The Italian Communist Party: From Resistance to Dissolution

James, Steven and Rudy sit down to talk about the Italian Communist Party (PCI) from its foundation to its dissolution, with a focus on its period of maximum influence from the post-WW2 refoundation to the unraveling of the Historic Compromise in 1980 as well as the differences and similarities to the French Communist Party. We discuss the founding of the PCI in the aftermath of the First World War, followed by its destruction during the fascist period and how this destruction was a historic trauma of fascism that colored its post-WW2 strategy. We discuss how the party negotiated a place in the Italian political system, and how different tendencies within the party responded to events in the 50s and 60s. We then turn to the historic compromise, what it was and how it can be seen as a right-wing interpretation of the Popular Front. We finish by discussing the unraveling of the Popular Front, the dissolution of the party in the 1990s and the consequences on the present Italian left.

Bibliography: G. Amyot - The Italian Communist Party: The Crisis of the Popular Front Strategy P. Daniels, M. J. Bull - Voluntary Euthanasia: From the Italian Communist Party to the Democratic Party of the Left S. Hellman - Italian Communism in Transition: The Rise and Fall of the Historic Compromise in Turin, 1975-1980 L. Magri - The Tailor of Ulm: A History of Communism M. A. Macciocchi - Letters from inside the Italian Communist Party to Louis Althusser D. Sassoon - The Strategy of the Italian Communist Party: From the Resistance to the Historic Compromise R. Rossanda - The Comrade from Milan J. B. Urban - Moscow And The Italian Communist Party: From Togliatti to Berlinguer

Pre-fascist period: J. M. Cammett - Antonio Gramsci and the origins of Italian Communism P. Spriano - The occupation of the factories, Italy 1920 G. Williams - Proletarian Order: Antonio Gramsci, Factory Councils and the origins of Italian communism, 1911-1921