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Philosophy Of Benito Mussolini

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Benito Mussolini was one of the most influential leaders of the twentieth century. He led a fringe political party to the creation of a new order in the country of Italy after World War One; seemingly taking and implementing notes from teaching of Niccoló Machiavelli’s The Prince in his early rule as “Il Duce”. However, after his rise to power he stumbled and went against many of the things Machiavelli taught. Mussolini’s triumphs as the leader of Italy must be looked at with admiration due to the fact of how well he follows Machiavelli’s teachings in his early rule.
Mussolini used virtue instead of fortune to get to his political standings. In 1919, Benito created the “Black Shirts” which he used to terrorize political opponents who went against his beliefs (biography.com). He capitalized on the discontent of the Italian people due to the Treaty of Versailles instead of relying solely on his socioeconomic standings to get power. He followed the teaching of Machiavelli, “Men like these who become princes through the exercise of their own virtu find it hard to achieve that status but easy to keep it” (Machiavelli, 11). He took the harder path of earning the people’s trust through words and actions rather than money and wealth. He was a private citizen who relied on his ability to lead people instead of only throwing money at problems to him in a chair of political significance.
Mussolini had favor in the eyes of the public in his early days of rule. Machiavelli states,

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