FRANCO FANTONI

Il socialismo liberale di Arturo Labriola e Guido De Ruggiero

N. 202

Summary - In this essay the a. choses to develop the stimulating and intricate theme of liberal socialism from the perspective of cultural-political reviews. After a short reference to the forerunners, like John Stuart Mill and Leonard Hobhouse, the a. illustrates the rebirth of a meeting proposal between liberalism and socialism in the middle of the twenties of the last century. Whit regard to this, beside Carlo Rosselli's notes, the contributions of Arturo Labriola and Guido De Ruggiero come out respectively in "Critica Sociale" and "La Rivoluzione Liberale". The a. underlines the newness of these attitudes starting from Labriola's theories. Labriola thinks that the right time has come for the socialism to deliver its teaching from what he calls the "asiatic heritage" , that exerted its influence on socialist doctrine by a choking and centralizing collectivism conditionning the individual to coercive institutions as "clan", "caste", "State" and, after 1917, the "one party system". The italian scholar opposes to this heritage, belonging to the eastern culture and society, the western political tradition based on man's rights and freedom. Guido De Ruggiero's contribution - though almost unknown to scholars - originates from british political situation and develops in a meaning of liberty that trespasses on territory of equality creating the fondamental concept of his proposal: the "equality of opportunity". However the "equality of opportunity" , needs a particular version of liberalism and socialism because it can be carried out only it liberalism is open to social action, a "new liberalism" as De Ruggiero calls it. By this way socialism cannot be marxist and collectivist, because it must care of freedom requirements.