p. 913-919

A quote from our book: "Activities like these [political rallies, youth marches, etc.] offered people a feeling of political involvement though they no longer enjoyed political rights" (917). The main thing fascism had to offer was an illusion: the illusion of a stable, strong state, the illusion of national unity, the illusion of efficiency, economic growth, and the return of traditional values. By promising all these things and keeping the people occupied with exercise programs for young people and parades, Mussolini could give them a feeling of being part of something larger and more important than themselves, even as they sacrificed all real participation in the country's rule. The ideology and rhetoric of the time changed, but the actual running of Italy remained mainly in the same hands, using the same methods. One of the successes of Italy is that while nothing much was different, people felt it to be different through their community organizations and family mobilizations for fascism. The new order changed only the face of the country, not its true foundations, but it hardly mattered. With all the outward signs of progress (rallies and parades), who could not believe that Mussolini was making a difference in Italy?