New-York tribune., 1901-05-26
SOCIALISM IN ITALY.


A strange situation is forming itself in Italy
with regard to the character and position of the
SOCIALIST party Besides being strange il is sig
lihcant, and will probably exercise marked in !
Nuence on the course Of Italian politics during
the next two or three years. Italian Socialism
Is officially MARKHAM. Its most authoritative or
gan is the review "Crtica Sociae," edited 10y
Sgnor tllippo Turati who has always been the
PI!nciai II not the only Interpreter of the the
cries of Marx to the Italian working classes:
n nut ihe hulk OF the party both the Deputies in
Parliament and their electors in the country is
far removed from the standpoint Of the sci
ttithc German Socialist. and even from that
or the French They repeat phrases about cap
haIStlc exploitation Of the Froetariat." the
struggle between classes and the "impotence
Of bourgeois society solve the cal ton:
but their minds are rot penetrated with these
theories and their Socialism is of a more violent
and revolutionary Kind ana more closely re-
lated to anarchism than is the case in Germany
or France.
Italians have lively imagnations and quick
intuition OF what Is SophiSticaL and after CON
sidering for a while the cut and dried formulas
d the scientific" Socialists, they often pass 90
eNtTcm" doctrines. If all the Italian anarchists
IN llaY ana abroad could he intcrrogatcd il
would probably he found that. Ike the Anarchist
c!ahc"hiiIa' Ihey were first awakened" 10y Tho
So'iaiiSt propaganda but. finding it unsatis-
factory. evolved toward revolutionary doc
trine less rigid and more in accordance with
their hot tcmpcramoDtS. C!Iriani and MaateSta
are tueT representatives. Of the average Italian
revolutionary whether ne call himself Socialist
or Anarchist. than professor If scientific" So
ciaIlSm like SGn0r TuIau or EuIiCo FeIri This
Circumstance. which Socialist party Journals
may deny but which no impartial 81 server of
the Italian working classes VIII call in question.
must be horn" in mind in considering the situa-
ton created by the support given 10y the EX-
irene l-.it III the Italian Chamber 70 the Zanar
dclli-GiultU Cabinet
In a recent number Of the "Critica Soc,ale''
Signor Turati, high priest Of the scientific
Socialists. wrote that 'groWls Of i'll humoT are
to be heard here and there in the ranks Of our
party" on account # the ministeria,ism Of the
Socialist Deputies in the Chambsr. Sicnor Tu-
rati tried 10 justify his b-neNoicnCe toward the
Cabinet 10y adding. The Zanardc Ministr!
is chiefly. if rot exclusively the result Of TWO
r. Left
substantially the child Of the ohstructionst bat
tie He proceeded To explain that the object
Of the 'miniSt tcrialiSm' of himself and other
Socialists was to keep the Zararde.li- Giolitti
Cabinet on its feet in order 70 obtain from the
government in return complete liberty of So
cia!ist propaganda and organization. Sooner or
later H. recJE JEnzed the Socialists might tit
which would then fan. but they ought not 10
do until ii was certain that ministerial
crisis would be prelude 10 the dissolution Of
the Chamber and general election. Having
had during the period of "ministcrialsm' full
liberty for propaganda and Organization the
Socialists would then be able to fight their own
battle and to libcrate themselves from the
tangling alliance with the Republicans and Rad
ica who Joined them in the obetructionist cam
paign, and, 10y supplanting or defeating Repub-
lican and Radical candidates. become undis-
puted masters Of the Extreme Left. once in
this position The Socialists would he party with
which every government mast reckon and
against which government could afford to
carry on open warfare. Election wins are an
excellent substitute Cor baricades, according to
Sipnor Turau, who remarks that lit is not
/ necessary To he always anli-uIuISterial IN ORDER
, to remain revolutionary" The French Repub-
iicans were revoutionaries when. having made
themselves masters of the government, they
proc, with cannon the rights of man
/ Briefly, the Socialist theory expounded by
SignOr Tu-at comes to this: Support the
Zan2rdelli Ministry in order To obtain cCnccS-
siens which viii make the Socialist party mas
tcrs of the government, and once masters Of the
government use their power for revolutionary
I ends.
This reasoning does not appeal TO the whole
Socialist party. The end seems to many of them
too far off. and they fear that ''ministerialism
Socialist programme and to the discredit OF the
IaTty Il Il whole in the eyes of the revolutionary
electorate. How can party which has always
/ preached that bourgeois governments are sterile
! impostureS with which pure revolutionarieS can
have nothing to do convince the bulk of its fol-
! lowers that in supporting bourgeois govern
ment il is not becoming untrue to its principles?
Already the party organ 'AVanu has adopt
ed a very moderate tone with regard to military
expenditure, which has hitherto been one of the
things against which Socialists have protested
most loudly. The "Avanu' still protests, but
mildly. Besides Professor Labriola, a proml-
rent Socialist, declares that in supporting the
ministry the Socialists in the Chamber have
gone beyond their powers and ought not to have
! had ANYTHING to do with "A bourgeois govern
ncnt without authorization from national
congress of the whole party. The "Propasanda'
| of Naples another Socialist organ, denOunceS
Signor Turati and the Socialist ministerialists
with such violence that the police have seized
the issue of the paper Everywhere there are
signs that the revolutionary bulk of the Socialist
party does not approve of the opportunsm of
its leaders.
All this renders the position of Signor Zanar-