Revolutionary League of Internationalist Action Fascio Rivoluzionario d'Azione Internazionalista | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Alceste de Ambris |
| Founder | Filippo Corridoni |
| Founded | October 4, 1914; 111 years ago (1914-10-04) |
| Dissolved | December 11, 1914; 111 years ago (1914-12-11) |
| Split from |
|
| Merged into | Fasci d'Azione Rivoluzionaria |
| Headquarters | Via Eustachi 50,Milan[3] |
| Ideology | Left-interventionism Factions: Revolutionary syndicalism Defencistsocialists Progressive nationalism Radical republicanism Anti-germanism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
TheFascio Rivoluzionario d'Azione Internazionalista (lit. 'Revolutionary Fasces of Internationalist Action';fig.: 'Revolutionary League of Internationalist Action') was a political movement that advocatedItaly's participation inWorld War I on the side of theTriple Entente against theCentral Powers. The movement's manifesto was drawn up on 5 October 1914 byrevolutionary syndicalists andleft interventionists former members of theUnione Sindacale Italiana. The usefulness of the First World War was asserted as an indispensable historical moment for developing more advanced societies in a political-social sense. The manifesto inspired the formation of theFasci d'Azione Rivoluzionaria.[4]
The nationalist right-wing was not alone in their eagerness forItalian intervention during the Great War. A diverse group of fervent leftists, later known asleft interventionists, also emerged in support of the war effort. Among these leftists were middle-class radicals and republicans who held relatively moderate views and were more vocal supporters of intervention from the revolutionary left. A minority of leaders and writers of revolutionary syndicalism had previously supported the war against Turkey in 1911. Despite theUnione Sindacale Italiana (USI) adopting a neutralist resolution in August 1914, syndicalist leaders such asAlceste de Ambris rejected it. They called for intervention on the side of the Entente. This move led theUnione Sindacale Milanese to support the cause. Various syndicalist leaders and key local groups formed a new interventionist organization, theFascio Rivoluzionario d'Azione Internazionalista, by October.[5]: 81
The termFascio by the newly formedFascio Rivoluzionario was common among the Italian left. In fact, it had been a standard practice among various sectors ofItalian radicalism since the 1870s. The term was used by trade unions, middle-class radicals, and even reformist peasants to organize various Fasci. The most notable among them were theFasci Siciliani, which had led a revolt against Sicily's existing political and economic structure during 1892–93. Therefore, the adoption of this nomenclature by theFascio Rivoluzionario was not surprising.[5]: 81–82
The leaders of theFascio Rivoluzionario d'Azione Internazionalista believed that engaging in the war did not mean abandoning the social revolution. They argued that the war would be the most direct way towards revolution. The leaders believed that previous class-based revolts, such as theParma general strike of 1908 or theRed Week, had failed to mobilize broad support or engage all social forces. Entry into the war could expedite the course by mobilizing all of Italy for the first time, generating massive commitment that could catalyze the entire society. The Entente cause was synonymous with progress and the ultimate revolution against German-Austrian militarism and imperialism, the main obstacles to decisive revolutionary change in Europe. Like theBolsheviks in Russia, theItalian Socialist Party (PSI) refused to support the war effort due to deep social division and a lack of national integration in Italy.[5]: 83–84
Benito Mussolini's public opposition to the official Socialist position on October 18, 1914, led to his resignation asAvanti's editor just two days later. In mid-November, he launched a new publication,Il Popolo d'Italia funded by pro-war business interests. Mussolini quickly became the most prominent figure in theFascio Rivoluzionario after joining in December 1914. His associates were a diverse group, comprising revolutionary syndicalists, new "national syndicalists" likeSergio Panunzio who had abandoned revolutionary syndicalism, various pro-war revolutionary and reformist Socialists, progressive nationalists from the magazineLa Voce, and radical republicans. The focus was on mobilizing the masses and involving them in a great national enterprise, eventually leading to a revolution.[5]: 85
On December 11, 1914, Mussolini reorganized theFascio as theFasci d'Azione Rivoluzionaria, which was a fusion ofFasci autonomi d’azione rivoluzionaria (which Mussolini created) and theFascio d'Azione Internazionalista.[6]: 303 On January 6, 1915,Il Popolo d'Italia referred to theFasci d'Azione Rivoluzionaria as the "fascist movement". Simultaneously,Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's avant-gardeFuturists, who held the most aggressive pro-war views, formed their ownFasci Politici Futuristi to encourage Italian involvement in the conflict.[5]: 85
In the manifesto,Fascio adherents describe themselves as socialists who fightimperialism in the name of the working class. It is also stated: "Our cause is that ofAmilcare Cipriani, ofKropotkine, ofJames Guillaume, ofVaillant, that of the European revolution against barbarism, authoritarianism, militarism, Germanic feudalism and the Catholic perfidy of Austria."[7] This statement reflects a debate within theanarchist movement at the time; interventionist positions such as those of Alceste de Ambris were supported by anarchist like Kropotkin, but strongly contested by others (e.g.,Errico Malatesta) because such positions allegedly gave a political-historical priority to constitutional andliberal democratic ideals of the countries involved in the conflict over therevolutionary perspective.[8]: 15–20
The promoting committee was formed by:[7]