Apostles and Agitators
eBook - PDF

Apostles and Agitators

Italy's Marxist Revolutionary Tradition

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Apostles and Agitators

Italy's Marxist Revolutionary Tradition

About this book

One of the most controversial questions in Italy today concerns the origins of the political terror that ravaged the country from 1969 to 1984, when the Red Brigades, a Marxist revolutionary organization, intimidated, maimed, and murdered on a wide scale.

In this timely study of the ways in which an ideology of terror becomes rooted in society, Richard Drake explains the historical character of the revolutionary tradition to which so many ordinary Italians professed allegiance, examining its origins and internal tensions, the men who shaped it, and its impact and legacy in Italy. He illuminates the defining figures who grounded the revolutionary tradition, including Carlo Cafiero, Antonio Labriola, Benito Mussolini, and Antonio Gramsci, and explores the connections between the social disasters of Italy, particularly in the south, and the country's intellectual politics; the brand of "anarchist communism" that surfaced; and the role of violence in the ideology. Though arising from a legitimate sense of moral outrage at desperate conditions, the ideology failed to find the political institutions and ethical values that would end inequalities created by capitalism.

In a chilling coda, Drake recounts the recent murders of the economists Massimo D'Antona and Marco Biagi by the new Red Brigades, whose Internet justification for the killings is steeped in the Marxist revolutionary tradition.

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Yes, you can access Apostles and Agitators by Richard Drake,Richard DRAKE in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & European History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Contents
  2. Preface
  3. 1. Karl Marx: The Word
  4. 2. Carlo Cafiero: Prophet of Anarchist Communism
  5. 3. Antonio Labriola: The Philosopher of Praxis
  6. 4. Arturo Labriola: The Revolutionary Betrayed
  7. 5. Benito Mussolini: The Indispensable Revolutionary
  8. 6. Amadeo Bordiga: The Revolutionary as Anti-Realpolitiker
  9. 7. Antonio Gramsci: The Revolutionary as Centrist
  10. 8. Palmiro Togliatti: The Revolutionary as Cultural Impresario
  11. Coda: Revolution and Terrorism in Contemporary Italy
  12. Notes
  13. Acknowledgments
  14. Index