Towards and Beyond the Italian Republic: Adriano Olivetti’s Vision of Politics

Description

This book examines the historical process that led to the foundation of the Italian Republic and its constitution, viewed through the personal experiences and political reflections of Adriano Olivetti (between 1919 and 1960), general manager and president of the well-known typewriter manufacturer “Ing. C. Olivetti & C.” An unbroken line of reasoning linked his maturing political reflections during the two post-war periods. The historical context of the 1950s did not prove to be very propitious, but the guidelines dispersed throughout the Italian cultural and political world from the movement that Olivetti founded were certainly seminal – generating a legacy of ideas that has only in part been recognized. What makes this study distinctive is the original approach to reading the history of Italy through Adriano Olivetti’s eyes and thoughts, far from the more common Christian Democratic or Communist perspective of those years. It is simply another view of what the Italian Republic could be and was not. Acknowledgements Book Notes Contents About the Author Chapter 1: Introduction: A View of the Intellectual Biography The Typewriter Company From Ivrea to Champfèr Organized Ideas for the Future Chapter 2: Gaetano Salvemini and the United States of America Renewing National Politics The Political Journalist Alef Diogenes’ Political Views The End of the Journalistic Experience New York and Filippo Turati Chapter 3: Among Anti-Fascists and Secret Services The Memorandum Office of Strategic Services Agent Thinking in Switzerland Chapter 4: Self-Government in Constitutional Projects Communities Actual Self-Government The Socialist Party Other Political Orientations Olivetti’s Plan and the Constituent Assembly Chapter 5: A New Political Movement? Christian-Social Party to Community Movement 28 October 1947 Ends and End of Politics New Times New Methods Chapter 6: The Misunderstood Legacy Communities and Constitution The Italian Historiography Political Ideologies In Search of Polity Bibliography Adriano Olivetti’s Books Secondary Literature Index