Italy+Quiz+Review!

Parliamentary Democracy: A parliamentary democracy is set up in such a way that there is not a majority rule in the sense that we have a majority rule in the United States' democracy. Instead of voting for a specific candidate representing one of two broad parties, in a parliamentary democracy one votes for the party that best aligns with their views. Many parties are represented, and seats in parliament are assigned depending on what percent of the vote a party gets. Parties will form coalitions to gain power, and certain parties do not form coalitions with other parties who's views are radically different from their own.

Fascism (5 tenets): Five key tenets of Fascism include: the idea that perpetual peace is not possible, it does not offer frivolous freedoms, it is based more on altruism than a majority, it values duty and sacrifice, and is based around imperialism. Fascism, since it refutes the idea of perpetual peace, also does not govern by pacifism. Fascists tend to think of war as a duty, and that not joining for a cause is cowardly. Freedoms that we have in the U.S. are seen as problematic instead of a necessity. Fascism also claims to be based around altruism and ethics instead of simply what the people might want. People are not valued as individuals, but simply valued as they may contribute to the State. This value also includes that the state itself has a will and persona. Power cannot be given to individuals. Duty and sacrifice are valued deeply in the Fascist state. No one is important beyond what they can contribute, and in this sense they must (by duty) live their lives aiming only for the improvement of the state, sacrificing everything. The imperialist expansion of the state is also important to fascism, believing that imperialism is a sign of life and strength.

Mussolini: Mussolini was a leader in Italy, and the initiator of Fascism. As a leader, he cared primarily for power, using any opportunity to get it, often neglecting previous convictions and having few principles. He also was intent on removing orthodox conventionality and to restore Italy's prior greatness. In this way he gained the approval of those who feared Communism and those who feared a take over by nearby hostile powers, i.e. Germany. He relied heavily on propaganda and slogans to gain support, and his ability to do was clearly outweighed any flaws in his person.

Corporate State: Mussolini reorganized the government in a way that represented people by their employment and class. Mussolini was at the top, reigning above the Fascist state officials, who then reigned of the categories of employment. There were five main categories of employment, and within each, the group was broken into workers and owners. This system was instated primarily to prevent labor strikes by incorporating workers and owners of the same field into the same political party.

Popolari: The Popolari was a conservative Christian party in Italy, who eventually supported Mussolini and helped contribute to his power. Mussolini won them over by giving the Catholic church restoration of power, money for the church, and the entwinement of church into society. However, the church was widely fooled and ended up scarcely benefitting from the situation and the Fascists in power.

Anti-System Parties: Generally, an Anti-System Party is a political party whose main goal is to abolish the current political system. Their leaders are elected, and then, as leader, they abolish the ability of the people to make important political decisions from there on out. Fascism was an Anti-System Party particularly in the sense that Mussolini did not believe majority and the people should be the main criteria for political decisions, but instead believed in the authority of the state itself, and in the state's will.

Singularization: Singularization is the act of turning diverse populations into single piece or creating a monolithic state of mind for a person. To singularize is to generalize and to disregard possible differences within a group. For instance, putting 'the' in front of a nationality (i.e. 'the Italians') is almost always the precursor to a singularization, and this is something that we as history students must learn to avoid.