Summary — The a. analyzes Giovanni Gronchi's personality with reference to the historical evolution, in the Italian experience, of the problem of the " democracy" in the firm. Two moments are in particular examined, just with reference to the role played by Gronchi: the first post-world period when, as Secretary general of the Catholic trade unions, he submitted a very much radical project concerning workers’ participation in the profits, in the management and in the ownership of the firms; and successively the second post-war period when, during the works of the Constituent Assembly, Gronchi played a decisive role in the drawing up of the article 46, which attenuates in a relevant measure the "participation" tendencies at that time present in some sectors of the Italian political world.