Luigi Einaudi: Selected Political Essays, Volume 3

Luigi Einaudi: Selected Political Essays, Volume 3

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Luigi Einaudi: Selected Political Essays, Volume 3 Edited by Domenico da Empoli, Corrado Malandrino and Valerio Zanone Fondazione Luigi Einaudi per Studi di Politica ed Economia, Rome, Italy

Fondazione Luigi Einaudi Roma 2014 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-34502-8 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-46629-0 ISBN 978-1-137-34503-5 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137345035 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India.

Contents Foreword by Roberto Einaudi viii Editors Introduction 1 Domenico da Empoli, Corrado Malandrino and Valerio Zanone PART I IDEAS AND IDEALS (a) Liberty and Liberalism 1 Preface to Italian Edition of On Liberty by J. S. Mill (1925) 31 2 New Liberalism (1945) 34 3 Justice and Freedom (1948) 40 4 Lectures on Social Policy (1944) 44 (b) Liberty and Socialism 5 Elementary Remarks on the Similarities and Differences between Liberalism and Socialism (1957) 53 (c) Peace and European Federation 6 The Dogma of Sovereignty and the Idea of the League of Nations (1918) 86 7 The Nature of a World Peace (1940) 93 8 The War and European Unity (1947) 95 9 On a Hypothetical European Army (1951) 103 PART II INSTITUTIONS (a) Monarchy and Constitution 10 Representation of Interests and Parliament (1919) 111 11 Has the Mission of Monarchy in Italy Come to an End? (1943) 116 12 Major et Sanior Partes, or on Toleration and Political Adhesion (1945) 122 (b) Electoral Systems 13 Proportional Representation and Constituent Assembly (1945) 139 v

vi Contents 14 Government is Impossible with Proportional Representation (1945) 144 (c) Bureaucracy, Decentralization and Federalism 15 The Problem of the State Bureaucracy (1919) 151 16 Away with the Prefect! (1944) 156 17 Luigi Einaudi to Altiero Spinelli (1944) 163 18 The Myth of the Sovereign State (1945) 169 19 Is Sovereignty Indivisible? (1945) 174 (d) Fiscal Reform and Social Justice 20 The Theoretical Premises of Social Legislation (1949) 178 21 Preface: Introduction to Economic Policy (1942) 193 PART III BATTLES (a) Labour s Struggles 22 The Genoa Strike (1901) 199 (b) Anti-protectionism 23 The State Drillers (1911) 222 24 Italy s Finances (1945) 236 (c) Fascism and Anti-fascism 25 The Moral Values of the Political Tradition on the Question of Dictatorship (1922) 240 26 The New Italy (1933) 246 PART IV ISSUES (a) Education and School Reform 27 Academic and Personal Freedom (1910) 253 28 Against Monopoly and not against State Schools (1959) 258 (b) Freedom of the Press 29 The Problem of the Daily Press (1943) 265 30 Journalists and Guilds (1944) 275 (c) Nuclear Threat 31 Who Wants the Atom Bomb? (1948) 283 32 Who Wants Peace? (1948) 287

Contents vii (d) The Protection of Culture and the Environment 33 In Defence of Historic Buildings and the Landscape (1954) 292 34 The Smokestacks of Naples and Public Health (1961) 298 Appendix: Einaudi, President of the Italian Republic (1948 1955) Message after the Oath (1948) 304 On Delays in the Debate and Approval of Draft Bills (1950) 307 Notes 314 Index of Names 321 Index of Subjects 326

Foreword Roberto Einaudi 1 The publication of Volume 2 of the Selected Economic Essays under the auspices of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi of Turin, and of Volume 3 (Selected Political Essays) with the backing of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi of Rome, concludes the series started in 2006 with the publication of Volume 1 by the Ent e Luigi Einaudi. The three institutions represent three different entities, each committed to promoting diverse aspects of the thought of the prominent Italian economist and political figure. The selected works have been translated from the original Italian in a coherent and comprehensive manner in order to make available in English (the language in which economic works are published professionally today worldwide) an important commentary on economic and political issues of great relevance to today s world. A limited number of the essays of Luigi Einaudi were originally written in English, as he wrote close to three hundred articles as an anonymous foreign corres pondent for The Economist from 1908 to 1946 and occasionally published in the US. The vast majority of his work, however, is unknown to the English-speaking public, despite the fact that Einaudi was a well-known figure outside Italy. When he was awarded the Degree of Doctor in Civil Law honoris causa at Oxford University, he was addressed as a Fellow of the British Academy, as well as retiring President of the Italian Republic, and his presentation (originally delivered in Latin) was as follows: Here is the famous Turin economist... to whom must be ascribed great credit for having saved his fellow citizens. 2 In these three volumes a total of 66 articles and book extracts are presented, out of a monumental production of close to 4,000 papers. In addition to his scholarly work, Luigi Einaudi was an extraordinary teacher, economist, historian, moralist, farmer, editor of academic journals and opinion leader writing in the principal Italian newspapers. His role as a policy-maker began as a Senator, but was decisive after World War II, as Governor of the Bank of Italy, member of the parliamentary assemblies (Consulta and Costituente), which set the ground rules for post-war Italy, Budget Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and first full-term President of the Italian Republic. He is best known to the general public as the person who stopped post-war inflation and stabilized the Italian lira, contributing to produce the so-called Italian Economic Miracle of the 1950s and 1960s. In a period of serious and persistent economic crises, such as those of recent years, the ideas of Luigi Einaudi have acquired renewed meaning and vitality, directly addressing today s concerns. Although the selected texts were written between fifty and over a hundred years ago, they are extraordinarily relevant to today s world. They represent a valuable contribution to our understanding viii

Foreword ix of the current economic and political situation. Although the problems faced by Luigi Einaudi refer to the past, they are strikingly similar to those that confront us today. In fact his ideas are discussed and frequently quoted by people in all walks of life and with differing political views, as vital examples still valid today. I quote two eminent personalities, from among the many that have cited him. The current Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti, asserts that The relevance of the thoughts of Einaudi does not cease to surprise, despite the profound change of the historical circumstance. In this difficult period... in the midst of a financial crisis that is still unpredictable, one can make reference to the teachings of Einaudi. 3 Monti continues by quoting from a letter Einaudi wrote to Luigi Albertini in June 1911: After having fought the thefts against the capitalists, is it not appropriate to fight the thefts in favour of the capitalists?, and comments that Einaudi s liberalism did not exclude a certain amount of regulation. Italy s current President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, writes that we should once again try and follow the teaching of Einaudi: a great precursor and supporter of that idea of a federal union of Europe which we are called on today to re-launch, with Einaudilike courage, by aiming to coherently overcome the dogma and limitations of national sovereignties. 4 Thanks also go to Riccardo Faucci and Roberto Marchionatti, the editors of Volume 2, and to Domenico da Empoli, Corrado Malandrino and Valerio Zanone, the editors of Volume 3, for their generous and significant work. Mario Draghi, Mervyn King and Alberto Alesina are thanked for their fine essays included in Volume 2. Thanks also go to the translator, Rachel Barritt, for the difficult work of transforming Einaudi s inventive, complex and prolific prose into smooth-flowing English, to the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi of Turin and the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi of Rome for their organization and coordination of the work of publication, and to the San Giacomo Charitable Foundation and the Italian Ministry of Culture and Cultural Activities (MIBAC) for their support. Finally, thanks go to the Einaudi family, who have granted permission to reproduce his writings, indicating that any and all proceeds from such royalties shall be dedicated by the Foundations to providing scholarships for promising young scholars, as was the wish of Luigi Einaudi.