The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui is set in 1930s Chicago. The play deliberately repurposes the American city as an allegory for the rise of fascism in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. Brecht presents Chicago as beholden to many of the same forces which marked the rise of fascism, turning the city into a symbol of The Dangers of Greed and Self-Interest. 

There is violence in the streets, most of it caused by petty criminals, but some of it is directed with a political aim. Ui, like Hitler, uses this street violence as a way to further his grip on power. Similarly, the economic situation in Chicago mirrors that of Germany during the 1920s. Chicago is still suffering from many of the lingering effects of the Great Depression, which is causing an economic slowdown in terms of vegetable sales. In showing how the Trust engages in corruption and collusion with Ui to further their own interests, Brecht reveals how social and economic factors can enable the rise of a political force like fascism. The swift degeneration of the city into a violent, lawless place that utterly lacks strong democratic institutions or the rule of law thus embodies the destruction and chaos authoritarian ideologies can unleash wherever they take hold.