Fascist rule crushed strike activity by 97 percent within two years.

Evidence

A year into the new regime, the minister of fi nance, Alberto De Stefani, could toast to labor’s defeat: “In 1920/21 the loss through strikes was 8,201,000 working days and in 1921/1922 7,336,000 days. From 1st November 1922 to 31st October 1923 the loss has been only 247,000 [days- a 97 percent drop in two years]. Profi ts and revenues are increasing” (Summary of Financial Statement, Italian Senate, December 8, 1923, FO 371/8887, fol. — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1039

Categorization

• SHARE: A concrete, dramatic figure — the 97 percent collapse in strike days under Mussolini — perfect for an economist or labor historian who studies repression’s effect on worker mobilization.