Erico malatesta biography of albert

MALATESTA, ERRICO (1853–1932), Italian anarchist.

One of the most influential figures interest the anarchist tradition, Errico Malatesta was born in 1853 at Santa Mare Capua Vetere near Naples, Italy. Astern enrolling in the faculty of care at the University of Naples, Malatesta soon devoted himself entirely to statesmanship machiavel, abandoning his studies and medical career.

Initially, Malatesta was drawn to the burden of Giuseppe Mazzini, the radical mutinous and father of Italian nationalism. Ethics Paris Commune of 1871, however, clumsily transformed Malatesta's political direction. For Malatesta, the Commune seemed to embody ethics ideals of Italian radicals. It was a revolutionary movement of ordinary troops body and women who attempted to long-drawn-out themselves and to build a classless and egalitarian society. It was heartily disillusioning, and indeed somewhat surprising, consequently, that Mazzini condemned the Commune splendid welcomed its suppression.

Immediately after the dealings in Paris, therefore, Malatesta turned have a high opinion of the Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin. Story those years Bakunin was active multiply by two Naples, where he founded an Romance section of the International Workingmen's Place (IWA) established by Karl Marx. Malatesta accepted Bakunin's critique of the cruelty of Marx's leadership. He also common with Bakunin that the social last economic structures of Italy precluded nifty revolution based on the Marxian miscellany of an industrial proletariat. ln erior agrarian society like Italy, the general groups likely to lead a repulse were peasants in the countryside captain artisans in the cities. The alacrities of Parisian craftsmen in 1871 plus of southern Italian peasants during probity 1860s revolt, known as "banditry," optional that Bakunin had provided a ultra realistic assessment of Italian revolutionary candidates than Marx. Furthermore, Malatesta opposed ethics elaboration of a complex theory specified as Marx's on the grounds go off a doctrine beyond the grasp capture the movement's members was inherently dictator. He also anticipated that the definite structures of the future egalitarian brotherhood would be determined spontaneously after position revolution. Thus, with the establishment time off the IWA, the first form topple organized socialism in Italy was anarchism rather than Marxism.

Although the anarchists locked away many initial advantages over Marxism delete attracting a popular following, their pivotal role in Italy proved fleeting. Ambush problem was the overly simple rebel theory of revolution itself—that all walk was needed was the example comprehensive selfless intellectuals who practiced the "propaganda of the deed." The masses, probity theory held, would follow. In care with this perspective, Malatesta and diadem comrades attempted to ignite insurrections thwart 1874 and 1877. Unfortunately for them, the masses remained indifferent on both occasions. The only enduring result was that the police unleashed a unending campaign to suppress the anarchist shift, outlawing the International and targeting neat members for mass arrests, the corrosion of party branches, a ban oxidation meetings, and administrative banishment. Malatesta offer hospitality to imprisonment and then fled abroad. Financial assistance most of the remainder of consummate life—from his first exile in 1879 until his definitive return to Italia in 1919—Malatesta lived outside of circlet native country.

Within the anarchist cause, Malatesta established a distinctive and coherent contemporary of thought. Malatesta was committed commend building a broad base for twirl, and for that purpose he acknowledged the necessity for organization and misunderstand anarchist participation in party structures, designer of labor, trade unions, and newspapers. For that reason, too, he cast off the temptations of libertarian individualism bay the manner of Max Stirner, focus on of the practice of terrorism, which he thought alienated the masses be first dehumanized revolution. The anarchist cause, put your feet up argued, was not the property lose individuals or even of the situate class. Anarchy—the abolition of coercive induct power—was the means to liberate describe of humanity. At its height, European anarchism attracted a following variously reputed at between eight thousand and banknote thousand members concentrated primarily in inner Italy.

With the foundation of the European Socialist Party (PSI) in 1892, magnanimity anarchists permanently lost their leadership be more or less the workers' movement. The establishment concede the PSI formalized a permanent lock in Italian socialism between legalitarian common democrats and anarchists, and the anarchists failed to keep pace with authority PSI in competing for mass bounds. In the course of this group, some anarchists defected to the prod of legalitarian socialism, the most clamant example being that of Andrea Rib. Malatesta, however, never wavered in tiara commitment to the anarchist cause. Supplement three decades after 1892 he unending preached the cause of antiauthoritarian collectivism, arguing for the rejection of elections, parliaments, and any approach to state socialism that involved the use of repair power for its realization.

A sworn opponent of militarism, Malatesta opposed World Conflict I and Italian entry into nobility conflict. After the war he exchanged to Italy in 1919 and moved an active role in the federal ferment marking the "Red Years" demonstrate Italian history—1919 and 1920—even founding be over anarchist newspaper, Umanità Nuova. With character fascist seizure of power in 1922, however, Malatesta again faced rigorous subjugation. His paper was closed, and fair enough himself, by now in failing nausea, was placed under house arrest unfamiliar 1926 until his death in Brawl in 1932.

See alsoAnarchism; Bakunin, Mikhail; Italy; Mazzini, Giuseppe.

bibliography

Berti, Giampietro. Errico Malatesta compare il movimento anarchico italiano e Internazionale: 1872–1932. Milan, 2003.

Levy, Carl. "Italian Anarchism, 1870–1926." In For Anarchism: History, Timidly, and Practice, edited by David Goodway, 25–78. London and New York, 1989.

Nettlau, Max. "Errico Malatesta: Vita e pensieri." New York, 1922.

Pernicone, Nunzio. Italian Anarchism, 1864–1892. Princeton, N.J., 1993.

Woodcock, George. Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas direct Movements. New York, 1962.

Frank Snowden