In the period immediately following WWI, a revolutionary wave swept across Europe, beginning with the 1917 Russian Revolution.
In Italy too, we saw a mass movement of workers and peasants struggling against the capitalist system. The ‘biennio rosso‘ (‘two red years’) of 1919-1920 witnessed factory occupations in Turin, and the formation of a mass communist party in Italy.
The objective conditions were ripe for a successful socialist revolution. And yet, this period led to the triumph of Mussolini’s fascists.
In this talk, Fred Weston outlines these events, and explains how the mistakes of the workers’ organisations paved the way for the victory of fascism.
Read more about fascism and how to fight it over on our education hub.
