Why did many Italians support the Fascist party?

Answer 1

promised a better life

Okay, a better one

Italy, the allies (which supported U.S.A, British, France etc.) had a part in the Versailles treaty which was imposed on Germany. However, they did not get a big part of it. Benito Mussolini, the leader of the Facist promised them to bring out of it and put Italy on a respective position.

Answer 2

With the Germans, they were looking for groups to blame their problems on and this was the jews and communists. The people liked this because they didn't feel as though they were responsible for their problems. There are other reasons as well.

Answer 3

* Fear of Communism * Yearning for a military-style command structure in ordinary civilian life. There's also a theory proposed by T. Adorno and others in "The Authoritarian Personality" (1950) that Fascism appeals strongly to people with authoritarian personalities - the sort of people who long for simple answers to complex questions, have problems coping with uncertainty and ambiguity, are intolerant, servile and conformist (and according to some, are stuck at the "anal" stage of development ... if you take Freud seriously). The theory is interesting, but I would suggest taking it with a ladle full of salt. The second and third links below provide a lists of key authoritarian personality features and is quite useful if viewed with some skepticism.

Answer 4

There are various arguments as to why fascism appealed to the Italians. For example, it could be argued that they wanted to recapture the glory of the Roman Empire.