Maoism with Italian Characteristics: China''s Global Influence and the Italian Left, 1956-1976.
English
By (author): Lorenzo M. Capisani Marco Gabbas
This book is, primarily, a historical study that investigates why Maos thought took root in Italy, how it developed, and its emergence in opposition to the Italian Communist Party, with a focus on the years 19561976. The book also prompts reflection on how dissent has been perceived in Leftist parties more broadly, and how sub-cultures can become prominent. The authors delve into the relations between Maos China and the Italian institutional Left, mindful of the fact that not all the involved parties represented monolithic clusters of consent. The book confronts a watershed of reforms or revolution, in which the Italian Communist Party embraced a non-revolutionary and parliamentary policy, and where Italian radicals took Maos slogans literally to argue that a revolution in Italy was not only possible, but necessary. Tracking the subsequent abandonment of Maoism in modern left-wing parties in Italy, which gradually became more distant from the working class, the authors juxtapose this to modern China, which opened up with Deng Xiaopings reforms and Xi Jinpings search for rejuvenation. In presenting Italian Maoisma largely forgotten topic and fascinating example of Western Maoismto an English-reading audience, the authors contextualize these local historical events in a global modern perspective, linking them to the Cold War and horizontal issues, such as dissent, in a rich comparison of Italian and Chinese sources from party archives and collections. It is relevant to historians interested in the circulation of Chinese political ideas in the West, and Chinas historical trajectory from the Cold War to the present.
See moreWill deliver when available. Publication date 11 Dec 2024