I. B. LEVIN. The labor movement in Italy. 1966-1976 Problemy i tendentsii zabastovochnoi borby [Problems and tendencies of strike struggle]. 1983. 336 s

The study of the strike struggle is one of the traditional trends in Soviet and foreign Marxist historiography of the international labor movement. Interest in this topic continues unabated, as the working class of capitalist countries, having become the leading political force in the struggle for the democratic solution of the most pressing national problems, is constantly updating the combat arsenal of its methods and means, using the strike masterfully. In seeking to democratize the economic system, the working class pursues not only a tactical goal - a comprehensive improvement of its position - but also a strategic goal, which has in mind an anti - monopoly alternative to state-monopoly capitalism (MMC) and a socialist perspective.

This trend, which has now become a characteristic feature of the international labor movement, is thoroughly and comprehensively studied in the monograph of I. B. Levin, a senior researcher at the Institute of International Labor Movement of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Historical Sciences, on the example of Italy, a country that is one of the six strongest states in the capitalist world. The period chosen by the author covers the completed cycle of the strike struggle of the Italian proletariat, which has no analogues in its power "either in the history of Italy itself or in the history of other capitalist countries" (p. 313). The chronological framework of the work indicated in the title does not exactly correspond to its content, since the strike cycle ended in 1978, and the author in some cases brings the study to the beginning of the 80s. But its relevance is not limited to this formal feature alone. At that time, the Italian workers were able to achieve very significant economic and socio-political concessions from the ruling classes, having accumulated valuable experience in class warfare in the conditions of the MMC, experience that provides the basis for further progress.

The monograph, which uses documents of the trade union movement and speeches of its leaders, reviews and chronicles of strikes in the press, special surveys, sociological surveys and other materials, presents a broad panorama of Italian reality, which reflects the interaction and mutual influence of the strike struggle of workers with the economic, political and social life of the country. Through the prism of the strike movement, the book also reveals the image of the working class itself, the dynamics of its social structure, and moods. The factual material studied by the author, mostly for the first time introduced into scientific circulation, allowed him to make a number of observations, the generalized results of which go beyond the borders of one country in their significance, characterizing the processes in the international labor movement as a whole. This makes the book interesting for anyone who deals with the problems of the labor movement in recent times.

In the second half of the 60s and early 70s, Italy was going through a difficult period

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your story. The "left center", which failed to meet the expectations of the broad working masses, entered a period of prolonged political crisis, which ended in an inevitable collapse. Leading the reader to an understanding of the main plot lines of the book, I. B. Levin revealed the main socio-economic reasons for the degeneration of center-left reformism. The monopolistic "development model" based on the predominant production of durable household goods (primarily automobiles) for export, burdened by the numerous imbalances of socio-economic development inherited from the past, consistently subordinated all aspects of national life to its interests. It also modeled the structure of the working class, identifying its "strong core" in the face of the "new mass workers" of line - and-line production. Their appearance, as the author shows, left a noticeable imprint on the political line of the trade unions, which failed to offer this mass "neither concrete and convincing goals, nor effective methods of fighting for the improvement of their situation" (p.108). One of the reasons for the current situation, which meant, in fact, an "element of crisis" in the organization - mass relations, was the belated approval in Italy of the system of" dismembered contracting", i.e. the signing of collective agreements not only at the national and industry level, but also at the factory and corporate level (pp. 102-111).

The key event of the period under review was the hot autumn strikes of 1969 ( which are given special attention in the monograph. In Soviet science, this truly amazing phenomenon has not yet received proper coverage. Tracing the evolution of the main forms and stages of the strike struggle, identifying criteria for the level of its politicization, the author gives a very complete and accurate picture of the vicissitudes of the class struggle and the growth of class consciousness of the workers who created the elected bodies of "direct democracy" -factory councils (FZS). These organs were destined to become the representatives of the will and interests of broad sections of the workers. General assessment of the results of the "hot autumn" ("the sharply increased influence of the working class on society and the state" "through the strengthening of a formally non-political organization-the trade union" - p. 154) and its significance for the subsequent development of the country (a signal that announced "the left forces' bid for hegemony not only within the labor movement, but also in the whole world the whole society as a whole " - p. 160) sounds quite convincing. It is based on reliable, repeatedly verified facts and logically complete theoretical constructions.

The events of the "hot autumn", the successes achieved, the fierce nature of the struggle, as well as the "very " pattern" of the behavior of the masses at this time: the combination and alternation of factory and national strikes, strikes against individual capitalists and strikes addressing their demands to the government: marches, meetings, rallies, blockades of enterprises, etc. D. " (p. 153) The author was led to draw analogies with the culmination of the famous "red two-year period" of 1919-1920 during the period of revolutionary upsurge caused by the victory of the socialist revolution in Russia. Such a parallel is justified, and the book contains many pages that convincingly prove that the mass movement in the autumn of 1969 sometimes took on the features of a revolutionary upsurge. But at the same time, it should have been emphasized that the similarity concerns not so much the content of the peaks of the class struggle as the forms of mass action, for in 1920 it was a direct assault on capitalism and the struggle for a new, proletarian power, and in 1969, despite the fact that the actions of the masses often sometimes acquired an anti-capitalist character the working-class movement did not face such a task. Only the numerous leftist movements and groups that emerged on the crest of the rapidly radicalized situation subsequently put forward the idea of a "missed chance", accusing the Communist Party of not taking advantage of the alleged revolutionary situation, which the author draws the readers ' attention to (p.159).

Of great interest are the pages that tell about the development of the strike struggle into a battle for structural reforms. The Italian working class, having in mind the prospects of national development, "waged a mass struggle that not only did not meet its immediate short-term interests, but also to a certain extent contradicted them" (p.259). The set of demands of the trade unions, aimed at solving one of the most acute problems of modern Italy - the "problem of the South" - meant an attempt to impose on the capitalists a different policy on the issue of employment, related to the redistribution of capital.-

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investments in the southern regions of the country. These demands were addressed not only to entrepreneurs, but also to the state, which, as it were, was being pushed to change economic policy in one of its cardinal points. The emphasis, therefore, was placed not so much on the process of exploitation itself as on its consequences, and meant the search for a new, alternative model of labor organization in relation to the monopolistic one. This was also evidenced by the slogans put forward by the workers to reform the pension system, solve the housing problem, provide conditions for improving the general education and cultural level of workers ("150 hours") (pp. 215-216) and others.

In the last sections, I. B. Levin focused his attention on the reasons for the end of the strike cycle, revealed the background of the truly "unique situation" that developed in Italy during the global economic crisis of the mid-70s (the practical absence of mass layoffs), carefully analyzed the new trade union program, rightly seeing in it "a direct reflection of the course of the PCIthe historical compromise "1 and " severe economy" in the mass labor movement " (pp. 300-301).

The book under review is one of the most informative monographs on the Italian labor movement. The above comments are debatable. The research was carried out by the author at a high professional level, although it is not free from individual flaws and errors, and the abundance of digital material sometimes gives the impression of some overload in the overall concise text. Of course, one monograph cannot exhaust the entire variety of topics. I would like to have a more comprehensive view of the positions of various social groups in relation to workers 'strikes and their demands, of the relations between the three Italian trade union centers in the second half of the 1970s (since the book covers this period as well), and of the nature of the impact of the strike struggle on the formation of workers' class consciousness.

I. B. Levin's work significantly expands and deepens our understanding of the problems of the Italian labor movement in recent decades, thus opening up prospects for further scientific research. It can serve as a starting point for studying the strike movement in the first half of the 80s, for a deep and comprehensive study of the political activities of the left in Italy in the 70s, for clarifying the nature of the mentality of Italian workers and the peculiarities of their behavior in elections today. The assessments and conclusions contained in the book (first of all, the reasons for the end of the strike cycle, the socio-monopolistic strategy of the monopolistic bourgeoisie, the achievements and mistakes of the left forces, the problems facing the Italian labor movement, etc.) are scientifically grounded and politically relevant. For these reasons, the book will attract the attention of anyone interested in the recent history of Italy.

1 "Historical compromise" - the PCI's policy of cooperation with the Christian Democratic Party, which the Italian Communists abandoned at the end of 1980.

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