Benito Mussolini Essay On Race Theory

During the late 1800s and early 1900s race theory was used to justify the actions of European leaders. Race theory, the idea that human beings were divided into superior and inferior races, can be derived from Social Darwinism. Herbert Spencer, an English philosopher, applied the idea from before the 1850s that human beings were divided into different races with biological superiority to develop the idea of Social Darwinism (McKay, p. 697). This theory states that races that were the best adapted were superior. Race theory, or the idea of superior and inferior races, influenced the actions of European leaders during the times of imperialism and fascism. Social Darwinism and the idea of race theory became a justification for imperialism during …show more content…
In October 1936, Mussolini and his army attacked Ethiopia in hopes of adding it to the Italian empire. During the attack, Hitler was the only person, along with his Nazi party, to show support for Mussolini. This support developed ties between Mussolini and Hitler. After some time, Mussolini promised Hitler his complete allegiance. This alliance influenced Mussolini to adapt some of the same views that Hitler held on race (McKay, p. 846). In July of 1938, Mussolini’s government passed a series of laws published in “The Manifesto on Race.” This manifesto adopted the racial view that Jews were inferior. “Jews do not belong to the Italian Race. . . The Jews represent the only population that has never assimilated in Italy because it is racially non-European, completely different from the [racial] elements that created Italians.” The creation of the Manifesto was Mussolini’s idea of discriminating against the Jewish population in Italy (Manifesto, 97). Eventually, Mussolini started rounding up Jews, like Hitler, in efforts to remove them from Italy’s population (Lecture, Week