Were Italians better off under fascism (economy)

Question 1

List the factors that suggest that the regime had a positive impact on living standards

Answer 1

Open conflict between workers and employers declined

Economic revival early on in the regime

Wage cuts were offset by falling prices in the early 1930s

The middle classes didn’t suffer too badly from unemployment. The number of government employees doubled under the regime and these people were not made redundant during the depression. However, this did just add to a bloated, expensive and inefficient bureaucracy

Question 2

List the factors that suggest that the regime had a negative impact on living standards

Answer 2

Open conflict between workers and employers only declined because free TUs were banned and strikes were made illegal

Many industrial workers suffered a decline in their standard of living

The economic revival had petered out by the late 1920s, and industry responded with wage cuts

Prices began to rise steeply by the mid-1930s as M’s drive for autarky pushed up the price of imported goods

It is estimated that between 1925-38 the real wages for Italian workers fell by over 10%

Consumption of meat, fruit and vegetables fell

Unemployment rose to 2 million by 1933 despite the public works programmes. However, when adjusted for population, Italy had the same employment rate as Britain, suggesting that this was an issue for all countries and therefore an unfair stick to beat the regime with

Even middle-class office workers suffered wage cuts during the 1930s, but these cuts were much less than those suffered by industrial workers

The working classes suffered more than the middle and upper classes, fueling inequality and class conflict

M was not even concerned that fascism failed to provide a real rise in living standards for Italian workers. In 1930, he said that ‘fortunately that Italian people were not accustomed to eating much and therefore feel the privation less than others. By 1936 he was arguing that ‘we must rid from our minds the idea that what we have called the days of prosperity will return. We are probably moving towards a period where humanity will exist on a lower standard of living’. Not only was M not concerned with the fact that the regime had no raised living standards, but he also viewed it as no bad thing for his people; economic hardship would produce harder, tougher Italians dismissive of a soft, bourgeois lifestyle

Question 3

What kind of welfare system did the regime inherit and how did it attempt to clear this up?

Answer 3

The regime inherited a complex system of welfare, provided by a mixture of private bodies, the Church and state schemes initiated by the liberals

The PNF set up an umbrella organisation, the Agency for Welfare Activities (EOA), to control the distribution of funds

Question 4

List the motivations for improving the welfare system

Answer 4

he government extended welfare schemes in the 1930s as a result of the GD and the increasing stress in that decade on ‘going to the people’ in order to make the masses of ordinary Italians more committed to fascism

M hoped that welfare would help fascism reach areas as of yet untouched by the regime. He thought that welfare provision would also demonstrate the national commitment and inter-class solidarity of the regime, with a kind of noblesse oblige idea

It was thought that welfare would reduce the risk of unrest

It was also thought that it could be used as a form of propaganda to win support

It was thought that it would demonstrate a united nation

It was thought that it would be militarily beneficial through creating a larger and more vigorous population

Question 5

How were the improvements to welfare funded?

Answer 5

It was funded through taxes and levies on various organisations, such as syndicates, companies and banks

Question 6

List the factors that suggest the the fascists created a welfare state

Answer 6

Fascism claimed to represent the interests of the whole community

Fascism cleared up the welare system it inherited by creating the EOA

Government welfare schemes, most notably family allowances, were extended in the 1930s

One of the aims behind welfare was to protect the interests of the people

Sickness insurance in most employment contracts after 1928, although this insurance was only limited

Shorter working hours were introduced in 1934. However, this was only a pragmatic response to the GD rather than coming out of a genuine concern for workers

Family allowances were given to factory workers in 1934. However, this was only to compensate for the reduction in working hours

OMNI provided infant welfare schemes

Special payments were given out in times of crisis. For instance, during the 1934-5 winter, 1.75 million families were receiving relief

Question 7

List the factors that suggest the fascists did not create a welfare state

Answer 7

The regime did not pass welfare measures

Most funds for the EOA came from private donations, with fascism simply taking the credit

A government system of health insurance was not set up until 1943

Inequality in terms of hospital provision; there were some good hospitals in the major cities, while many areas had no hospital facilities at all

No extensions of the government pension scheme until minor improvements in 1939

No improvements to an already very limited unemployment insurance scheme

Question 8

Assess the fascist welfare system

Answer 8

Despite government boasts, the welfare system was not particularly impressive

Question 9

What did government welfare measures focus on and what was this at the expense of?

Answer 9

Government measures concentrated on increasing the power of the nation rather than raising living standards

Question 10

Why can not all advances in welfare be attributed to the regime?

Answer 10

Some advances in welfare cannot be attributed to the regime. For instance, while TB cases fell, this was down to scientific advancement

Question 11

What does Salvemini think about the welfare system?

Answer 11

Salvemini made his assessment while in exile in 1936. He said that very few fresh initiatives can be attributed to the regime. Instead, they simply brought existing initiatives under the central state banner of the EOA. He then said that the maintenance of these institutions went on to cause a 4.5% wage decrease. He said that the regime does deserve some credit, although the successful policies that the regime did bring about were motivated by the notion of using them as propaganda tools for self-promotion, rather than genuine concern for the Italian people

Question 12

What does Zamagni think about the welfare system?

Answer 12

Zamagni said that fascist social policy was a mixture of measures that had already been put into place by the liberals and other badly coordinated efforts motivated by ideology and pragmatism, which demonstrated just how little social progress was made

Question 13

What does Tannenbaum say about the system of family allowances?

Answer 13

Tannenbaum said that the system of family allowances had both humanitarian and nationalistic motivations. He says that the system was a poor substitute for real wage increases and was not tied to any broader system of social security

Question 14

What does Morgan say about the motivations behind welfare provision?

Answer 14

Morgan said that by providing the moral and material benefits of welfare, the regime was extending its control over the population

Question 15

What does Clark say about the welfare system?

Answer 15

Clark said that Italy at this time was not exactly a welfare state, rather a medley of different provisions and semi-state welfare bodies. He does say that the novel system helped diffuse working class unrest

Question 16

List the motivations behind the creation of the OND

Answer 16

To some extent the regime was just replacing similar facilities that had been previously provided by the labour and cooperative organisations that it had just banned

The creation of the OND was not primarily motivated with improving living standards, but rather to improve their health and gain support for the regime

By using the OND to provide greater opportunities for participation in sport, the regime could better exploit national success in spectator sports for propaganda purposes

The OND illustrated the totalitarian ambitions of the regime, looking to control all aspects of Italian citizens’ lives. The OND was particularly aimed at groups, particularly in rural areas, which remained outside the influence of the press, radio and cinema

The OND’s major extension in the 1930s came as part of the ‘going to the people’ policy of trying to integrate the masses into the state

One of the OND’s aims was to make up for low pay

Another was to aid production by creating healthier workers

Another was to foster the image of caring employers

The OND was the main point of contact with the potentially hostile industrial class; it was hoped that through it they might become more attracted to the regime

Question 17

When was the OND created and what was it created to do?

Answer 17

The Dopolavaro (OND) was created in 1925 to provide state sponsored after work entertainment

Question 18

What happened to the OND in 1927?

Answer 18

Reorganised under the PNF in 1927

Question 19

What did the OND take over?

Answer 19

Took over many existing clubs and activities

Question 20

Describe what the OND was

Answer 20

Huge agency providing social activities, holidays, entertainment, sport and welfare

Question 21

When did the OND undergo a major extension?

Answer 21

The 1930s

Question 22

What two major things did the OND provide?

Answer 22

As well as providing leisure activities, it also provided financial assistance for members in need. This role was extended during the Battle for the Lira as many workers were suffering wage reductions

Question 23

What did some firms begin to develop?

Answer 23

Their own Dopolavaro institutions

Question 24

How did the state encourage as many people to become OND members as possible?

Answer 24

OND subscriptions were subsidised by the state, with employers forced to contribute

Question 25

List the different activities offered by the OND

Answer 25

Libraries, films and radios for communal listening

A travel agency which subsidised trips

Mobile cinemas, theatres and orchestras for remote areas

Sport and summer camps

Offered welfare to families in distress

Question 26

How was the OND different to the German KDF?

Answer 26

Placed less emphasis on self-improvement than the German KDF

Question 27

Make the arguement that the OND was effective

Answer 27

The OND definitely helped win support for the regime

The OND was good at gaining support because it was largely non-ideological

The OND had impressive membership; 281,000 in 1926, 1.7 million in 1931, 3.8 million in 1939. This amounted about 80% of salaried employees, 40% of the industrial workforce and 25% of peasants

By the late 1930s, the OND was providing over 4 million holiday trips a year

Most villages even in the south, had a dopolavaro clubhouse

It diverted attention away from the socio-economic problems at the time

Gave the state greater control over Italians’ leisure time

It was the regime’s most popular institution and survived the collapse of the regime; in 1945 it was renamed the National Organisation for Worker Assistance

Question 28

Make the arguement that the OND was ineffective

Answer 28

The OND winning support must be distinguished from turning Italians into committed fascists; most accepted the regime but did not absorb the ideology

It did not help foster a sense of national community; there was often class segregation on trains and cruise ships

Question 29

What is De Grand’s positive account of the OND?

Answer 29

De Grand said that the initial aims of the regime, like eliminating oppositional socialism, bringing the population under organisational control and blunting social tensions were achieved by fascist organisational policies

Question 30

Give Whittam’s negative view of the OND

Answer 30

Whittam says that if the regime was hoping to create a forceful, militaristic society and turn the average Italian into the ‘fascist man’, then the OND not only failed, but was counterproductive. This is because it allowed Italians to enjoy resources without any proper commitment to the regime and its ideals

Question 31

Why is it difficult to assess how the regime impacted the living standards of Italians?

Answer 31

It is difficult to determine living standards due to disagreement among historians about what criteria to use and the nature of the available sources, as well as the fact that some of them have differing interpretations. This applies to both the statistical and anecdotal evidence

Question 32

List the factors that suggest that the living standards of Italians improved under fascism

Answer 32

De Felice substantiated his controversial claims about a pro-fascist consensus within Italy by referring to rising working class living standards

Overall personal consumption rose by 6% between 1923-39

Increased social security contributions increased living standards in the long term but reduced the amount of disposable income Italians had available in the short term

Question 33

List the factors that suggest that the living standards of Italians were not improved by the regime

Answer 33

There was no incentive for M to care about living standards since he was not accountable to the electorate

More recent historians, like Corner and Abse, have found strong evidence for a decline in living standards due to things like the revaluation of the lira and the GD

The imposition of government wage cuts in 1927, 1930 and 1934 reduced wages below the cost of living

Wage cuts were facilitated by the fact that fascist unions were weak, and the corporate structure was imbalanced

Personal consumption fell by 15% between 1939-42, and them more dramatically between 1943-5

There was a decline in the per capita consumption of meat, fruit, vegetables, fats, tobacco and coffee

Italians could not even emigrate to the USA anymore as they had set a cap of 100,000 per year

The fascist policies on women reduced female employment levels, meaning they could no longer be independent

Lack of genuine TU representation for workers

The fascist autarkic policies had a negative impact on living standards

Question 34

What does Williamson say about the impact that fascism had on living standards?

Answer 34

Williamson says that overall Italy was more prosperous in 1939 than it had been in 1923. He says that GDP increased by 1.2% each year, but that this modest increase did not benefit all Italians equally. Says that the industrialists and the great northern landowners benefitted the most from the regime, but that the middle classes also gained stability and protection from socialism. Their savings were also protected from inflation due to the Battle for the Lira. By doubling the number of government workers from 500,000 to 1 million, the regime was able to offer the more educated members of the middle class secure jobs in the state service. He says that M was not so successful in being able to control the peasantry. Despite his repeated slogan of giving land to the peasants, the low price of food in the inter-war period and the Battle for Grain meaning that grain was grown at the expense of traditional export crops such as fruit, vegetables and wine meant that the number of small farmers declined from 3.4 million to slightly less than three million in 1931. He said that the industrial workers faired slightly better under fascism, although their unions were replaced by ineffective fascist syndicates. In 1926 they had to work longer hours and between 1924-8 there were real wage cuts amounting to about 25%. However, he points out that they did benefit from Italy’s relatively speedy recovery from the GD and that, for all their flaws, the fascist syndicates did manage to secure members welfare and employment, due to the new idea that labour was a ‘social duty’ according to the Charter of Labour. Family allowances were brought in to compensate for reduced working hours designed to spread the work around during the GD. Employers also agreed to introduce Christmas bonuses and holiday pay by the late 1930s and to include accident and sickness insurance. These benefits, combined with the leisure activities offered by the OND, helped allay working class contempt for the regime. He says that on the whole workers accepted fascism without become whole hearted supporters of the regime. He says that for all M’s claims about unifying Italy the gap between the industrialised north and the backward rural south continued to widen. He points towards the fact that the standard of living fell drastically in the south, and by 1950 per capita income was only 60% of what it had been in 1924

Question 35

What does Tannenbaum say about the impact fascism had on living standards?

Answer 35

Tannenbaum said that the regime had virtually complete control over the labour movement but very little control over the nation’s economic structure. He says that the monarchy, the church, the armed forces and big business, both urban and rural, cooperated with the regime when it had to but never completely committed themselves to fascism and ran their affairs with little state interference. Neither the regime nor the corporations were willing to bully Fiat, Pirelli or the Bank of Italy. The regime colluded with these giants to crush Italy’s independent labour movement. The new unions were completely fascist, not really company or state unions. They were the prime example of how the regime pushed millions of everyday Italians around while leaving the rich and powerful alone for the most part