Liberal Provocations: Why Carlo Rosselli Is still Relevant Today

Florian Maiwald

doi:10.2298/FID2504937M

Authors

Florian Maiwald University of Bonn, Germany

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2298/FID2504937M

Keywords:

Liberalism, Socialism, Rosselli, anti-fascism, Geuss, Horkheimer, freedom, democracy, economy, Marxism

Abstract

Liberal and socialist worldviews are often seen as being in a fundamental opposition. This is reinforced immensely either by Francis Fukuyma’s apostrophised end of history or by the thesis put forward by authors such as Patrick Deneen that liberalism has failed. The question that arises on closer examination of this assumption is whether or not it is accurate. Based on Carlo Rosselli’s work Socialismo Liberale (Liberal Socialism), this article attempts to systematically challenge this thesis. Against the backdrop of the rise of fascism in Italy, Rosselli comes to the realisation – contrary to many representatives of orthodox Marxism – that the liberal and socialist worldviews are not necessarily antagonistic to one another. In fact, they may even be mutually dependent – an important insight to think social change anew.

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