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Biennio Rosso

February 16, 2024

The Biennio Rosso (English: "Red Biennium" or "Two Red Years") was a two-year period, between 1919 and 1920, of intense social conflict in Italy, following the First World War.[1] The revolutionary period was followed by the violent reaction of the fascist blackshirts militia and eventually by the March on Rome of Benito Mussolini in 1922.

Biennio Rosso
Part of the Revolutions of 1917–23
Armed workers occupying factories in Milan, September 1920
Date1919–1920
Location
Italy
Caused byThe economic crisis in the Aftermath of World War I, with high unemployment and political instability
MethodsMass strikes, worker manifestations as well as self-management experiments through land and factory occupations
Resulted inThe revolutionary period was followed by the violent reaction of the fascist blackshirts militia and eventually by the March on Rome of Benito Mussolini in 1922.
Parties
Factories manned by the Red Guards in 1920

Background edit

The Biennio Rosso took place in a context of economic crisis at the end of the war, with high unemployment and political instability. It was characterized by strikes and mass worker demonstrations, as well as self-management experiments through land and factory occupations.[1] Tension had been rising since the final years of the war, and some contemporary observers considered Italy to be on the brink of a revolution by the end of 1918.[2]

The population was confronted with rising inflation and a significant increase in the price of basic goods, in a period when extensive unemployment was aggravated by mass demobilization of the Royal Italian Army at the end of the war. Association to the trade unions, the Italian Socialist Party (Partito Socialista Italiano, PSI), and the anarchist movement increased substantially. The PSI increased its membership to 250,000, the major socialist trade union, the General Confederation of Labour (Confederazione Generale del Lavoro, CGL), reached two million members, while the anarchist Italian Syndicalist Union (Unione Sindacale Italiana, USI) reached between 300,000 and 500,000 affiliates. The anarchist movement was boosted by the return from exile of its prominent propagandist Errico Malatesta in December 1919.[3][4]

Events edit

In Turin and Milan, factory councils – which the leading Italian Marxist theoretician Antonio Gramsci considered to be the Italian equivalent of Russia's soviets[5] – were formed and many factory occupations took place under the leadership of revolutionary socialists and anarcho-syndicalists.[6] The agitations also extended to the agricultural areas of the Padan plain and were accompanied by peasant strikes, rural unrests, and armed conflicts between left-wing and right-wing militias.

Industrial action and rural unrest increased significantly: there were 1,663 industrial strikes in 1919, compared to 810 in 1913. More than one million industrial workers were involved in 1919, three times the 1913 figure. The trend continued in 1920, which saw 1,881 industrial strikes. Rural strikes also increased substantially, from 97 in 1913 to 189 by 1920, with over a million peasants taking action.[7][8] On July 20–21, 1919, a general strike was called in solidarity with the Russian Revolution.[9]

In April 1920, Turin metal-workers, in particular at the Fiat plants, went on strike demanding recognition for their 'factory councils', a demand the PSI and CGL did not support. The factory councils more and more saw themselves as the models for a new democratically controlled economy running industrial plants, instead of purely as a bargaining tool with employers.[2] The movement peaked in August and September 1920. Armed metal workers in Milan and Turin occupied their factories in response to a lockout by the employers. Factory occupations swept the "industrial triangle" of north-western Italy. Some 400,000 metal-workers and 100,000 others took part.[2][10] On September 3, 185 metal-working factories in Turin had been occupied.[11]

The PSI and CGL failed to see the revolutionary potential of the movement; had it been maximized and expanded to the rest of Italy, a revolutionary transformation might have been possible. Most Socialist leaders were pleased with the struggles in the North, but did little to capitalize on the impact of the occupations and uprisings. Without the support and quarantined, the movement for social change gradually waned.[2]

Aftermath edit

By 1921, the movement was declining due to an industrial crisis that resulted in massive layoffs and wage cuts. In contrast to the passive demeanor of the PSI and CGL, employers and the upcoming fascist did react.[2] The revolutionary period was followed by the violent reaction of the Fascist blackshirts militia (the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento) with the support of Italian industrialists and landowners.[12][13][14] And eventually by the March on Rome of Benito Mussolini in October 1922.[2][10]

Fascist austerity imposed from 1922 to 1928 resulted in workers' gross wage share tumbling back to 1913 levels by 1929, reversing the gains made during 1919–1920, when, according to political economist Clara Mattei, "average Italian nominal daily industrial wages quintupled (around a 400 percent increase) compared to their prewar levels" by 1921.[15] A 1924 article published in The Times lauded the imposition of austerity: "the development of the last two years have seen the absorption of a greater proportion of profits by capital, and this, by stimulating business enterprise, has most certainly been advantageous to the country as a whole."[15]

A quantitative sociological study of the period by analyzing newspaper news in the period[16] clearly demonstrates the evolution of violence acts between the social groups involved.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Brunella Dalla Casa, Composizione di classe, rivendicazioni e professionalità nelle lotte del "biennio rosso" a Bologna, in: AA. VV, Bologna 1920; le origini del fascismo, a cura di Luciano Casali, Cappelli, Bologna 1982, p. 179.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Pelz, Against Capitalism, pp. 126-28
  3. ^ Biennio Rosso (1919–1920) in: Ness, Immanuel (2009). The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN 978-1-405-184649
  4. ^ Di Paola, Pietro, 1966- (4 September 2013). The knights errant of anarchy : London and diaspora of Italian anarchist diaspora (1880-1917). Liverpool. p. 203. ISBN 978-1781385647. OCLC 864395167.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Bellamy & Schecter, Gramsci and the Italian State, p. 29
  6. ^ Obinger, Herbert; Petersen, Klaus; Starke, Peter (21 June 2018). Warfare and Welfare: Military Conflict and Welfare State Development in Western Countries. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-108509-3.
  7. ^ Gramsci: the Turin years, by Megan Trudell, International Socialism No. 114, April 2007
  8. ^ Neufeld, Italy: school for awakening countries, p. 547
  9. ^ 1918-1921: The Italian factory occupations and Biennio Rosso at libcom.org
  10. ^ a b A Marxist History of the World part 76: Italy’s 'Two Red Years', Counterfire, May 20, 2012
  11. ^ Bellamy & Schecter, Gramsci and the Italian State, pp. 51-52
  12. ^ Snowden, Frank (1989). The Fascist Revolution in Tuscany 1919–1922. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 122–125. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511599590. ISBN 978-0-511-59959-0.
  13. ^ Squeri, Lawrence (1990). "Who Benefited from Italian Fascism: A Look at Parma's Landowners". Agricultural History. 64 (1): 18–38. ISSN 0002-1482. JSTOR 3743180.
  14. ^ Adamson, Walter L.; Vivarelli, Roberto (1992). "Storia delle Origini del Fascismo: L'Italia dalla grande guerra alla marcia su Roma". The American Historical Review. 97 (2). doi:10.2307/2165821. ISSN 0002-8762. JSTOR 2165821.
  15. ^ a b Mattei, Clara E. (2022). The Capital Order: How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism. University of Chicago Press. pp. 79–80, 275–277. ISBN 978-0-226-81839-9.
  16. ^ Quantitative Narrative Analysis (Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences). Roberto Franzosi, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 2010.
  • Bellamy, Richard Paul & Darrow Schecter (1993). Gramsci and the Italian State, Manchester/New York: Manchester University Press, ISBN 0-7190-3342-X
  • Neufeld, Maurice F. (1961). Italy: school for awakening countries - The Italian labor movement in its political, social, and economic setting from 1800 to 1960, New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University.
  • Pelz, William A. (2007). Against Capitalism: The European Left on the March, New York: Peter Lang, ISBN 978-0-8204-6776-4

Further reading edit

  • Giuseppe Maione, Il biennio rosso. Autonomia e spontaneità operaia nel 1919-1920, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1975
  • Giovanni Sabbatucci (a cura di), La crisi italiana del primo dopoguerra. La storia e la critica, Bari, Laterza, 1976
  • AA. VV., Le rivoluzioni sconfitte, 1919/20, a cura di Eliana Bouchard, Rina Gagliardi, Gabriele Polo, supplemento a "il manifesto", Roma, s.d. (ma 1993)
  • Roberto Bianchi, Pace, pane, terra. Il 1919 in Italia, Rome, Odradek Edizioni, 2006
  • Fabio Fabbri, Le origini della guerra civile. L'Italia dalla Grande Guerra al fascismo. 1918-1921, Torino, UTET, 2009.

External links edit

February 16, 2024
biennio, rosso, english, biennium, years, year, period, between, 1919, 1920, intense, social, conflict, italy, following, first, world, revolutionary, period, followed, violent, reaction, fascist, blackshirts, militia, eventually, march, rome, benito, mussolin. The Biennio Rosso English Red Biennium or Two Red Years was a two year period between 1919 and 1920 of intense social conflict in Italy following the First World War 1 The revolutionary period was followed by the violent reaction of the fascist blackshirts militia and eventually by the March on Rome of Benito Mussolini in 1922 Biennio RossoPart of the Revolutions of 1917 23Armed workers occupying factories in Milan September 1920Date1919 1920LocationItalyCaused byThe economic crisis in the Aftermath of World War I with high unemployment and political instabilityMethodsMass strikes worker manifestations as well as self management experiments through land and factory occupationsResulted inThe revolutionary period was followed by the violent reaction of the fascist blackshirts militia and eventually by the March on Rome of Benito Mussolini in 1922 PartiesRevolutionaries Workers councils Red Guards Italy Blackshirts Factories manned by the Red Guards in 1920 Contents 1 Background 2 Events 3 Aftermath 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksBackground editThe Biennio Rosso took place in a context of economic crisis at the end of the war with high unemployment and political instability It was characterized by strikes and mass worker demonstrations as well as self management experiments through land and factory occupations 1 Tension had been rising since the final years of the war and some contemporary observers considered Italy to be on the brink of a revolution by the end of 1918 2 The population was confronted with rising inflation and a significant increase in the price of basic goods in a period when extensive unemployment was aggravated by mass demobilization of the Royal Italian Army at the end of the war Association to the trade unions the Italian Socialist Party Partito Socialista Italiano PSI and the anarchist movement increased substantially The PSI increased its membership to 250 000 the major socialist trade union the General Confederation of Labour Confederazione Generale del Lavoro CGL reached two million members while the anarchist Italian Syndicalist Union Unione Sindacale Italiana USI reached between 300 000 and 500 000 affiliates The anarchist movement was boosted by the return from exile of its prominent propagandist Errico Malatesta in December 1919 3 4 Events editIn Turin and Milan factory councils which the leading Italian Marxist theoretician Antonio Gramsci considered to be the Italian equivalent of Russia s soviets 5 were formed and many factory occupations took place under the leadership of revolutionary socialists and anarcho syndicalists 6 The agitations also extended to the agricultural areas of the Padan plain and were accompanied by peasant strikes rural unrests and armed conflicts between left wing and right wing militias Industrial action and rural unrest increased significantly there were 1 663 industrial strikes in 1919 compared to 810 in 1913 More than one million industrial workers were involved in 1919 three times the 1913 figure The trend continued in 1920 which saw 1 881 industrial strikes Rural strikes also increased substantially from 97 in 1913 to 189 by 1920 with over a million peasants taking action 7 8 On July 20 21 1919 a general strike was called in solidarity with the Russian Revolution 9 In April 1920 Turin metal workers in particular at the Fiat plants went on strike demanding recognition for their factory councils a demand the PSI and CGL did not support The factory councils more and more saw themselves as the models for a new democratically controlled economy running industrial plants instead of purely as a bargaining tool with employers 2 The movement peaked in August and September 1920 Armed metal workers in Milan and Turin occupied their factories in response to a lockout by the employers Factory occupations swept the industrial triangle of north western Italy Some 400 000 metal workers and 100 000 others took part 2 10 On September 3 185 metal working factories in Turin had been occupied 11 The PSI and CGL failed to see the revolutionary potential of the movement had it been maximized and expanded to the rest of Italy a revolutionary transformation might have been possible Most Socialist leaders were pleased with the struggles in the North but did little to capitalize on the impact of the occupations and uprisings Without the support and quarantined the movement for social change gradually waned 2 Aftermath editBy 1921 the movement was declining due to an industrial crisis that resulted in massive layoffs and wage cuts In contrast to the passive demeanor of the PSI and CGL employers and the upcoming fascist did react 2 The revolutionary period was followed by the violent reaction of the Fascist blackshirts militia the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento with the support of Italian industrialists and landowners 12 13 14 And eventually by the March on Rome of Benito Mussolini in October 1922 2 10 Fascist austerity imposed from 1922 to 1928 resulted in workers gross wage share tumbling back to 1913 levels by 1929 reversing the gains made during 1919 1920 when according to political economist Clara Mattei average Italian nominal daily industrial wages quintupled around a 400 percent increase compared to their prewar levels by 1921 15 A 1924 article published in The Times lauded the imposition of austerity the development of the last two years have seen the absorption of a greater proportion of profits by capital and this by stimulating business enterprise has most certainly been advantageous to the country as a whole 15 A quantitative sociological study of the period by analyzing newspaper news in the period 16 clearly demonstrates the evolution of violence acts between the social groups involved See also editRevolutions of 1917 23 Aftermath of World War I March on Rome Benito Mussolini Fascist and anti Fascist violence in Italy 1919 1926 Labin RepublicReferences edit a b Brunella Dalla Casa Composizione di classe rivendicazioni e professionalita nelle lotte del biennio rosso a Bologna in AA VV Bologna 1920 le origini del fascismo a cura di Luciano Casali Cappelli Bologna 1982 p 179 a b c d e f Pelz Against Capitalism pp 126 28 Biennio Rosso 1919 1920 in Ness Immanuel 2009 The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest Blackwell Publishing ISBN 978 1 405 184649 Di Paola Pietro 1966 4 September 2013 The knights errant of anarchy London and diaspora of Italian anarchist diaspora 1880 1917 Liverpool p 203 ISBN 978 1781385647 OCLC 864395167 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link CS1 maint multiple names authors list link CS1 maint numeric names authors list link Bellamy amp Schecter Gramsci and the Italian State p 29 Obinger Herbert Petersen Klaus Starke Peter 21 June 2018 Warfare and Welfare Military Conflict and Welfare State Development in Western Countries Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 108509 3 Gramsci the Turin years by Megan Trudell International Socialism No 114 April 2007 Neufeld Italy school for awakening countries p 547 1918 1921 The Italian factory occupations and Biennio Rosso at libcom org a b A Marxist History of the World part 76 Italy s Two Red Years Counterfire May 20 2012 Bellamy amp Schecter Gramsci and the Italian State pp 51 52 Snowden Frank 1989 The Fascist Revolution in Tuscany 1919 1922 Cambridge Cambridge University Press pp 122 125 doi 10 1017 cbo9780511599590 ISBN 978 0 511 59959 0 Squeri Lawrence 1990 Who Benefited from Italian Fascism A Look at Parma s Landowners Agricultural History 64 1 18 38 ISSN 0002 1482 JSTOR 3743180 Adamson Walter L Vivarelli Roberto 1992 Storia delle Origini del Fascismo L Italia dalla grande guerra alla marcia su Roma The American Historical Review 97 2 doi 10 2307 2165821 ISSN 0002 8762 JSTOR 2165821 a b Mattei Clara E 2022 The Capital Order How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved the Way to Fascism University of Chicago Press pp 79 80 275 277 ISBN 978 0 226 81839 9 Quantitative Narrative Analysis Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences Roberto Franzosi Beverly Hills CA Sage 2010 Bellamy Richard Paul amp Darrow Schecter 1993 Gramsci and the Italian State Manchester New York Manchester University Press ISBN 0 7190 3342 X Neufeld Maurice F 1961 Italy school for awakening countries The Italian labor movement in its political social and economic setting from 1800 to 1960 New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations Cornell University Pelz William A 2007 Against Capitalism The European Left on the March New York Peter Lang ISBN 978 0 8204 6776 4Further reading editGiuseppe Maione Il biennio rosso Autonomia e spontaneita operaia nel 1919 1920 Bologna Il Mulino 1975 Giovanni Sabbatucci a cura di La crisi italiana del primo dopoguerra La storia e la critica Bari Laterza 1976 AA VV Le rivoluzioni sconfitte 1919 20 a cura di Eliana Bouchard Rina Gagliardi Gabriele Polo supplemento a il manifesto Roma s d ma 1993 Roberto Bianchi Pace pane terra Il 1919 in Italia Rome Odradek Edizioni 2006 Fabio Fabbri Le origini della guerra civile L Italia dalla Grande Guerra al fascismo 1918 1921 Torino UTET 2009 External links editBiennio rosso texts at Libcom org Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Biennio Rosso amp oldid 1192679008, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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