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====Background====
Prior to 1914, Mussolini was a committed socialist. <ref>John Whittam. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0719040043/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0719040043&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=e4bbe537193f219127ba43a1cb7de8eb Fascist Italy]''. (Manchester, England; New York, New York, USA: Manchester University Press, 2006). p. 165.</ref> However, when the socialists adopted a policy of neutrality in World War One, Mussolini opposed it and was later expelled from the party.<ref> -Whittam, p. 166</ref> Mussolini was a well-known journalist and had strongly advocated for Italy’s entrance into the war in his newspaper, in 1914. Mussolini was an Italian Nationalist, and he wanted to unify his country, he regularly employed nationalist rhetoric that portrayed Italy as a great power to eliminate regional loyalties that had kept the country divided despite the official unification of the country in 1871.
When Italy did enter the war on the side of the Allies in 1915, Mussolini volunteered and served with distinction on the front. He was severely injured in 1917 and was forced to leave the army.<ref>Whittam, p. 117.</ref> Mussolini, like Hitler, Mussolini was deeply influenced by the war, and he came to believe that war was essential for a nation, as it would allow it and its people to achieve greatness. Later on, as leader of Italy, he would seize every opportunity to become involved in war and conflict. The war also confirmed Mussolini in his belief that action mattered more than debate and reason, and this was central to his fascist ideology, in turn, this led to the glorification of violence.<ref> Kallis, Aristotle. 2000. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415216125/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0415216125&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=7f886345b5e4f3a16e2fc31dab010522 Fascist Ideology]''( London, Routledge 2000)p. 45.</ref>
====Conclusion====
The Italian Fascists would later portray their seizure of power as a ‘revolution.’ Powerful elites in Italy allowed them to take control in 1921. Italian elites wanted to ensure that Italy did not become a Socialist or Communist country. They saw the establishment of the Fascist government as the best way to avoid this fate. Without the fear of a ‘Red Revolution,’ the Italian army, monarchy, and others would never have allowed Mussolini to assume power in Rome. Mussolini and the Fascists were not the most popular group in Italy and they could never have come to power by purely democratic means. The fear of Communist Revolution meant that they were permitted to assume power and stay in power.
====Suggested Readings====
* Kallis, Aristotle. 2000. ''[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415216125/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0415216125&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=7f886345b5e4f3a16e2fc31dab010522%20Fascist%20Ideology%5D Fascist Ideology]'' London, Routledge, 2000.
* Anthony James Gregor (1979). ''[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0520037995/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0520037995&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=4a5f21e69ccadd77db64058f31f928c3%20Young%20Mussolini%20and%20the%20Intellectual%20Origins%20of%20Fascism%5D Young Mussolini and the Intellectual Origins of Fascism]''. University of California Press, 1979.
* De Grand, Alexander. ''[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/027596874X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=027596874X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=42fa8cf7dcd7f08fc94cb2f38709ff8a%20The%20Hunchback's%20Tailor:%20Giovanni%20Giolitti%20and%20Liberal%20Italy%20from%20the%20Challenge%20of%20Mass%20Politics%20to%20the%20Rise%20of%20Fascism,%201882–1922%5D The Hunchback's Tailor: Giovanni Giolitti and Liberal Italy from the Challenge of Mass Politics to the Rise of Fascism]'' Praeger, 2001.
* De Grand, Alexander. [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0803266227/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0803266227&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=981bb5a41634eb0933f4fb317c10a84e Italian Fascism: Its Origins and Development]. University of Nebraska Press, 2007 (3rd Edition).
* Farrell, Nicholas. ''[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1842121235/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1842121235&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1ded7d46b1d91a3be742b28a7a7209d3%20Mussolini:%20A%20New%20Life%5D Mussolini: A New Life]''. London: Phoenix Press, 2003.
* Bosworth, Richard J. B. ''[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143038567/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143038567&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=ccf60885755b7018e8e260f6899f1260%20Mussolini's%20Italy%5D Mussolini's Italy]'' Penguin, 2007.
* John Whittam. ''[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0719040043/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0719040043&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=e4bbe537193f219127ba43a1cb7de8eb%20Fascist%20Italy%5D Fascist Italy]''. Manchester University Press, 2006.
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