There is a widespread belief that social rebellion and mass support for extremist political groups are somehow related to a society's economic environment, but the precise role of economic development has remained ambiguous. Italy is an excellent context for exploration of the exact relationship between dissent and economic conditions because of its political upheavals, public concern over links between crime and politics, and geographic disparities in economic development. Relevant hypotheses derived from the literature are reviewed which postulate correlations between crime and support for extremist political activity or associate both phenomena with urban industrial development, the degree of religious organization in an area, social change due to industrialization, and variations in living standards. In order to map differences in provincial development, this study first selected variables descriptive of urban structure and industrial activity from 1951 and 1961 census waves. A living standard scale was constructed for both time periods, and noneconomic factors were considered, such as the density of religious organizations, electoral support, and criminal activity. Analysis of the data revealed a strong positive relationship between crime and support for polticial extremism, particularly support for the Italian Social Movement (MSI). In contrast, support for the communists was not related to crime or support for the MSI. Crime and political extremism were higher in more urbanized provinces and generally were centered in the poorer, more deprived regions. Property crime, however, was higher in more developed and affluent areas. The incidence of social and political dissent was lower in provinces with higher densities of religious organizations. An examination of the profound developmental differences between north and south showed that southern provinces had a lower standard of living than would be expected given their relative level of urban industrial development. Areas with these imbalances demonstrated a greater propensity for crime and MSI support. Using path analysis, several models are presented which illustrate interrelationships between all variables examines in the study, with particular attention to the MSI and the concept of imbalance as a significant influence on rebellion and political protest. Tables, charts, and over 50 footnotes are provided.