Imagine a place where the very air buzzes with political discourse and intellectual curiosity. This is the Fondazione Basso, a unique institution that defies comparison with anything in the American landscape. Giancarlo Monina, the foundation's historian, took aspiring journalists on a journey through its rich history, a journey that left me, a curious observer, with a deeper understanding of political cultures and the role they play in shaping societies.
The Foundation's Legacy: A Hub for Political Culture
Monina painted a vivid picture of the foundation's medieval building, purchased by Lelio Basso in the 1960s, a period when Basso had stepped back from active involvement in Italy's non-communist left. The foundation had hosted luminaries like García Márquez, Sartre, and Allende, offering refuge to refugees fleeing Latin American dictatorships. But what exactly is a 'political culture'?
Unraveling Political Culture: An American Perspective
From an American standpoint, the concept of a dedicated 'political culture' or 'political formation' is alien. This can be attributed to a unique blend of 'lay positivism' and democracy. Americans view politics as a binary: facts and opinions. Facts are quantifiable and objective, while opinions are subjective views. The realm of political ideology, which connects the 'is' with the 'ought', is often dismissed as unreal. This metaphysical stance, combined with America's civic religion of equal respect for all opinions, makes the idea of acquiring a political culture seem implausible. It suggests a need to learn politics, which in turn implies a pedagogical relationship, a concept at odds with democratic principles of opinion equality.
Basso's Political Journey: From Elite Liberalism to Marxist Rebel
Monina delved into Lelio Basso's political and intellectual upbringing. Basso's father, Ugo, was a 'Giolittiano', an elitist liberal. Young Basso rebelled, secretly attending socialist party meetings. His first political idol was Zapata, a figurehead of the Mexican Revolutionary tradition that influenced many Italian leftists, including Mussolini's father, who named his son after Benito Juárez. Basso's academic journey culminated in a law degree with a thesis on Marx's concept of freedom, supervised by Rodolfo Mondolfo. His university years and periods of confinement under fascism hardened his views, leading to a commitment to Marxism combined with a rigorous legal culture that positioned him as a key figure in drafting Italy's post-war constitution.
Basso's Marxism and the Rejection of Communism
Monina emphasized Basso's Marxism but also his ultimate rejection of communism in its Leninist form. As a convinced Luxemburgist, Basso believed in the self-organization of the working class, while rejecting the factory-centric focus of operaismo. A member of the audience asked why, given his Marxist leanings, Basso didn't join the PCI. Monina seized this opportunity to elucidate a crucial aspect of Italian socialism.
The Intramural Conflict: Italian Socialism vs. Italian Communism
Basso's criticism of the PCI, Monina explained, stemmed from his Marxism, not despite it. Neither Saragat nor Craxi had renounced Marxism, and there was no autonomous social democratic ideology. The conflict between Italian socialism and communism was an intramural battle within Marxism, with no clear orthodoxy. Italy never had a Bad Godesberg moment, where the German SPD formally abandoned its Marxist past. The PCI's political and cultural strength shielded the Italian left from extreme anti-Marxism, a protection the SPD lacked, especially after the KPD's outlawing.
The Nordic-Germanic Bias: Misinterpreting Marxism and Social Democracy
Much writing on Marxism and social democracy suffers from a Nordic-Germanic bias, accepting the self-presentation of German and Scandinavian social democracy as definitive. Social democracy is seen as a break from Marxism's nationalization attempts, focusing instead on private investment steering, income redistribution, and labor market management. Marx's analysis of capitalist development and his vision of a new social production system are deemed unnecessary and utopian. In Italy, however, the link between Marxism and social democracy is clearer. The trajectories of social democratic parties post-communism, even in their Nordic-Germanic homelands, and the fate of the PSI, show that Marxism provides essential doctrinal and political coherence, preventing social democracy from fragmenting in the absence of its antagonist.
This intriguing exploration of political cultures and their historical contexts invites further discussion. What are your thoughts on the role of political culture in shaping societies? Do you agree with the argument that Marxism provides the necessary doctrinal foundation for social democracy? Share your insights and let's continue this thought-provoking conversation in the comments!
