Anarchism, Modernism, and Nationalism: Futurism's French Connections, 1876–1915. Issue 8 (16th November 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Conversi, Daniele
• Is Part Of: European legacy. Volume 21:Issue 8(2016)
• Page Start: 791
• Page End: 811
• Publication Date: 2016-11-16
• Subjects: Modernism -- nationalism -- anarchism -- futurism -- war -- history of political ideologies -- arts and politics; Europe -- History -- Periodicals; Europe -- Intellectual life -- Periodicals; 940.05
• DOI: 10.1080/10848770.2016.1180864
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1084-8770

Abstract

Abstract: This article examines two of the most significant Italian political movements at the turn of the twentieth century—anarchism and Futurism. Although these movements shared a common vocabulary and rhetoric, they contrasted sharply in their aims and objectives. I address three interrelated questions: How were these movements and their ideologies related to, and perceived by, the ruling elites? What were their mutual influences and inspirational centre? Did both movements share a broader core ideology? To answer these questions, I explore the links, parallels and dissimilarities between anarchism and Futurism in the context of the nationalist mass mobilizations preceding World War I. In line with Emilio Gentile's landmark analysis, I identify the core ideology of Futurism as a potent blend of nationalism and modernism. Futurism's double matrix is thus contrasted with the theory and practice of anarchism, the two displaying sharply differing relationships with political power. I also consider the links between Italian Futurism and French ultra-nationalism as championed by prominent intellectuals, beyond Paris' artistic epicentre, where art and politics intermixed. I conclude that the fusion of modernism and nationalism was central to twentieth-century ideological radicalization to which Futurism fully belonged, but from which anarchism eventually dissociated itself.