The origins of Italian fascism can be attributed to the establishment of the “Fasci di Combattimento” (or: Italian Fasci of Combat) in 1919. Created by Mussolini in an attempt to calm Socialist uprisings in the state, the organization was a para-military group, which sought to promote …show more content…
The loss gave way to a change in Mussolini’s ideology from his desire for revolutionary inclination to parliamentary struggle (Lee, 2000). He created a political party out of the Fasci di Combattimento and his success showed in the 1921 parliamentary election, where the party won 35 seats. The main themes of the party were now of nationalism and anti-communism. They got support from large businesses, the military, the Church and the aristocracy. This backing can be credited mainly to the various group’s unified fear of Socialist uprising. In order to further align with socialist opponents, they changed their ideological stance once again to accommodate their allies. They adopted policies of free enterprise, accepting the monarchy and the Church as intuitions, and promotion of family values (De Grand, 2000). This enabled them to have continued growth rates in terms of membership, funding, and support, because their cause appealed to a larger