fraser - the inner contradictions of marxism and political violence the case of the italian left

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The Inner Contradictions of Marxism and Political Violence: The Case of the Italian LeftAuthor(s): JOHN FRASERReviewed work(s):Source: Social Research, Vol. 48, No. 1, On Violence: Paradoxes and Antinomies (SPRING 1981),pp. 21-44Published by: The New SchoolStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40970797 .

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The InnerContradictionsfMarxism ndPoliticalViolence:The Case ofthe Italian /Left / BY JOHN FRASER

JYLarxist theoryhas traditionallyucceededin unitingn

dynamic ension pparently ontradictoryrinciples.Whenthe tension s historicallyxhausted, hecontradictionseas-sert hemselves,nd dialectical econciliation,r unity fop-posites,no longerfunctions.n Marx,forexample, heprin-ciplesof articulationf theprogressionfrom lasstoparty ostate" organization)ppeardirectlypposed tothatof"class

to party o movement"spontaneousmprovization,ubver-sion, revolution). erhapsconsciousof this, n one classicscenario in theGrundrisse) arx solves,or transcends,he

problemof the division f leadersand led, organizers nd

organized, olitical rganizationnd therationalityfcondi-tionsof productionnd producers' onsciousness,yhavingtheproletariatirstxcludedfrom roduction yrobots,hento return s thepolitical lasswhich ommands herobots ts

techniquesreated. n Lenin, heseeminglyrreconcilableen-sionbetween xtreme ecentralizationnd populardecision-

makingon the one hand, and extremecentralizationndauthoritativelitism n theother, eemsanother xampleof



22 SOCIAL RESEARCH

the unpondered adoption from Marx of principlesnormally"undialectically,"ogically,to be kept separate and which, n"realized socialism,"tend to separate,one of the couple ofteneliminatedby the violence of their conflict.

ThePCI Case

The tendencyfor Marxismto split ntomutually ontradic-torycomponentpartsis currently eing illustrated n Italy, nthe conflict between the "area of autonomy" (formerlyAw-tonomiaperaia)and theCommunistParty.FollowingGramsci'sobservationthat the end of the party s the state,and partyspirit is state spirit,the PCI is conducting its long march

throughthe institutionsoward nsertion n theLower evelsofthe statehierarchy.To Gramsci,the formula s not State and

Revolution, or Revolution or State, but Revolution intoState withthe revolutionaryntellectualsformingthe state-

class, a role which, incidentally, he PCI's current politicaladministratorseemdiffidentn admitting nd unadventurousin discharging.1The Party'sargumentis that Italy'spositionon the capitalistperiphery s worsenedbytheweaknessof the

politicalclass, leading not only to the danger of dedevelop-mentbut even deindustrialization. trengthening he stateby

making it more representative, ncouraging intellectualstojoin, as was Gramsci'sown ambiguous advice, the state-class s

technobureaucrats,is not seen as gratuitous assistance to

capitalism. It proposes a "statist" democracy, capable of

mediatingand protecting conomic interests, nd organizingsocial conflictuality ithin a legal-consensualframework.

The statein Italyis reallyan archaeologyof states,palaeo-liberal,fascist, tate-capitalist,nd mass antifascist. lacing in-

tellectuals n the state-class seenby

Gramsci asequivocally,and dangerously,a process of the bureaucratizationof the

1Cf. Luis Razeto Migliaroand Pasquale Misuraca,Sociologia marxismoella critica i

GramsciBari: De Donato, 1978)



MARXISM AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE 23

modern state is seen as means of modernization nd as dem-

onstratingthe PCI's administrative fficiency.True, neitheraim has much immediate connection with destroyingcapitalism,nor establishing post-(forced) abor society.Theaim is rather to transformand strengthenthe productivesystem, nd byinserting heworking lass into the bargainingsystem f "organized" (or consociational)democracy, t hopesto make possible a process of democraticplanning.

The crisis of capitalismin Italy is seen as one of under-

development threatening he possibilityf modernization ndthe introduction of bureaucratic rationality.Not subversionbut organization,not critical ntellectualityut technobureau-

cracy, powerful enterarticulating powerful dministrative

periphery,not human liberation but Weberian rationality(even Weberian organizationas end-in-itself) these are the"statist" lements of the Party'sproject.

Negri,however,sees the presentcrisis as illustration f thenonrevisionistheory f general capitalist risis, f Marxism as

"antisystem"system lso in Luhmann's notion of the "state of

law").2 The state-classattemptsto organize production: the

authority f a diffusecapitalistclass is concentrated nto thecommand f the capital-state,which forces labor to work asmarkof itspolitical ubjection, ven while t is being excludedfrom the productiveprocess. Capitalismdoes not falter n its

drive forprofit:all societybecomes a "diffusedfactory," ndcivilsociety s a "societalworker," ociety-as-worker.he pro-letariat no longer confrontscapital as a decentralized eco-nomicphenomenon but as the state.Sabotage and subversionare politicalacts against the state. In diffusesubversion,we

may even see the protoformof the workers' counterstate.Italian capitalismis not a decaying institutionwhich,havingfailed to establish itselfas dominant in its private,entrepre-

2Cf. Antonio Negri,Marx oltreMarx: quadernidi lavoro ui GrundrisseMilan: Fel-trinelli, 979) and DaW operaiomassa ll*operaio ociale. ntervistauWoperaismoMilan:MulthiplaEd., 1979); NiklasLuhmann,Potere complessitàociale Milan: II Saggiatore,1979).



24 SOCIAL RESEARCH

neurialform,now needs proppingup by public subsidyand astatebourgeoisie,or even tendsto regressto a more primitive,peripheral form,of artisan industry nd submerged,"black"economies. The issue for the PCI is one of the balance of

public and private, nd of the control exercisedby producers,managers,and the technobureaucrats.To Negri, on the con-

trary, he crisishas entered thephase ofcrisisof thestate andparty)form. t is timeto stormheaven, and then "that cursed

heaven will be no more."3His concern is to promote autonomous class action rather

than politicalmaneuver or war of position. His analysis re-

quires thatthe current situationbe seen as one of acceleratedsocial change and transition,and acceleration of capitalistcrisis,not a process of decline, stasis,or immobilism. mmis-eration is representedby the nonsatisfaction f needs (exclu-sion from the productiveprocess) and the forcible atisfaction

of nonradical needs, wherebylabor is forced to reproduceitself, hus allowing capital to value itself n terms of its ca-

pacityto appropriate livinglabor.

The PCI, on the other hand, sees the situationas one of

dedevelopment in peripheral capitalism.Rather than transi-

tion and progressive modernization, there is a social and

politicalblockage which can onlybe loosened by an injectionof expertise and administrative rganization. The prospects

for long-termgrowthmay seem slender, but the Gramsciantheme of modernization and bureaucratization)may stillbe

realized on a fullynational scale. The experience of Emilian

industrialdecentralizationand diffusion,opening the labor

marketto women, is evidence of the potentialforan alliance

between public administrationand (small) private capital.Thus, in place of the ChristianDemocrat model of private

corporatism,whereinthe public sectordeals withthe privateon a basis of

nonrepresentativenessnd privatization, he PCI

proposes a statist,nonautonomous, public corporatism.Au-3AntonioNegri,// ominio il sabotaggio.ul metodo arxista ellatrasformazioneociale

(Milan: Feltrinelli, 1978), p. 71.



MARXISMAND POLITICAL VIOLENCE 25

tonomys seen as generally eactionarynd anti-or asocial,whethernthe case ofthe "areaof(workers')utonomy,"he"autonomous nions," r thetoweringnthills f DC powerbases.

Within hePCI, thegroup dvocatinghe"autonomyfthe

political,"nd basing ts historical erspectivesn the "auton-omous" spects fclassorganizationnthe1960s,hassufferedfrom heParty's eneral eideologization.n 1979, pokesmenforthe groupadmitted hat nsertion f the Party nto thestateprovides new,historicallyogicalterrain orpoliticalmaneuver ut without roviding correspondingetof deol-ogicalor practical bjectives. he prospectseem tobe eitherinsertion f the PCI into the statesystems a subordinate,administrativelyrientated orce definingautonomy"o asto include ts own tactics ut exclude the legitimacyf anyotherform utside hestate)or alternativelyhe PCI's exclu-

sion frompermanent,venifsubordinate,epresentationnthe tate.n thefirst erspective,heproblemsthat nsofarsthe areaofautonomy"sa social s well s a politicalrea, t sfed bytheweakening f socialitynd thewinding-downfproduction.t thustends o increase nd become ncreasinglyanomic: t becomes hesea inwhichparamilitaryroupshideand fishfor minor upporters. conomicprospectsmay m-prove if entrepreneursre convincedof supportfrom the

institutionaleft nmanagingabor, hough he Britishxperi-enceofthis snotpromisingnd the structuralimits f taly'sresource ase arecrucial. n the secondperspective,he social"margin"willnotnecessarilyease to be tendentiallyviolentsubproletariat.he PCI will lose credibilityo its left andright,boveallwith he middle trata. he technobureaucratsofothernstitutionalartiesmay ffect measure feconomicandsocialrecomposition,uttheexclusion f the PCI and theresistance f the

organizedworkinglass willweaken

anyprogram nd intensifyocialdisintegration.he contentless-nessof the PCI's "autonomy f thepolitical"would then beclear.



26 SOCIAL RESEARCH

The PCI has made itsproject hepolitical ne, not of ad-

vocatingtate nterventionntheeconomy n a massive cale,but of insertionnto the state tself. he old distinctione-tweenpublic state) nd private property)s obliterated. hepublic sphere s privatized, orporatized, hiletheprivatesthe terrainof public,collective oncern and intervention.However,the distinction etweenpublic and privatehas

emerged n a new form, hatbetweenpublicmediation f

corporate ompetition rganizedon the terrain f the stateand antisystemic,onmediatedorporate onflictuality.

The PCI's case rests n a belief ntherelativeutonomyfeconomics rompoliticsnd the mperativefa newstrategyofstabilizedransitionnperipheralapitalism, here hestateis notstrong noughto savecapitalismr its owndemocraticcharacter.To Negri, the evolving uthoritarian-consensualmodern tate s thegeneralform fcapitalistrisis,markingtheidentityf politics nd economics.The Party s probablycorrect in arguing that assisted industrializationwouldstrengthen resource-poorconomy nd thatbureaucraticrationalitymightmediate betweenfrustratedworkers ndfrightenedand irresponsibleentrepreneurs.The statebourgeoisie t present s too concernedwithfiscal risis ndpaying-offhepublictertiaryector ither o patientlyecon-structncentivesnd stimulatenitiativesr to come to terms

with hearbitrarinessnd uncertaintyf thepost-Keynesianmarketplace. egri, n theotherhand, s probablyorrectnarguing hat his ituation its t leastone ofMarx's cenarios,wherecapital s unable to reproduce ocialrelations f pro-duction,annotbecome socialized" s welfareapitalism,en-dentiallyliminatesivingabor, nd is forced o flee thena-tional conomyn orderto "valorize" tself.

Napolitano asexpressed hePCI caseas follows: herewillbe no

developmentin a socialist irection rom . . thecol-

lapse of a capitalist conomy, nd instead t is a questionofinterveningnthecrisis o as toaffirmhe eadingfunctionf




theworking lass,tobindaround t a bloc of socialforces,broad system f alliances, nd to give the country newpolitical leadership, capable of launching a process oftransformation."4his, of course, s also consonantwith heobservationhat"forTogliatti, ocialism oes not requireaStatedifferentrom he democratic' ne."5 To Negri,how-ever, his tatistnstitutionalizationf theworkinglass makesthe PCI "revisionistn ideology, eformistn objective, ndtechnocraticn practice."6

NegrïsCase

The forceof thechargeof revisionisms thatNegrisup-portedRozdolski'sontentionhat evisionistsould in nowaysupport theoryfcapitalist ollapse.He also rejectedOffe's

(optimistic)heoryhatas the crisisof

capitalismecomes

concentrateds a political risis, he natureof classstrugglechanges, nd the subordinate lassesmay beginto constructeconomiccounterpowers.he PCI's "nationalroad" wouldthus seem to have led it to a theory f partial,peripheralcollapse,not as a finalphase in the crisisbut as a nationalcatastrophe. egri, n thecontrary,as said: "Insurrectionstheorderof theday. . . Revolutionstheprocessn which hepermanencef a violent esponse, iolentlyrganized, gainstthebosses'state, s organized."7

Negri'sdeasdevelopedfrom anzieri'srgumentf the ate1950sand early1960sthat hemyth f therationalityftech-nologicalmodernizationbscured hefact hat technologicaldevelopmentppearsas thedevelopmentfcapitalism.. of

4Giorgio Napolitano,Intervista ul PCI (Bari: Laterza, 1976), p. 61.5Riccardo Guastini,"Guerra di posizione e 'via italiana al socialismo',"Criticadel

diritto, o. 5-6 (May-December 1975): 21-22.8Antonio Negri, "Stato, spesa pubblica e fatiscenza del compromesso storico,"

Criticadel diritto, o. 5-6 (May-December 1975): 56.7Antonio Negri, Crisi dello Stato-piano.Comunismo organizzazione ivoluzionaria(Milan: Feltrinelli,1974/9),p. 56 (written1971).



28 SOCIAL RESEARCH

theauthorityf the capitalist."8Only workers' nsubordinationcould confront"the development of the plan as despotism."9Only by developing a separate rationality ould an autono-mous strategy e worked out the "autonomyof the political"expressed at all levels of the social system.As mentioned,thesearch for a content to the PCI's supporters of "workers'

centrality" as had little success. It is not expressed throughdirect ction, trestson no assumptionabout capitalist ollapseor inevitablecrisis. ndeed, the claim has even been made, asagainstthe notionof the modern state as consensual-authori-

tarian,the state of the crisis-plan, hat "the modern state . .turnsout to be no less than the modernformof autonomous

organizationof the workingclass," organized not througha

partybut as a rulingclass.10

Negri denies there is a need fundamentallyto redefine

politicalprojects.The new "societalworker" has replaced the

"mass worker"of the 1960s who pressed capital for a socialwage. The social dynamicsof the 1970s led to the growthof

sociallymarginalstrata, he superexploitation nd diffusion f

factoryabor, and the tertiarizationf the directlyproductivesector.Now, "new social base, new productiveforce,new rev-

olutionaryorganization, dictatorshipof the proletariat,ex-tinction f theState,make a sequence whichonly n thatordercan we adopt as the basis of our project."11 he "autonomyof

the political" is mere reformism,while the historic com-promise would be "the political formof the capitalisttran-scendence of the crisis."12

Negri does not deny Italy's underdevelopmentbut simplyargues that the level of capitalistdevelopment s not crucial to

8Raniero Panzieri, "Sull' uso capitalisticodelle macchine nel neocapitalismo,"Quadernirossi,no. 1 (September 1961): 54-55.

9Ibid., p. 56.10Mario Tronti,SuWautonomia el politicoMilan: Feltnnelli, 1977), p. W.

11Antonio Negri, Proletari Stato.Per una discussioneu autonomia peraia e com-promessotoricoMilan: Feltrinelli,1976/9),p. 9.

12Ibid., p. 27.




the general crisis. "The crisis-Statehas not for a single mo-ment stopped being the planned State. All the elements ofdestabilization he workers' nd proletarian trugglehave used

againsttheState have been graduallytaken overby capital andtransformedntoweapons forrestructuring."13he crisis-Stateis not a specific,national state but "a void of meaning,a logicof power-logic,which is itselfdestructured."14 he workers'

response mustbe separation, "practical overthrowing . . sub-

version."15 he State willreplywith "terroristic"nflation ndbecome "fierce, monstrous, nd irrational" when confrontedwith sabotage. In this context, "violence indeed assumes afundamentalvalue," as it is "an elementof the rationality fthe processes of self-valuation."16abotage follows the irra-

tionality f capital, imposing on it rhythms nd forms of itsfurtherdisorganization."17

Negri's call to diffuse, ubversiveviolence becomes a self-

fulfilling if not a countervailing) prophecy as regards theviolentresponse of the state. At one time,the PCI would havehad littledifficultyn acceptingtheanalysisof transition,while

rejectingNegri's advocacyof violence.For example, socialism

cannot come about withinthe bourgeois social formation, nwhich,however,the objectiveconditionsmature,and in whichthe new social formationbecomes increasingly lear, but onlywhen the capitalistmode of productionhas been overthrown.The latterdoes not stop functioning yslowexhaustionlike the

feudalmode of production, nd does not reduce itself o a shellweakened bythe spontaneous growthof new structures.On thecontrary, he morethebourgeoisformation, eformedas "tran-sitional capitalism," strengthens ts defences, it multiplies itsforces of resistanceto bar thewayto the growth nd unfoldingof the new social formation. . ,18

13Negri,//dominio, . 13.14Ibid., p. 19.15Ibid., p. 14.16Ibid., p. 23 and pp. 8&-87.

17Ibid., p. 71.18Armando Cossutta,"Sovversivismo elle classidominanti ed estremismo," riticamarxista, o. 1 (January- ebruary 1972): 71.



30 SOCIAL RESEARCH

During heearly1960s,however, efore hePCI hadacquireda marginalistconomic heorywhich rovided wholly oliti-cal,noteconomic-structural,ccount fexploitation,talreadywas proposing n alternative o intensifying,eactionarye-sistanceby late capitalism: participationn politicalpower,togetherwith pecific olitical orcesof a capitalist ype, omodifyertain haracteristicsf the current orm fdevelop-ment, nd the poweritselfwhich directs t, in whichtheyproposeto participate."19

Negri's rgumentnvolves heuse oforganizationsifferentfrom hosepartieswhose aim is to enterthe existing tate.Thus, "the relationbetweenstatesovereigntynd popularsovereigntys wholly ormedbythe partieswhich, hroughtheir ystem,akeon all themechanismsf integrationndsubordination,f representationnd mediation," ntiltheycome to "constitute useless and harmful iaphragmn the

developmentf democraticntegrationnto heplan," nd the"democraticrocessualityf theState husrequires, or tsfullrealization,he trancendencef thesystemfparties."20hestate s thus not tendentiallyelativelyutonomousbut to-

talizing. espitethecollapseofKeynesianism,hestate,f notchecked,has thepotentialo control hecontradictionsf the

capitalistystem. e concludes, herefore,hat heproletariat"must esume heoffensiven the basisofa communistro-

gramof appropriationnd armedstruggle,o givean orga-nizational eply othe massdemandforcounterattack.. ."21The refusal o acceptworkundercapitalism,nd rejection f

capitalism'srrational aceof command, evealstheextreme

subjective egation, he"liberated antasy"f theproletariat"in struggle,rom abotage o themassstrike,onfrontationn the

piazza to armed truggle"22

19The comment is VittorioRieser's, in "Sviluppo e congiuntura nel capitalismo

italiano,"Quadernirossi,no. 4

(1964):164-165.

20Antonio Negri,La formaStato Milan: Feltnnelli,1977), pp. 119, 120, 139, and142.

21Ibid., p. 256.22AntonioNegri (withS. Bologna and F. Carpignano), Crisi organizzazioneperaia,

Partitio peraio ontrol lavoro Milan: Feltrinelli,1974), pp. 99-100.



32 SOCIAL RESEARCH

protectionrequired to engage in corporate competition,toenter the protected arena of conflictualityas against the"sudden death" arena of the unorganized,the nonintegrated,those without corporate power or corporate organization."Autonomy"may, n such a situation,refer to the benefitsofthe corporate sharpshooter, opportunist and undisciplined,or, fromthe actor's own perspective,maneuverableand suc-cessful.On the other hand, autonomy maydescribe the con-

ditionof those who are "free" because theyare powerlessandunintegrated.Marx conflates these two aspects (of organizedand unintegratedautonomy) in the scenario where formerlyemployed,high-technology, igh-moraleworkersaccept theirenforced separation fromproductionand grasp the politicalaspect of their exploitation. In peripheral capitalism,wherethe corporative drive for survival and securityat all costs

produces a repressiveas well as mediating,hierarchicalpoliti-

cal class, social autonomy takes other forms.Where workers'autonomyis the refusalof the worker,employed and unem-

ployed, to be inserted nto the politicoeconomic ystem, ocial

autonomy n peripheral capitalismdemonstrates he incapacityof productivesocietyto reproduce social relationsof produc-tion on the full societal scale. This produces a nonemployedworker,a workerwho is precariouslyemployed in the "pe-riphery f the periphery" in privateservices,forexample, as

the messengersforagencies which obtain civil documents forclients),or workerswho are "artifically" mployed,thatis, byholdinga noneconomically,nonfunctionallyiable ob (oftenaresult of "job-creation").23 his is a job created from a socio-

politicalrecognition f the natureof thecrisis.The choice forthe nonemployedhas been typically nd dramaticallyput asbetween suicide (as for manyformerLottacontinuamilitants,

by drugs) or the murder of others.While neitherfor Negrinor the PCI can a new political subject emerge from these

23Cf. Maria Grazia Meriggi, "Classe operaia e società: come si determina unsoggettopolitico",AutAut,no. 164 (March-Aprii 1978), on the contextof thedebateon workers'centrality/autonomyeally being one of weaknessand precariousnessofthatcentrality.




marginal ategories,nd the latter ees thenonemployeds

culturallynd politically "lostsoul," the phenomenon fsocial "autonomy"or marginalityssumes increasing m-

portance in calculations for peripheral, dedevelopingcapitalism. he PCI operaisti,tressinghe autonomy f the

political,heParty, oes not quarelyonfronthephenomenaof workers' utonomy s separationrom hepolitical ystem,norsocialautonomys socialfragmentation.he PCI is pre-pared to go to great engths o maintain talian society sintegrated,ut nfact orporate ompetitionsdifferentromthe class ntegrationtstraditionalulture till ees as guaran-teeofmassdemocracy, hile t has to recognize hat he eco-nomicpressurewhich ncourages heorganizedworkers o act"as if theywere utonomous asalready roduced hosewhoareconcretelyautonomous,"ot ntegratedrintegrablentothesystem.

Negri, n the otherhand,remains elativelyptimistice-garding he rapid pace of transitionnd the relative nim-portanceof social fragmentationn the consciousness ndorganizationfthepolitical ubject: Utopia s notthedistancebetween he struggle nd the communist bjective, ut it isUtopian o believe n the possibilitiesf goingthrough he(legal)institutionsfcapitalto destroy xploitation,"24hichrequiresthe destruction othof State and law. Indeed, we

maynowschematicallyxpresstheanalyses f Negriand ofthePCI as follows: he PCI ispessimisticegardinghefutureofmodernforms fcapitalist evelopmentnd optimistice-garding hefurther evelopment f peripheral apitalismeven though t has been pointedout thatperipheral r de-pendent evelopments either ependent n large-scalemod-ern ndustryrdoomed todisappear s an inefficient,rchaicform. t is indifferentr hostileto the lumpenr marginal

proletariat,hose onditiont sees as

tendentiallyoth ultur-

allyand politicallymarginal o the employedworking lass,

24AntonioNegri, "Rileggendo Pasukanis: notedi discussione,"Critica eldiritto, o.1 (January-April 1974): 113.



34 SOCIAL RESEARCH

and potentially reactionary or subversive. If peripheralcapitalism, he nationaleconomy,dies, so does theproletariat.

In 1963, the new communistreviewCriticamarxista ook upits anticenter-leftolemic againstwhat tsaw as a combinationofmonopoly capital and "Americanism." n effect,t tookup a"left"position against the imperativeof modernization,andleft tselfwith upportfor"minicap."As "monocap" declined,however,onlythe dubious argumentthatminicap mightbe a

peculiarlyItalian formof modernization remained (it is in-teresting o note how thistypeof discussion had been prefig-ured in the 1920s and '30s). The PCI case is one for whatconsociationaldemocracyproposes forcleavage cultures,em-

phasizingthe centralityf the public sphere and the statebut

presupposing deideologization of the culture, high intrasys-temic conflictuality,nd corporate competitionfor materialand nonmaterialresources. Those inside the systemwill com-

pete through corporate organizations most broadlydefined,and institutionalizedn the statesphere),and the political lasswill mediate and represent the interestsof the conflictinggroups. Those outside the systemwill have no legitimateclaims to make, at least throughtheirown organizations,ontheirown behalf.

Negri and autonomia eem overoptimistic,n this contextofinstitutional ecomposition, egardingboth the progressive f-

fectsof social disintegrationn accelerating politicaltransitionand the benefits f remaining outsidethesystem."Autonomyneed not implyeitherclandestinity or marginality,f course,and it may be argued that the legitimacy f a "separate" orautonomous militant trategywas establishedin the 1960s bythe PCI itself,relatively ndifferent o the middle strata'sinterest n an "orderlytransition" nd the productivesuccessof the nationaleconomy. However, Negri's optimismregard-

ingthe

prospectsfor socialismin a weakened and

decliningeconomy, nd among themarginal, s often n conflictwith he

pessimismof autonomia tself.

Capitalismis capable of solvingmanytechnicalproblemsof




productionbut not the sociopoliticalone of distribution. o-cialism should be capable of treating abor as resource and

output,not an element extraneous to the productionprocess.In a mixed economy,however,there is no ready solution tothe tensionbetweenthese divergentconceptionsof labor, es-

pecially if productive labor is concentratedin the "private"sector. taly experiences simultaneously hecrisisof capitalismand of "mixed"economies,a rationality-legitimacyrisisof the

capital-state,nd also thatof thedecliningtransitional tate. tis not only state capitalismwhichcannot maintain the legiti-macy of institutionswhichguarantee production,but the al-ternativemodel of transition fferedby the PCI.

Like the submerged economy, the submerged politics is

complex and obscure in itsaims,forms, nd interconnections.We might,however,suggest four possible developmentsforthe 1980s. The firstwould be a recoveryof civility, reasser-

tion of hegemony by the DC or a composite political class.Second, a third armed force,closer to a broad social move-ment than either theBrigate osseor Prima inea appear to be,

might develop. Third, institutionalpolitics might developcloser links with the movementthan seemed to be the case in

1974-80, either directlyby recruitingfrom it or in variousindirectways,such as providing guarantees for certaintypesof activity,ncouragingvarious groups to define theirobjec-

tivesmoreclosely nd thus divide and organizethemovement,and so forth.Finally,violencemightbe effectively epressed,or at leastreduced to the level where it could be regarded as asocial rather than a politicalpathology,with the aim that of

jailing people for as short a time as possibleto avoid politiciza-tion rather than for as long as possible as a form of quaran-tine. These possibilities re not,of course,mutually xclusive,but each has different egrees of probability. he firstpossi-

bilityeems least

likely,for structural conomic and

politico-administrative easons as well as the terms of party competi-tion. In a sense, the second is Negri's project for a violentmovement n which the discussion and practiceof clandestin-



36 SOCIAL RESEARCH

itywouldplaya minorrole. Such a movement ouldbe lesslikely o conduct planned,physical ttack n thestate, ndwouldtend to combinemasspolitical ressure,n thepastof

primarilyefensive unction, ith nomic streetustice,"mil-itant ntifascism,nd so forth. he thirdpossibility,f rap-prochementwith"intelligentutonomy," s a considerablepolitical rize,for which he PSI has shown ignsofcompet-ing.The FGCI is nowdown to 100,000, nd itsnewsecretaryhas proposedgreaterautonomyfromthe Party.Decliningsupport or he nstitutionaleft ytheyoung,marked lsobyabstention romvoting,s a seriousphenomenon.The PCI

recoupedmuchground ost n the ate 1960s, nd maybewillbe able to do so again. To try o approachthe movement t

presentwould lose its hard-won if politically onconverti-ble legitimacynd be culturallynd ideologicallympossible.The fourth ossibilitys theonly newecan safely orecastn

declining, eripheral apitalism: epressionf the whole reaof violent esistance.

Togliattihad remarked t the Tenth Congress, We areintroducinghe conceptof a gradualdevelopment," slowtransition o a nonutopian, ncertainfuture, n which thedemocratic rganizationf theworking lass is seen as des-tined or,ndstrengthenedn, he tate.Negri's iew egardingtheprospectfdestabilizingndultimatelyecisively efeating

thecapital-states groundedon thetheory f thecrisis-state,the modern tate,repressivend consensual, onflictualndconformist, ith n integratedworking lass and compositepolitical lass. It does notrest on thediversityf states ndcultures, oron a theoryf mperialistompetitionndhierar-chy.Thus,"everythingnrealitysarranged o that hequan-titative efinitionfsurplus alue,thedivision f theworkingday nto ts wopartsnecessaryabor ndsurplusabor) renot

presenteds elements f a

puredoctrinebut as weaponsf

workers9truggle."2*apitalismdevelops "socialistically,"ndcommunismdoes not come 'after,' t comes ointly s the

25Negri,Marx oltreMarx, p. 83.




processwhich constitutes huge forceof antagonismand realtranscendence."26Taking the model of crisis and transitionfrom the Grundrissecenario means, of course, to play downnationalhistorical pecificitynd specific cculturation, oliticalexperiences,and effective ounterstrategies.ndeed, Negri is

discussing heformation f a new universalproletarian ubject.Where wemight ee thehigh politicization f the talianworkeras the keyto Negri'sdiscourse,he stressesthe inclusion n his

schema of theimmigrantnd "multinational"worker. f Negridoes not manage to dispel this national-centerednessn his

work,he concludes the nterviewn Ball *operaiomassa ll operaio

socialeby stressing he need to draw connectionsbetweenthe"multinational"workerand the marginal intellectual n theircommonrelation to theuniversal imilarityf social democracyfromSchmidtto Berlinguer.There is a tendency oward nter-

nationallyhomogeneous conditions. n thiscontext, he politi-

cal taskis not one of converting ocial-democratic arties, ikethe PCI, but ratherof "attacking t,weakening t,drawingoffits honest comrades."27

The movement n general is gloomierthanNegri regardingits real power and future. t is a ratherweak politicalsubject,in termsof psyche, organization,and promise for both the

present destabilization) nd future. t presentsan immediate

challengeto thePCI, however,whose intrasystemicupporters

maybe assumed to place a higherpriorityn organization ndstabilityhan themovement,because autonomia laimsto act as

spokesmanfor the entireworkingclass. As politicalsubject itidentifies he new,extended proletariat,not thesocially"mar-

ginal," and attacksthe leadership given the traditionalclass

subject by the revisionist CI. It attempts o break out of theclosed circle,wherein the weakness of capitalism signifieda

correspondingweaknessand defensivenessfor theproletariat.The relative

impoverishmentf

periodsof decline and the

weakness of the workingclass effectively isarmed the labor

26Ibid., p. 188.27Negri,DaW operaiomassa,p. 162.



38 SOCIAL RESEARCH

movement. he meagerpolitical ainsofthePCI in thepastthreeyears, nd widespreadunease regardingts strategy,indicate largerpotential onstituencyormilitancyhana

"marginal"minority. owever, estrictionsn civilrights, l-

readybuilt nto the udicial system yadministrativeneffi-

ciency,hepoliticizationfthemagistracy,ndrecent hangesin the penal code, have reached intimidatingroportions,though herecent ateofsuccess narrestingerroristseems

mainlydue to improved onventional olice methods, ndpatience, ather hannewlegal powers.

Negri's nalysiss articulatedttwo evels, hat f thehistoryof themovement romQuaderni ossi n theearly1960s on-wards nd thetheoreticalcenarios rom heGrundrisse.hePCI case,on theotherhand,is based on an analysis f na-tional apitalism,nd therelation fconstitutionalemocracyto socialist ransition. egrisummarizes is position:

[I]n thepastyear,thecontradictions f Italian political ife havereached an explosive level. The onlycementof thisrulingclassis hatredforclass struggle.The old ideologies are finished, nd

any reformistproject exhausted. We are in a phase of theradical exhaustion of the old left,the traditionalworking-classmovement. n the absence of a real alternative o the defeat ofthe traditional eft, real right-wingonstitutional evolution sin progress . . not by the fascists,but by the fetishists f the

budget, compatibility,aw and order, the policing of the pro-letariat'sneeds ... a

right-wingulture in all

parties.. . Only

the forcesof class struggle, nlythose who have the courage tosay "neitherterrorismnor this state" can now present them-selves as a politicalstratumof renewal.28

In thisperspective,978-80has seentremendous ressureputon theclass trugglefautonomiarom oth errorismndthestate, struggle egridatestothe1973occupation f theMirafiori lantrather hanan organizationalct.Negrithus

speaks s an advocate fdirect ction, otterror, enying he

possibilityf legalguaranteeswhichwouldbe to arguefora28"No to 'civilwar' . . . yes to class struggle, ntervista Toni Negri,"Panorama,

February25, 1980.




nonhomologouselation etweenvalues, rocedures,nd theformof themode of production."29 orkers' uaranteeismmustdistinguish etween"what n the old Constitutions

givenas a homogeneous loc: civil ibertiesnd freedom ftheenterprise,luralismnd theregimen fproductivity."30In short, heautonomous truggle f theworkinglassmusttakeplacenotonlyoutside heold systemfparties ut alsooutsidethelegal systemnd itsprotection.

The fifteenrmoreyears fdivergenceetweenmovementandinstitutionaleft rosefrom hetraditionsndpromises f

the nstitutionaleft tself,nd thesepromises avenotbeenfulfilledytheadoption f an intrasystemictrategy.ndeed,theparadoxofthePCI's present laims uestionstscredibil-

ity: fthePartys one of efficientdministration,tscriteriawould seem to be administrative,ot ideological. f it is a

state-party,tsexclusion rom hestate mpliesboththat tis

relativelyeak ndthatnthecrisist s"relativelyrrelevant."ForNegri s spokesman fautonomia,ather han s prisonerunderinvestigations commander f theBR, terrorisme-stabilizes he system ut also destabilizesnd paralyzes helabormovementn both nstitutionalnd autonomous orms.Terrorisms evidenceof the existence f a hiddenpoliticalsubject and constituency,ut it reduces the mass, revo-

lutionaryubject oimpotence. he argumenthat hestate s

"diffused"ntothefactorymeansthat ttacks n thestate nthefactoryre also diffuse. he violentmovementnd ter-rorismeemtobe fightinghe samebattle, hefirstemiclan-

destinely,he secondwholly o. In fact,however, errorism

supersedes heformer.Terrorism weakens militant autonomy. The PCI

anathematizesmilitantutonomy s the huskof terrorism.The state s indifferento autonomy s the anomieof the

marginal,aused

bythedeclineof themode of production,

29AntonioNegri, "Per un garantismo peraio," Criticadel diritto, o. 15

(September-ecember 978): 19.30Ibid.



40 SOCIAL RESEARCH

and buildsconsensusbyattacking olitical errorism.n this,thereare numerousvictims,he most obvious of which sunarmed,mpotentutonomy. lessobvious ictims the PCIitself, hich lays part n the crisis fsocialdemocracythedeclineofsocial,welfare apitalism)nd finishes ysupport-ing a statesufferingrom egitimacynd rationalityrises.Where autonomy s squeezed between terrorism nd thestate-of-the-parties,he PCI is caughtbetween he movementand thestate-of-the-DC.

We see that the contest etween trategiesends mmedi-atelyto end in deadlock.On the one hand, the Grundrissescenario fgeneral nsurrections not feasible.On theother,the PCI offers s a strategyordeclining, eindustrializingcapitalism statismnd alliance heDC does notwant, espiteits traditionalweakness n articulating "national nterest."This is a crucial phase of institutionalized esterncom-

munism s mass movement or iberation,acingwhat t seesas a transitionoa highlyonflictual,edeveloping ocietyndthe difficultrowth f a "movement" hichfacesthesystemfromoutsidend tries to stop the driftfromthe politicallyautonomous ondition o thesociallymarginal. o maketherevolution,t mustwithdrawrom nd delegitimatehe socialrelations fcapitalistociety,he nstitutionsfstate nd law,andmake political irtue f economicnecessity.he PCI, on

the otherhand,situates he dialecticwithin he system: ys-temic ntegration as not an accidental nsertionr incorpo-rationbut a primeobjective. his is a dialectic freciprocity,of modernization-conservationmodern industry plustraditionalulture),not of separateness nd confrontation.The danger s seenbythe PCI as theend ofreality, ormality,thesecular, hemodern.This is more than whatto Negri sthe historic etrayalof the social democrats it is an en-

dangeredcosmology.o

Negritoo the PCI

projecteemsto

proposea form fconsociationismhich imsat permanentreconciliationf differences,otmerely heir urvival.




A NewProblematic

In more general terms, talypresentsa new problematicthe strategy f the left n a dedeveloping society.A weak statein time of crisis hows itself s capable of dividingthe leftas a

strongone, whichmayindicate a weaknessbothin theory forinstance,the fact that Marx takesboth "leftist" nd "rightist"positions) and in Marxistculture. Once more the dialecticaltension uniting organization and movement is relaxed, andonce more analysisof capitalismfails to resolvewhetherthedialecticsof transitionoperate within or outside the system.Along with industrializingcountries, where an actual or

potential proletariat s capable of a vehement statementre-

gardingthe capitalist or socialist)formof modernization, hemost crucial areas of radical change would seem to be the

decliningor dedeveloping industrial societies. Here, at least

within the nation-state, apitalism is historically xhausted:insofar as a proletariathas contributedto this, nsisting hatsocialism is a more equitable systemboth of productionanddistribution, he time for offensive would seem present. Inthese societies, ndeed, socialism cannot simplybe seen as a

system f socioeconomicorganizationbetter dapted to fulfill-

ing pre- or antisocialistobjectives.Yet the historicalexperi-ence partly, t least,pointsto stability-in-decline,nsertion nto

the old enemy,or at least the institutions e has inhabited;atthe momenthe seems mortally ick.

Although Negri is influenced by German theoristsof themodern state,he devotes little ttention o the "popular-con-sensual," conformist-repressive, spects of a future Ger-manized Italian state. Indeed, he assumes that the social-de-mocratization f the PCI can be explained in its own statist,ideological terms,unconnected with beliefs n a welfarestate,interventionn the

economy,or even a "relative

politicalau-

tonomy"for theinstitutionaleft.This uncompromisingThirdInternationalism has its element of tragic paradox. For in



42 SOCIAL RESEARCH

many ways Negri does representthe historical raditionof a

non-Leninist,communist movement (a paradox still more

tragic if connections with the BR are established). Thetraditional talian workingclass, however, is differentn itscultureand disciplinefrom the moralistic,heoreticist, iolent,

lumpen,new workingclass of whichNegri's is the voice.The economic crisis tends to rigidify he political system:

thismakesthecombinationoforganization nd movement ess

likely.The rigidity educes the centrality f class action: thePCI pursues consensus and stabilization. n thissituation, t is

understandable that Negri's call to offensiveaction shouldsound bothcoherent nd desperate. If an historically owerfulworking class in dedeveloping capitalist society cannot be

mobilized,when can it be? Terrorismpushes the statisteftto

enter the state. The state reactsby seeing thisas the instru-mentalization f terror s meansofpenetrating he state n the

name of law and order. The result s stasis,though with thepossibility f recompositionof the politicalclass.

The experienceof the Italian leftwill be an interesting neforothercountriesof the"developed periphery." t also raisesthe problemof the imperfectlyuried philosophicaldesign in

Marx and its nternalcontradictions betweensocietybuiltoncritical ntellectualitynd on robot technology, n social har-

monyor radical needs, Rousseau's solitude or Rousseau's so-

cial conformity.t also suggests hatboththe social-democraticand the liberal stateare seen as impracticalbythe PCI, which

proposes a form of state whose primaryinterventions re

political,not economic, to controlsocial conflictuality y cor-

porate mediationor by repression.These remarks re intentionallychematic:therecan in any

case be no informeddiscussionof Negri's thoughtuntilthere

is clarification f the accusations made against him. Again,

though Negritends to refer to autonomia nd movementas

synonymous, he PCI has characterizedthe latteras a proto-fascist, petit-bourgeoismovement instrumentalizedby the

former but since 1977 the movementhas not moved, and




autonomia as made only sporadicappearances.This articlestarts rom hepremise hat, hough mpirically egrirepre-sents positionwhichmodifiesnd constrainshe PCI andviceversa,thusproducing kind of dialecticalnegationorelimination ithinheLeft tself,his ontradictionannotberesolved ypoliticalhoicebutbytheoreticalxamination.t isfurtherrguedthat neitherNegrinor thePCI suppliestherequisite heoreticalpproach.For example,Negriacknowl-

edges the problematic f the "modern state" and of statecorporatismutreassertsheneed for heold, nsurrectionarypolitical roject.The PCI in turnrefuses o departfrom henotion f the egitimacyf thecentral-pluraltate f the con-stitution hilemoving oward he ncorporationf thepartysystemnto the state and the state class. It sees the "youthquestion"and social marginalitys essentially egativeyetdoes notprovide convincingheory f what thesenatural

consequences fcapitalist ecline mply orthepolitical roj-ect as a whole. t doesnot see as unresolved,nd problematic,Gramsci's dentificationf intellectualswith a bureaucraticstateclass,the identificationf productivistic odernizationwith transitiono socialism, nd the view thatItalian civilsocietywasmore rticulated hantheRussian nd Soviet, ndItalianculture s present s against he absenceof American(class)culture. he consequences f that heoretical eakness

can be seen in the confusion f theorganizedworking lasswhen told thatproductivism ithout xploitations possiblethrough echnological rogress.

Italy sexperiencingiscal,egitimacy,nd rationalityrises.To Negri,thisrequiresthat therebe no divisionbetweenorganized nd unorganized r marginalworkers ut rather"societalworker." he PCI certainlyondemns ignsofsocialcorporatismnd fragmentation,utproposes, nd is pushedtoward, formof state

corporatism.Negri'sprojectwould

seem toaccelerate narchic ragmentationnd destabilization,while he secondtransposeshe future f Italy s a subordi-nateelement fa general apitalistrisisnotyetmatured. n



44 SOCIAL RESEARCH

theabsenceof a movement,r ofa violent rganizationlosetoa mass ocialbase,Negri's trategy ould eemto have mostto lose andbe more ikely o lose.Yetitdoesmodifyhe PCI

strategynddiminishtspotential,ndvery ifferent,eturns.This seemsa momentnotfor theempty loganof the "au-tonomyf thepolitical,"na situation s highlyonstrictedsthepresent,utrather or relativeutonomyf thetheoreti-cal.

fraser - the inner contradictions of marxism and political violence the case of the italian left

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