Abstract
The chapter reviews the contribution of series of economics and encyclopaedias to the development of Italian economic thought in the interwar period, providing general information on the main series of economics (especially on Nuova collana di economisti stranieri e italiani) and major encyclopaedias (Enciclopedia italiana, Dizionario di politica, Enciclopedia bancaria). The following topics are treated: (i) Can a single specific line of fascist economic thought be identified, or on the contrary the case was that there were a few authors who attempted to elaborate a corporatist theory clearly distinct from traditional theory, and various economists who opted for a conciliation between corporatism and traditional theory? (ii) To what extent was Italian economic thought influenced by more radical attempts to construct a new economic theory or alternatively by the proponents of a less conflictual balance between the two approaches? and (iii) Can the works examined here be considered marked by regime propaganda or have they left a more lasting trace?
A previous version was presented at the conference “Economisti e scienza economica in Italia durante il fascismo” organised by CIPEI in Pisa on 13–14 December 2018. Di Matteo particularly thanks Riccardo Faucci, Daniela Giaconi and Nicola Giocoli. He is also indebted to Cecilia Castellani (responsible for the Gentile archives in Rome), the personnel of the library of the Circolo giuridico of the University of Siena and CIPEI for their courtesy and skill in obtaining documentary sources and access to material in the archives. Cristiano thanks Gabriella Miggiano for access to the complete lists of collaborators of the economic sections of the Enciclopedia Italiana and the topics edited by each collaborator. Special thanks go to Paola Buonocore for her precious help during research in the archives of the Enciclopedia Italiana. Section 2 was written by Di Matteo, Section 3 by Cristiano and Sections 1 and 4 were written jointly.
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Notes
- 1.
See Amore Bianco (2017). It is widely recognised, even by anti-fascist intellectuals, that the school of Pisa included, in the words of Bobbio (1973, 229) “the only group that attempted to elaborate an original doctrine and sought to maintain contact with the rest of the world”. For a general assessment of corporativist ideology, see Asor Rosa (1975, 1488–1500) and the observations of Sraffa (November 1927) on the corporativist state, http://trin-sites-pub.trin.cam.ac.uk/manuscripts/Sraffa_D2_2/manuscript.php?fullpage=1&startingpage=1.
- 2.
See Cassese (1971).
- 3.
Spirito (1933, 185).
- 4.
Spirito (1935, 237–238).
- 5.
Spirito (1933, 184).
- 6.
Spirito (1938, 115).
- 7.
Spirito (1934, 13) sustains that the Italian experience, unlike the German one, was based on the effective coincidence of the corporation with the nation without the state-company dualism typical of the nazi concept. The integral corporativism claimed by Spirito was already clear in the minds of the people of Italy, he sustains, whereas in Germany they were beginning to lay the basis for such a situation but without any real understanding.
- 8.
A sign in this direction of investigation can already be found in Asor Rosa (1975, 1495).
- 9.
Naturally, we refer to the economic literature.
- 10.
Gemelli puts it as follows (1935, VII, xii): “(..) we hope the ideas laid out here will promote progressive improvement of the social construction that our entire population feverishly awaits, under the guidance of the Head and Duce of Fascism and in the train of his faithful collaborators … By adapting and joining the interests of individuals with social interests, ethics will enable political action and economic activity to create a new society, the fundamental lines of which are indicated by Italy, through Benito Mussolini”.
- 11.
Zanni (1985, 257) sustains that the foreword is not by Bottai but by Arena.
- 12.
Bottai (I, i). In the citations that follow, the first number indicates the volume according to the index in the Appendix.
- 13.
See Augello and Guidi (2007).
- 14.
Zanni (2011, 104).
- 15.
Garino-Canina (II, xi) observes that “ideas that are sometimes particularly reflected in current economic policy” are set out in volume II. He is probably referring to Mazzini’s thesis that an increase in production through greater economic freedom is not sufficient to obtain social well-being but is necessary to make distribution more equal. Along the same line, Romagnosi (who inspired Cavour and Cattaneo) sustains that economic freedom should not be confused with the “unbridled competition” and the state should prevent the formation of artificial and natural monopolies; he also underlines that “a material advantage is absolutely necessary for progress but this immense force must agree with social aspects, without which it cannot act or suitably provide the needs of life”.
- 16.
Zanni (1985, 256–257) argues that “the cultural designer of the series” was actually Del Vecchio who writes (IV, p. XXIV): “The contributions [that I selected] refer partly to continuations of general study and partly to theoretical re-elaborations of concrete arguments resulting from an osmosis of general principles already reached by the creators of the new theories … These are already dealt with from different points of view in single volumes of the series”.
- 17.
The original design, as recognised by editors Bottai and Arena (I, p. XIV), was different from the final version, both in the editors of single volumes and in the choice of the essays included. See Zanni (1996, 118–119).
- 18.
Except for volume XIII, edited by Papi, but with an introduction by Fanno.
- 19.
They range from four pages by Demaria in volume V (for reasons, see Zanni 1996, 36) to 58 pages by Arena in volume XI.
- 20.
On the nature and characteristics of the forewords, see Zanni (1996, 35).
- 21.
Further on we read: “(..) constitute (…) through the choice of single deeply personal works (…) an organic whole, a type of grand treatise on political economy” (I, x–xii).
- 22.
See Zanni (1996, 33–36).
- 23.
Bottai (I, xi).
- 24.
Unlike Pantaleoni’s conception that envisages non-equilibrium phases between equilibrium positions.
- 25.
Masci (VII, 938–939).
- 26.
A German economist (1874–1941) whose work Kartelle, Konzerne und Trust reached eight editions (1905–1930). He was quoted among others by Lenin in his Imperialism.
- 27.
Masci (VII, 950).
- 28.
Exemplified by a quote from a speech by Mussolini on 14.11.1933 to the Consiglio Nazionale delle Corporazioni (VII, 935).
- 29.
Fasiani (X, x).
- 30.
Arena (XI, ix). He criticises the purely economic explanations of wage determination of Boehm Bawerk and relegates Hicks to the function of representing the neoclassical model in its purity.
- 31.
Arena (XI, lxiii).
- 32.
On the complex personality of Michels, see Malandrino (2010).
- 33.
Fanno, too, criticises Robertson for this feature (VIII, xxv).
- 34.
Croce’s words are reported in Turi (2002, 52).
- 35.
- 36.
The text of the “Instructions to authors” can be found in Treccani (1939, 42–44).
- 37.
On this episode, see Pedio (2000, 16).
- 38.
The complete text of the Notes can be found in Pedio (2000, 28–29).
- 39.
Some of the information on this topic is from Zanni (1983).
- 40.
On the somewhat tense relations between De' Stefani and the regime in this phase, see Bini (2017) who underlines the divergence between Mussolini and his minister after the assassination of Matteotti.
- 41.
Archivio storico del Senato.
- 42.
Bresciani Turroni notified his “provisional acceptance” in a letter to Gentile dated 23 March 1925. In another letter dated 11 September 1925, Bresciani thanked him for the invitation to “direct the section on political economy”. The collaboration proceeded in 1926 and 1927. A letter from Bresciani to Gentile dated 24 April 1928, sent from Cairo, reveals that Bresciani had recently declined the position. This correspondence can be found in the Archivio Storico (AS), Fondo EI, 1925–1939, sezione II Attività scientifica e redazionale, 1925–1939, s. 5 Corrispondenza, 1925/01/29-1939/11/25, lettera B, 1925–1938, fasc., 247, Bresciani Turroni Costantino, 1925/03/23-1928/09/05, docc. 28, cc. 42, b. 8, of the Istituto Enciclopedia Italiana (IEI).
- 43.
The topic list, including 124 “Main entries” and 275 “Secondary entries”, can be found in the Treccani archives (IEI, AS, Fondo Enciclopedia Italiana (Fondo EI), 1925–1939, sezione II Attività scientifica e redazionale, 1925–1939, s. 6, Lemmari [1926]–[1929], ss. 2, Volumi, [1926], fasc. 1449, Diritto e economia, [1926], docc. 1, cc. 295, b. 41).
- 44.
Besides too much work, as indicated by Zanni (1983, 172–173), a reason could have been that Bresciani Turroni was reported to be an anti-fascist as early as 1925. In 1927, Bresciani went to teach in Cairo.
- 45.
The collaborators for the sections of economics and statistics and finance of the EI were: Annibale Alberti, Mario Alberti, Umberto Albertini, Luigi Amoroso, Anselmo Anselmi, Gino Arias, Riccardo Bachi, Roberto Bachi, Mario Bandini, Ettore Bassan, Rodolfo Benini, Alberto Bertolino, Bruno Biagi, Marcello Boldrini, Gino Borgatta, Guido Borghesani, Alberto Brizi, Angelo Cabrini, Angelo Chianale, Raffaele Ciasca, Francesco Coletti, Epicarmo Corbino, Aldo Crosara, Pietro Cuccia, Riccardo Dalla Volta, Giuseppe De Capitani d’Arzago, Lydia De Novellis, Alfonso de Pietri-Tonelli, Alberto De' Stefani, Anna Del Buttero, Gustavo Del Vecchio, Giuseppe Dell’Oro, Giovanni Demaria, Carlo Draghi, Marco Fanno, Mauro Fasiani, Federico Flora, Eraldo Fossati, Giuseppe Frignani, Giuseppe Frisella Vella, Renzo Fubini, José Gonzales Galé, Luigi Galvani, Lello Gangemi, Attilio Garino Canina, Nicola Garrone, Salvatore Gatti, Guido Gentili, Corrado Gini, Italo Giudici, Ugo Giusti, Ulisse Gobbi, Augusto Graziani, Carlo Grilli, Cesare Grinovero, Benvenuto Griziotti, Guido Jung, Ugo La Malfa, Ernesto Lama, Enrico Ferdinando Loffredo, Giovanni Lorenzoni, Gino Luzzatto, Fabio Majnoni, Lanfranco Maroi, Manlio Masi, Jacopo Mazzei, Paolo Medolaghi, Luigi Messedaglia, Roberto Michels, Giorgio Mortara, Robert Balmain Mowat, Nicola Muratore, Luigi Nina, Pietro Onida, Luigi Pace, Dario Perini, José Podestà, Vincenzo Porri, Giuseppe Prato, Anna Maria Ratti, Francesco Repaci, Massimo Salvadori, Renato Savelli, Emanuele Sella, Arrigo Serpieri, Alfredo Spallanzani, Franco Spinedi, Ugo Spirito, Guglielmo Tagliacarne, Giulio Tamagnini, Giuseppe Tassinari, Jacopo Tivaroni, Guido Toja, Vincenzo Tosi, Heinrich Türler, Albino Uggè, Armando Valente, Vincenzo Vianello, Gerolamo Vittorio Villavecchia, Felice Vinci, Francesco Vito and Federico Zapelloni.
- 46.
See Footnote 54 below.
- 47.
The correspondence mentioned above indicates that Bresciani Turroni was the person who insisted on the name of Luzzatto.
- 48.
See Amore Bianco (2017) for useful information on the School of Corporativist Sciences at Pisa University.
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Appendix: Index of the Nuova Collana di Economisti Stranieri ed Italiani
Appendix: Index of the Nuova Collana di Economisti Stranieri ed Italiani
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Vol. I History of theories. Editor Arena. Foreword by Bottai. Essays by Cannan, Del Vecchio.
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Vol. II Italian economists of the Risorgimento. Editor Garino Canina. Essays by Romagnosi, Mazzini, Cattaneo, Cavour, Ferrara, Martello.
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Vol. III Economic history. Editor Luzzatto. Essays by Buecher, List, Keynes, Heckscher, Mazzei.
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Vol. IV Pure economics. Editor Del Vecchio. Essays by Menger, Edgeworth, Pareto, Frisch, Berardi, Young, Sraffa, Robertson, Shove, Mayer, Rosenstein Rodan.
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Vol. V Economic dynamics. Editor Demaria. Essays by Pantaleoni, Schumpeter, JM Clark, Amoroso.
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Vol. VI Economic cycles. Editor Mortara. Essays by Mitchell, Wagemann, Bresciani Turroni.
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Vol. VII Industrial organisation. Editor Masci. Essays by Marshall, Barone, Liefmann, Masci.
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Vol. VIII Money market. Editor Papi. Foreword by Fanno. Essays by Wicksell, Mises, Kemmerer, Young, Gregory, Robertson, Einzig, Hayek, Papi, Fisher.
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Vol. IX Finance. Editor Borgatta. Essays by Wicksell, Seligman, Stamp, Borgatta.
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Vol. X Social policy. Editor Fasiani. Essay by Pigou.
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Vol. XI Labour. Editor Arena. Essays by Carver, Marshall, Jevons, Boehm Bawerk, Hicks, Zeuthen, Moore, Webb, Sorel.
-
Vol. XII Political economy. Editor Michels. Essays by Labriola, Marx-Engels, Loria, Pareto, Weber, Simmel.
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Cristiano, C., Di Matteo, M. (2019). Series of Economics and Encyclopaedias: Traditional Economic Theory and New Paths. In: Augello, M., Guidi, M., Bientinesi, F. (eds) An Institutional History of Italian Economics in the Interwar Period — Volume I. Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32980-8_8
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