one aim was boosted foreign prestige and this was brought about with Battle for the Lire in 1927 where the value of the Lire was officially fixed at 90lire to the pound.
this raised prestige at home and with foreign banks, fulfilling this aim
however there were negative side effects like lower exports causing a depression in industry like textiles and a sharp rise in unemployment
even Fiat sold fewer cars than the decade before
here, the consequences overshadowed the achievement of the aim
1 of 5
Transform the Economy
Mussolini wanted to transform the economy with the corporate state
the idea was that each industry would provide representation for workers and employers so disputes could be settled amicably
this was merely a facade as workers were given fascist representatives and so had no power
the employers gained more influence through confindustria and Mussolini was reluctant to prevent the monopolies like Fiat that had resulted from this as it increased industrialist support
if the aim had been to do this he would have succeeded but it was probably to transform the economy and this did not happen
worker abuse remained the same, this time behind closed doors and the only changes achieved were small things e.g. sick and holiday pay which hardly constitute a transformation
2 of 5
Autarky
Autarky was another aim as war was thought to be inevitable
Italy needed to be prepared especially afger the League of Nations sanctions over Ethiopia
large government contracts were out into heavy industry like chemicals and steel in order to reduce reliance on imports
50% of steel became government directed and more monopolies like Montecatini chemicals developed, keeping businesses on side
Autarky initiated the Battle for Grain to try make Italy self sufficient in this area
the only success of autarky was self-sufficiency in cereal by 1925 but otherwise key materials like coal, oil and iron ore were mainly imported
Italy could not match production levels of other European countries so was unprepared for WW"
Mussolini tried to remedy this with increased military spending but this led to a severe drop in living standards
thus economic policy failed here if it brought no benefits
3 of 5
Strengthen Rural Life
Mussolini wished to strengthen rural life
Battle of Grain helped this too with government grants and advice given to farmers to try and modernise agriculture
this battle was successful as Italy became self-sufficient in this area
however, land used for this could have been better utilized for citrus fruits and thus this policy was inefficient as it produced much waste
another battle involved in strengthening rural life was battle for marshes to reclaim land
it improved public health by reducing malaria and provided popaganda opportunities when Mussolini was able to pose with farmers to show he cared about ordinary people
the success of this battle, though, was exaggerated as only small amounts of land were reclaimed
living standards in the rural areas were not improved with 0.5% of the southern population owning most of the land
moreover, Italy scored 18th in a table displaying calorific intake of people in Europe
4 of 5
Transport
transport was successful
many motorways were built
railways underwent electrification
economy was stimulated
new jobs provided
infrastructure improved
north/south links improved
however, more could have been done in this area had Mussolini not focused so heavily on prestige projects
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