Mussolini 1883-1915: Triumph and Transformation of a Revolutionary Socialist (Italian and Italian American Studies)

This book describes Mussolini’s little-known radical ideology, including his activities in Switzerland, relationship with revolutionary syndicalism, and radical journalism. It provides an in-depth treatment of the young Benito Mussolini as a revolutionary Socialist and describes the political maneuverings that took a major European Socialist party by storm before the First World War. It explains the process of how he came to dominate Italian Socialism until the crisis caused by Italy’s intervention in World War I. It illuminates Mussolini’s leadership qualities and his rise to leader of the Italian Socialist Party. "Preface" -- "Acknowledgments" -- "Contents" -- "About the Authors" -- "Making Mussolini" -- "Mussolini and Friends" -- "Mussolini and His Enemies" -- "Mussoliniâ#x80;#x99;s Biographers" -- "Young Mussolini" -- "A Socialist Revolutionary" -- "Notes" -- "Father and Son" -- "Notes" -- "A Romagnol in Switzerland: Education of a Revolutionary" -- "Politics" -- "Studies" -- "Notes" -- "A Revolutionary in Trentino" -- "Notes" -- "Mussolini and Revolutionary Syndicalism" -- "A Persistent Legend" -- "What Exactly Was Revolutionary Syndicalism?" -- "The First Mussolini: â#x80;#x9C;Syndicalismâ#x80;#x9D; or, Instead, â#x80;#x9C;Socialist Originsâ#x80;#x9D;" -- "Mussoliniâ#x80;#x99;s â#x80;#x9C;Revolutionary Revisionismâ#x80;#x9D;" -- "Mussoliniâ#x80;#x99;s Confrontation with the â#x80;#x9C;Newâ#x80;#x9D; Syndicalism of Direct Action" -- "Mussolini: Socialist (Not Syndicalist) Interventionist" -- "Notes" -- "The Battle Within: Benito Mussolini, the Reformists and the Great War" -- "Origins of the Great Schism" -- "Young Socialist Mussolini" -- "The War over War" -- "War Against War: â#x80;#x9C;Red Weekâ#x80;#x9D; and Beyond" -- "The â#x80;#x9C;Conversionâ#x80;#x9D;" -- "Notes" -- "The Enemy of My Enemy: Gaetano Salvemini, Benito Mussolini and the Politics of the Liberal State, 1910â#x80;#x93;1914" -- "Notes" -- "The Style of a Revolutionary Journalist" -- "The Journalistic Style of the Young Mussolini" -- "Director of La lotta di classe (Class Struggle)" -- "Editor of Avanti!" -- "The Elections of 1913" -- "The Congress of Ancona" -- "â#x80;#x9C;Down with the War!â#x80;#x9D;" -- "â#x80;#x9C;From Absolute Neutrality to Active and Working Neutralityâ#x80;#x9D;" -- "â#x80;#x9C;Who Pays?â#x80;#x9D;" -- "The Mussoliniâ#x80;#x93;Treves Duel" -- "Notes" -- "A Revolution for the Third Italy" -- "Birth of a Myth" -- "A Primitive Within Socialism" -- "Revolutionary Idealism" -- "A Heretic of Orthodoxy" -- "The Revolution Is Not a Coup" -- "The Revolution to Come" -- "For a Great Third Italy" This book presents an organic view of Benito Mussolini's youth as a radical Socialist. Because of his later career as the founder of fascism and of the first Fascist regime that set the tone for subsequent similar dictatorships, and the historical polemics regarding these developments, Mussolini's life before fascism has been neglected or distorted. The essays presented in this book will add another dimension to the interpretation of Mussolini's life in two ways: by making his activities as a revolutionary Socialist widely known and by presenting interpretations of the first phase of his political career that will be free of the polemics that frequently characterize the writings of observers and scholars in the United States, Italy, and other countries. Scholars and readers will be better equipped to understand for themselves whether and if so, how Mussolini's youthful political career influenced his later life. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Making Mussolini....Pages 1-37 Father and Son....Pages 39-64 A Romagnol in Switzerland: Education of a Revolutionary....Pages 65-95 A Revolutionary in Trentino....Pages 97-130 Mussolini and Revolutionary Syndicalism....Pages 131-155 The Battle Within: Benito Mussolini, the Reformists and the Great War....Pages 157-192 The Enemy of My Enemy: Gaetano Salvemini, Benito Mussolini and the Politics of the Liberal State, 1910–1914....Pages 193-223 The Style of a Revolutionary Journalist....Pages 225-256 A Revolution for the Third Italy....Pages 257-295 Back Matter....Pages 297-309