Italian fascism emerged by consent of liberal elites, not military seizure

Evidence

Mussolini’s fascist regime was not the result of a coup d’état that seized power through violence. Rather, it was the result of a pernicious process in which bourgeois and liberal government bodies handed over power, knowing they couldn’t manage the existential crisis of capitalism in any other way. … Liberals and fascists shared the common goal of protecting the capital order and aligned on the method to do so: aggressive austerity policies. — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 354

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the same dynamic as Pinochet and Yeltsin cases later in this chapter — a recurring pattern of liberal establishment endorsing authoritarian suppression to protect capital. — connects to: Liberal governments voluntarily ceded power to Mussolini rather than face a capitalist crisis — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism: An Intervention, 354; Italian elites saw the factories occupation as a near-revolutionary moment that was not seized — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 1679
• SEED: Article angle: ‘fascism by invitation’ — how liberal institutions have repeatedly handed power to authoritarians rather than confront capitalism’s crises.

Broader Connections

• Liberal governments voluntarily ceded power to Mussolini rather than face a capitalist crisis #corroborates (0.92) — Clara E. Mattei, Escape from Capitalism, 354
• Italian elites saw the factories occupation as a near-revolutionary moment that was not seized #expands (0.82) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1679