothing to reduce class antagonisms or improve economic conditions. It never actually functioned except in theory.
He says that while Italy may have become almost self-sufficient in wheat production she did this at the expense of the rest of her agriculture.
The IRI served mainly to do a salvage operation rather than to stimulate economic growth.
Italy’s performance in conservation and recovery following the GD was worse than any other major country. The fascist regime did more to hinder than aid economic growth and modernisation
Even before the disastrous losses of WWII, growth in national income was retarded by restrictive cartels, the discouragement of of urban growth, the Battle for Grain, autarky and the promotion of the war industry
What is Maier’s view?
Says that the rhythm of industrial development does not seem to be tied to the regime
Fascist interventions were part of a longer pattern of public initiatives. The regime encouraged spurs of development and this increased when it shifted its attention to autarky
The regime made few achievements in terms of modernisation that would not have just been achieved by a different government anyway
The fascists took control of a divided country still ripe for the changes to be brought about by industrialisation
The fascists did not succeed in pushing through structural changes that were not already on their way
The government before and after had more impressive records
The fascists provided over further advances at a moderate pace in the already modernised regions
The regime enjoyed two periods of economic growth, 1922-5 and 1935-9, between these two periods, the fascist suffered the same stagnation that affected all capitalist economies and that had repeatedly hobbled Italian growth
What is di Scalia’s view?
Fascist economic policies had their failures, particularly in terms of agriculture and wages
However, those policies also stimulated important modern industries such as electricity, steel, engineering, chemicals and artificial fibres
Italy’s economic profile began to resemble that of modern European countries to a greater degree than in the past
What is Vajda’s view
Under the fascists, Italy underwent massive capitalist development, with the electrification of the whole country, the blossoming automobile and silk industries, the creation of an up to date banking system and the prospering of agriculture
Italy’s rapid post-WWII progress would have been impossible without the social processes begun during the fascist era
