Were Italians better off under F? Flashcards
What was BM’s principal aim?
not the material improvement of people’s lives but to make Italians harder and better fighters; an easy existence might weaken their spirit.
BUT they couldn’t be ignored- don’t want a return to the post-war economic unrest.
What were the aims of Welfare in FI?
1) to protect the interests of the people
2) to reduce the danger of unrest
3) as a form of propaganda to win support
4) to demonstrate a united support
5) to prepare Italians for military success through a larger and more vigorous population.
How was welfare funded?
state taxation and levies on various organisations, e.g. syndicates, companies and banks
Health measures
1) limited sickness insurance in most employment contracts after 1928, but a govt system not introduced until 1943
2) huge variations in hospital provisions: cities- good hospitals BUT many areas had zero hospital facilities
Pensions
No extension of govt scheme until minor improvements in 1939
Working conditions/ unemployment
- NO improvements in v. limited unemployment insurance schemes
- working hours reduced to 40hrs in 1934 but due to GD
Childcare
- 1934 family allowances to factory workers (compensate for fewer working hours)
- ONMI provided infant welfare schemes
General welfare
1.75M families in 1934 receiving winter relief
What did the F regime inherit?
a complicated system of welfare, provided by charities and the CC, and state schemes introduced by LG
What did the party set up to control the distribution of funds?
the EOA (an umbrella organisation)
Where did most of the funds come from for the EOA?
Industrialists and syndicates but party claimed the credit
When were govt welfare schemes extended?
1930s- mainly due to GD, but also by the increasing stress in that decade in “going to the people”, to make the mass of Italians more committed to F.
What did BM hope welfare would allow the F regime to do?
reach areas of life as yet little touched by the regime
What would welfare provision demonstrate?
-the NATIONAL COMMITMENT and INTER-CLASS SOLIDARITY of the regime, with the rich contributing to help the poor.
What is Morgan’s view of the WS?
“By providing the moral and material benefits of welfare, the party was extending the regime’s network of control and surveillance of the population”
What was Clarke’s view of the WS?
“This was not exactly a Welfare State but it helped to defuse WC unrest”
To some extent what did these leisure facilities replace?
those similar that had been previously provided by cooperative and labour organisations which the govt had dissolved.
When was the OND founded?
1925
What was the OND/ Doplavoro?
provided state-sponsored after work entertainment
What was BM primarily motivated by when he created leisure facilities?
not a desire to make life more enjoyable BUT to improve their HEALTH and to gain their SUPPORT for the regime.
Providing greater sports facilities would assist propaganda.
What does the OND illustrate?
the TOTALITARIAN aspirations of the regime- seeking to exercise control over all aspects of Italians’ lives.
Particularly aimed at those in rural areas who remained largely outside the influence of press, radio and cinema.
Why did the OND undergo a massive extension in the 1930s?
As part of the “going to the people” policy of trying to integrate the masses into the state”.
What is important to understand about the OND?
It undoubtedly won support for the regime but it must be DISTINGUISHED from turning Italians into committed Fs:
MOST ACCEPTED THE REGIME BUT DID NOT ABSORB THE IDEOLOGY
When was the role of the OND extended?
during the BfL to help workers suffering wage reductions
