Giolitti and Socialism Flashcards
Why did the working class of Italy boom?
There was over-urbanisation with more peasants dropping their pitchforks and picking up a hammer. The population of workers in big cities such as Milan grew significantly.
How did a boom in the working class effect the politics in Italy?
There were now more educated people in Italy which meant more people who have a political opinion. In particular, with more workers gaining an interest in politics, support for socialism was going to grow.
What was the PSI?
Italian Socialist Party
Partito Socialista Italiano
Who led the PSI?
Fillipo Turatti
What did the PSI do to gain popularity?
They had a policy of active engagement. They held meetings and lectures as well as heavily promoting education as a means for the poor to challenge the political order
By 1902 how many Italians had joined socialist national federations
250,000
What socialist reforms did Giolitti introduce to counter Turatti?
- Compulsory accident insurance (1898)
- Banning employment of children under-12 (1901)
- Limiting the working day for women to 11 hours (1902)
- Introduction of a maternity fund (1910)
These were all part of his use of transformismo (political manouvering)
What was the PSI split into?
Reformists
- were happy with Turatti working with Giolitti to bring gradual change
Maximalists
- were unhappy with Turatti’s refromism and close relationship to Giolitti\
- Mussolini at the time was a maximalist
What was Giolitti’s biggest concession to the socialists?
He allowed for arbitration courts which allowed employer-employee issues to be held and discussed
This made strikes unneccesary as workers can just go to an arbitration court and seek fair justice
Which faction would Giolitti’s concessions to the Socialists hurt the most?
The Catholics
