The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

If there is a common factor that brings together the characters in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, it is self-interest. Each character shows themselves to be, at heart, a cynic. There are few figures who are not greedy, self-interested, or cynical, a situation that Ui seizes upon to take power. Since he is the most cynical and self-interested of all, he is best- equipped to take advantage of the shared failings of society. The play thus examines the dangers of greed and self-interest, exposing how such moral failings can enable the rise of fascism.

The setting of 1930s Chicago mirrors the economic strife of Germany in the 1920s. Like Germany, Chicago is suffering from an economic downturn. The sudden need for money has a caustic effect on the morality of the characters, making them more likely to act in a purely self-interested manner. The men of the Cauliflower Trust, for example, are not willing to endure lost profits. Rather than invest in the city and its infrastructure, they plot to take a bank loan (secured in the name of renovating the docks) and use it to make up for their diminished earnings.