Download or read book The Tailor of Ulm written by Lucio Magri and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2019-08-13 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twenty years have passed since the Italian Communists’ last Congress in 1991, in which the death of their party was decreed. It was a deliberate death, accelerated by the desire for a “new beginning.” That new beginning never came, and the world lost an invaluable, complex political, organizational and theoretical heritage. In this detailed and probing work, Lucio Magri, one of the towering intellectual figures of the Italian Left, assesses the causes for the demise of what was once one of the most powerful and vibrant communist parties of the West. The PCI marked almost a century of Italian history, from its founding in 1921 to the partisan resistance, the turning point of Salerno in 1944 to the de-Stalinization of 1956, the long ’68 to the “historic compromise,” and to the opportunity—missed forever—of democratic transformation. With rigor and passion, The Tailor of Ulm merges an original and enlightening interpretation of Italian communism with the experience of a militant “heretic” into a riveting read—capable of broadening our insights into contemporary Italy, and the twentieth-century communist experience.
Download or read book The Rebirth of Italian Communism 1943 44 written by David Broder and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-10-13 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the final years of the Second World War, a decisive change took place in the Italian left, as the Italian Communist Party (PCI) rose from clandestinity and recast itself as a mass, patriotic force committed to building a new democracy. This book explains how this new party came into being. Using Rome as its focus, it explains that the rebirth of the PCI required that it subdue other, dissident strands of communist thinking. During the nine-month German occupation of Rome in 1943-44, dissident communists would create the capital’s largest single resistance formation, the Communist Movement of Italy (MCd’I), which galvanised a social revolt in the capital's borgate slums. Exploring this wartime battle to define the rebirth of Italian communism, the author examines the ways in which a militant minority of communists rooted their activity in the everyday lives of the population under occupation. In particular, this study focuses on the role of draft resistance and the revolt against labour conscription in driving recruitment to partisan bands, and how communist militants sought to mould these recruits through an active effort of political education. Studying the political writing of these dissidents, their autodidact Marxism and the social conditions in which it emerged, this book also sheds light on an often-ignored underground culture in the years that preceded the armed resistance that began in September 1943. Revealing an almost unknown history of dissident communism in Italy, outside of more recognisable traditions like Trotskyism or Bordigism, this book provides an innovative perspective on Italian history. It will be of interest to those researching the broad topics of political and social history, but more specifically, resistance in the Second World War and the post-war European left.
Download or read book The Communist written by Guido Morselli and published by New York Review of Books. This book was released on 2017-09-19 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique political coming of age story, now in English for the first time. An NYRB Classics Original Walter Ferranini has been born and bred a man of the left. His father was a worker and an anarchist; Walter himself is a Communist. In the 1930s, he left Mussolini’s Italy to fight Franco in Spain. After Franco’s victory, he left Spain for exile in the United States. With the end of the war, he returned to Italy to work as a labor organizer and to build a new revolutionary order. Now, in the late 1950s, Walter is a deputy in the Italian parliament. He is not happy about it. Parliamentary proceedings are too boring for words: the Communist Party seems to be filling up with ward heelers, timeservers, and profiteers. For Walter, the political has always taken precedence over the personal, but now there seems to be no refuge for him anywhere. The puritanical party disapproves of his relationship with Nuccia, a tender, quizzical, deeply intelligent editor who is separated but not divorced, while Walter is worried about his health, haunted by his past, and increasingly troubled by knotty questions of both theory and practice. Walter is, always has been, and always will be a Communist, he has no doubt about that, and yet something has changed. Communism no longer explains the life he is living, the future he hoped for, or, perhaps most troubling of all, the life he has led.
Download or read book Between Hollywood and Moscow written by Stephen Gundle and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2000-12-04 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DIVA study of the cultural policies of the Italian communist party following the collapse of fascismand the struggle with popular consumer culture that led to its demise in 1991./div
Download or read book Letters from Inside the Italian Communist Party to Louis Althusser written by Maria Antonietta Macciocchi and published by New Left Books. This book was released on 1973 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The PCI Artists written by Juan José Gómez Gutiérrez and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2015-09-04 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the artistic policies of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) during the early post-war years (1944–1951), after the defeat of Fascism in Europe and the outbreak of the Cold War. It brings together theoretical debates on artists’ political engagement and an extensive critical apparatus, providing the reader with an historical framework for wider reflections on the relationship between art and politics. After 1944, the PCI became the biggest Communist organisation in the West, placing Italy in an ambiguous position regarding the other European countries. Nevertheless, the immediate strategy of the Communists was not revolution, but liberation from Fascism and the establishment of a democratic system from which a genuine Italian path to Socialism could be found. Taking Antonio Gramsci’s notion of hegemony as a theoretical basis, the Communists intended to generate a progressive social bloc capable of achieving wide consensus within civil society before taking power. In order to accomplish this goal, the collaboration from intellectuals was necessary. The artistic policy of the Italian Communist Party was tailored to this end, counting on representatives from all groups and tendencies of the time, particularly those artists who rejected the imperialistic, autarchic pseudo-classicism that characterised most of Italian art throughout the Fascist years. In the 1930s, international, Modernist and cosmopolitan European culture became an escape route to artists seeking a way out of the oppressive cultural atmosphere of inter-war Italy. However, in the 1940s and 1950s, many of these artists experienced a deep transformation in their work after they became politically involved with the PCI, and were exposed to international Communist culture – and Socialist Realism in particular. This was conveyed not only by conscious changes in their subjects, their style and their material means of expression, but also in the public they addressed and in their own conception of themselves as artistic authors. Hence, at a time when the world was divided into two opposed camps, each heavily inflected by ideological allegiance and supported by powerful propaganda apparatuses, Italian Communist artists became the protagonists of a novel intellectual-political project which pursued the synthesis between antagonistic cultural blocs.
Download or read book The Rise and Fall of Communist Parties in France and Italy written by Marco Di Maggio and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-12-19 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyzes the dynamics through which the two major communist parties of the capitalist world—which in the 1970s had great influence on their respective national political contexts since the 1980s are increasing their marginality and, although in different forms and with different timeframes are unable to stem the decline of their political and cultural influences on the working classes.
Download or read book Comrades and Christians written by David I. Kertzer and published by CUP Archive. This book was released on 1980-03-31 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the popular bases of Communist influence in Italy, focusing on the struggle between the Catholic Church and the Communist Party for the allegiance of the Italian people. The author details the ways in which the citizens resolve the central paradox of Italy, which lies in its beings the home both of the Vatican and of the largest Communist party of any non-Communist nation. He discusses the local structure of the Party, including its many allied organisations and the nature of participation in Party affairs, and stresses its role in local social life. In this study, Professor Kertzer draws upon the experiences and observations of a year spent in a working-class quarter of Bologna, the capital of Italian Communism. While the national Communist Party calls for conciliation with the Church, there is an ancient tradition of anti-clericalism in this area. Moreover, the official Church position excludes the possibility of people being both Catholic and Communist. The implications of this situation for local-level tactics of Church and Party, and how people divide their allegiances between the competing claims, form the primary theme of the book.
Download or read book The French and Italian Communist Parties written by Cyrille Guiat and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-08-02 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is a systematic comparative study of the French and Italian Communist parties in the period from the early 1960s to the early 1980s.
Download or read book Catholics and Communists in Twentieth Century Italy written by Daniela Saresella and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-10-17 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Catholics and Communists in Twentieth-Century Italy explores the critical moments in the relationship between the Catholic world and the Italian left, providing unmatched insight into one of the most significant dynamics in political and religious history in Italy in the last hundred years. The book covers the Catholic Communist movement in Rome (1937-45), the experience of the Resistenza, the governmental collaboration between the Catholic Party (DC) and the Italian Communist Party (PCI) until 1947, and the dialogue between some of the key figures in both spheres in the tensest years of the Cold War. Daniela Saresella even goes on to consider the legacy that these interactions have left in Italy in the 21st century. This pioneering study is the first on the subject in the English language and is of vital significance to historians of modern Italy and the Church alike.
Download or read book Confronting America written by Alessandro Brogi and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2011-07-15 with total page 549 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout the Cold War, the United States encountered unexpected challenges from Italy and France, two countries with the strongest, and determinedly most anti-American, Communist Parties in Western Europe. Based primarily on new evidence from communist archives in France and Italy, as well as research archives in the United States, Alessandro Brogi's original study reveals how the United States was forced by political opposition within these two core Western countries to reassess its own anticommunist strategies, its image, and the general meaning of American liberal capitalist culture and ideology. Brogi shows that the resistance to Americanization was a critical test for the French and Italian communists' own legitimacy and existence. Their anti-Americanism was mostly dogmatic and driven by the Soviet Union, but it was also, at crucial times, subtle and ambivalent, nurturing fascination with the American culture of dissent. The staunchly anticommunist United States, Brogi argues, found a successful balance to fighting the communist threat in France and Italy by employing diplomacy and fostering instances of mild dissent in both countries. Ultimately, both the French and Italian communists failed to adapt to the forces of modernization that stemmed both from indigenous factors and from American influence. Confronting America illuminates the political, diplomatic, economic, and cultural conflicts behind the U.S.-communist confrontation.
Download or read book The Science and Passion of Communism written by Amadeo Bordiga and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-08-10 with total page 540 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Science and Passion of Communism presents the battles of the brilliant Italian communist Amadeo Bordiga in the revolutionary cycle of the post-WWI period, through his writings against reformism and war, for Soviet power and internationalism, and then against fascism, on one side, Stalinism and the degeneration of the International, on the other. Equally important was his sharp critique of triumphant U.S. capitalism in the post-WWII period, and his original re-presentation of Marxist critique of political economy, which includes the capital-nature and capital-species relationships, and the programme of social transformations for the revolution to come. Without any form of canonization, we can say that Bordiga’s huge workshop is a veritable goldmine, and anyone who decides to enter it will not be disappointed. He will guide you through a series of instructive, energizing and often highly topical excursions into the near and distant past, into the present that he largely foresaw, and into the future that he sketched with devouring passion.
Download or read book The Italian Left in the Twentieth Century written by Alexander De Grand and published by . This book was released on 1989-03-22 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "... a very fair and intelligent description of the vicissitudes of the two parties and students seeking a readable and jargon-free overview of the subject-matter should be directed to this text." --History "De Grand's study is exceptional in its comprehensive historical perspective... a revealing and evocative synthesis." --Marion S. Miller "De Grand is a useful guide to the complex history of the Italian left." --Thomas R. Brooks, New York City Tribune "An excellent overview of the vital Italian left-wing... " --Book Reader "This is a well-written, readable, rather detailed though not ponderous, discussion of the politics of the parties of the Italian Left in this century up to the present time." --Perspective "... will add immeasurably to our understanding of and appreciation for a country tormented at various times in the past century." --Mediterranean Quarterly "... well-written and extensively researched... De Grand illustrates a clear and obvious path of development on the Italian left... " --L'Italo-Americano "It is... a pleasure to note the appearance of Alexander De Grand's book... By providing an almost side-by-side summary of the thought and action of both parties... De Grand renders a unique contribution." --American Historical Review "... a good starting point for students of Italian history and politics, as well as anyone with an interest in the modern European Left.... It offers both a solid introduction to, and a persuasive interpretation of, its subject." --Journal of Modern History De Grand chronicles the history of the Italian Socialist and Communist parties--natural allies yet also enemies, in the struggle to reform society.
Download or read book Enemy Brothers written by W. Rand Smith and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the 1920s, Socialist and Communist parties in Europe and elsewhere have engaged in episodes of both rivalry and cooperation, with each seeking to dominate the European Left. Enemy Brothers analyzes how this relationship has developed over the past century, focusing on France, Italy, and Spain, where Socialists and Communists have been politically important. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews in all three nations, W. Rand Smith identifies the critical junctures that these parties faced and the strategic choices they made, especially regarding alliance partners. In explaining the parties' diverse alliance strategies, Enemy Brothers stresses the impact of institutional arrangements, party culture, and leadership.
Download or read book The Cambridge History of Communism written by Norman Naimark and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-09-21 with total page 700 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second volume of The Cambridge History of Communism explores the rise of Communist states and movements after World War II. Leading experts analyze archival sources from formerly Communist states to re-examine the limits to Moscow's control of its satellites; the de-Stalinization of 1956; Communist reform movements; the rise and fall of the Sino-Soviet alliance; the growth of Communism in Asia, Africa and Latin America; and the effects of the Sino-Soviet split on world Communism. Chapters explore the cultures of Communism in the United States, Western Europe and China, and the conflicts engendered by nationalism and the continued need for support from Moscow. With the danger of a new Cold War developing between former and current Communist states and the West, this account of the roots, development and dissolution of the socialist bloc is essential reading.
Download or read book No Country for Revolutionaries written by Gianfranco Cresciani and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between 1971 and 1991 the Italian Communist Party endeavoured to mobilise Italian migrants in Australia in order to extend its influence and power, attract their vote and defend their rights. Its establishment of an 'autonomous' Federation in Sydney, resulted in a troubled relationship with the Communist Party of Australia and in grassroots surveillance of Italian migrants by ASIO. This book tells their story during the Cold War.
Download or read book Moscow and the Italian Communist Party written by Joan Barth Urban and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
