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Italian liberal socialism: Anti-fascism and the third way

2002; Routledge; Volume: 7; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/1356931022000010601

1469-9613

James Martin,

Political theory and Gramsci

This article surveys the discourse of liberal socialism in inter-war Italy. Like its British counterpart of the same period, Italian liberal socialism anticipated certain themes in contemporary efforts to forge a left-of-centre third way, in particular an ethically-driven rebalancing of individual liberty with social justice. Unlike its British version, the Italian variety was organized around anti-fascism and the demand for a revolutionary rupture with the post-unification state. Following an outline of three key thinkers in the broad liberal socialist tradition--Piero Gobetti, Carlo Rosselli and Guido Calogero--the role of anti-fascism as a 'discursive frontier' in structuring liberal socialist discourse is discussed, as well as the limitations it set on its success in developing into a popular ideology.