The regime of Benito Mussolini, who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943, profoundly transformed the country’s economic landscape. Displaying a desire for national greatness and strategic independence, the man nicknamed the Duce implemented an authoritarian and highly interventionist economic policy. But behind the rhetoric of modernization and self-sufficiency, the results were mixed, even disappointing, and left Italy weakened on the eve of the Second World War.
Mussolini died 80 years ago, leaving behind an economic legacy as authoritarian as it was ambiguous…
Unsuccessful economic experiments
One of the ideological pillars of the Mussolini era was corporatism, presented as an alternative to class conflict. A former revolutionary trade unionist, Mussolini banned free trade unions in 1925, replacing them with Fascist trade unions under the authority of the National Fascist Party. The state imposed artificial cooperation between employers and employees within “guilds” that were supposed to represent the economic and social interests of the nation. In reality, these structures served above all to neutralize workers’ demands.
The Labour Charter, promulgated in 1927, laid the foundations for this system. It proclaimed that work was a social duty, and that individual rights had to take a back seat to those of the State. If the regime boasted of having pacified labor relations, it was largely by eliminating the possibility of protest. At the same time, businesses remained privately owned, but under rigid regulations that favored large firms loyal to the regime.
The Fascist campaign was seen as the core of Italian identity. In 1925, Mussolini also launched the “wheat battle”, aimed at increasing domestic cereal production and limiting imports. Although yields increased, it was at the cost of monoculture and a reduction in other agricultural products such as wine, fruit and legumes.
The regime also carried out land reclamation campaigns, notably in the Pontine marshes, which were drained and allocated to settler families. These highly staged operations had little impact on rural demographics or food security. The rural exodus continued, and land inequalities remained unchanged.
Mussolini, still determined to make Italy a great power, multiplied his fields of action and in 1926 launched the “battle of the lira”, artificially revaluing the national currency. The exchange rate was set at 90 lire to the pound, a move more symbolic than economic. Initially welcomed by the elites, this choice proved disastrous for the export industry, whose products became too expensive abroad.
The Italian economy lost competitiveness, and industrial production slowed. Companies were forced to cut wages to compensate for the loss of market share, worsening the situation for workers. The regime responded by stepping up state intervention, in a move that was to become even more pronounced with the 1929 crisis.
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