‘The Red Brigades who took Moro hostage sought to prevent a reformist solution to Italy’s institutional impasse. Their actions, or at least the anticommunist blowback it produced, did help block the PCI’s path toward power. But while they thought that this would radicalize the Italian political landscape, they were sorely mistaken. The violence of these years ultimately expressed the decline of the extra-parliamentary left. … Moro’s death was the swansong of the postwar “First Republic,” marking the failed reform of the Christian Democratic order. This brought not renewal, but protracted decline and fragmentation. The debris continues to litter the present, in an Italian political system devoid not just of credibility, but of hope.’
Site Overview
Introduction
Structure
Vassilis Lambropoulos
C. P. Cavafy Professor Emeritus of Classical Studies and Comparative Literature
vlambrop@umich.eduFollow Blog via Email
- Follow The Tragedy of Revolution on WordPress.com
Parallel blog of further reflections on solidarity and collaborative culture:
https://poetrypiano.wordpress.com In The News
Recent Blog Posts
Jamie Allinson: “The Actuality of Counter-Revolution”
Sahar Delijani: “Watching From a Distance As Women Fight for Freedom in Iran”
Alain Badiou: “Thirteen theses and some comments on politics today”
David Palumbo-Liu: “Rise Up in Anger and Hope: How Eruptive Protests Can Propel Urgent Issues to the Center of Political Debate”