The workers' movement in Italy reached new heights when a wave of factory occupations swept the industrial centres–only to be swiftly defeated by the political disorganisation of the revolutionary left. The legacy of this movement's defeat helped Gramsci develop his theory of revolution.
In the wake of the First World War and the Russian Revolution, Italy was swept by a militant workers' movement that inspired and challenged Marxist theorists like Antonio Gramsci. This article, the first in a two-part series, explores how the factory council movement emerged.
Democracy was already under siege from Hungary's far-right government. Now the pandemic has provided Viktor Orbán’s government with the perfect excuse to pass a law ratcheting up repression to new levels.
Italy's coronavirus epicentre is also home to a tradition of working class militancy. Its factory workers are on the frontlines of the global class struggle to shut down non-essential production – and they're having to drag their union leaders behind them, kicking and screaming.
