Piero Gobetti and the Politics of Liberal Revolution

Piero Gobetti was a radical liberal and critic of Italian politics in the years after World War I, he proposed 'revolutionary liberalism', which guided his opposition to Fascism and inspired key figures in the Italian Resistance. Accessible but critical, this volume is offers a balanced assessment of his enduring significance. Piero Gobetti was an astonishing figure. A radical liberal and fierce critic of Italian politics in the years after World War I, € he was fascinated by the workers' struggles in his native Turin and by Gramsci's vision of a factory-based democracy. Gobetti proposed liberalism as an emancipatory theory grounded in social conflicts. "Revolutionary liberalism," as he called it, guided his opposition to Fascism and, following his untimely death at twenty-five, inspired key figures in the Italian Resistance. Accessible but critical, this volume is the first English-language study of Gobetti's political ideas and offers a balanced assessment of his enduring significance Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-12 Liberalism and the Italian Crisis....Pages 13-30 Idealism and Renewal....Pages 31-48 Liberty and Discipline Gramsci and the Factory Council Movement....Pages 49-66 Liberal Revolution Toward a New Elite....Pages 67-88 Contesting Fascism, Defending Liberalism....Pages 89-109 Politicizing Liberalism Gobetti’s Italian Legacy....Pages 111-112 Liberty and Conflict An “Agonistic” Liberalism....Pages 135-153 Afterword....Pages 155-157 Back Matter....Pages 159-208