What was life like for Italians under Benito Mussolinis fascist regime?
Mussolini was able to boost industrial production, stabilize the currency, revamped government services such as the railroads (he famously got the trains to run on time), and launched a campaign for economic self-sufficiency. He also established national councils representing employers and workers to arbitrate labor disputes. However these tended to favour business. Landowners and the bourgeoisie saw Mussolini as Italy’s savior because he brought social order and enacted pro-business policies. However, the proletariat saw their standard of living fall because the regime gave free rein to businesses. Naturally many working class Italians were opposed to Mussolini. Some Catholics opposed the regime because it banned many of their organizations, however the church did go to great lengths to accommodatee his regime. The peasants were divided. Landowners favored Mussolini, while landless peasants were often hostile to the regime. Opponents of the regime were often silenced with violence or
