Abstract
Mussolini may have always been anxious to cut a dash among intellectuals, writers, artists and scholars but as a politician he tended to take a pragmatic view of them.1 If they were willing to be pliable — and many were, to protect their material interests — he made use of their endorsement and traded on their respectability or reputation. Gentile and Marinetti are good examples of commitment rewarded by state sinecures. Luigi Pirandello, a far greater international asset, proved less tractable, but not actually hostile. Others were beyond any form of compromise, and Fascism dealt with them brutally: Piero Gobetti, Giacomo Matteotti and the Rosselli brothers all died at the hands of Fascist henchmen. Antonio Gramsci was released from jail at death’s door. Only Croce had the intellectual pre-eminence, hereditary wealth and international reputation which allowed him to maintain an Olympian disdain for Mussolini’s brand of violent right-wing populism. His mail and his movements were closely monitored and his influence on public opinion was negligible.2KeywordsPopular CultureCultural PolicyExcessive ParticipationFascist RegimeItalian PeopleThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Published Version
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