Biennio rosso

[bricolage]

Where can I read more about this?

[Jimmie Higgins]

Good question - I don't know any books that deal with this exclusively. I've only read about it in connection to reading about Gramsci.

[Stranger Than Paradise]

There was an article on Libcom about it. Here it is: http://libcom.org/history/italian-factory-occupations-biennio-rosso

[ComradeOm]

Certainly an interesting topic and one that, like Gravedigger, I've only touched on tangentially. I am starting to turn towards Italy though and am looking at one or two books that deal with those years. I'll let you know if they're any good

What is important is placing these events in the context of both broader European history*. The profound crisis of capitalism that accompanied WWI give wide to mass worker unrest across the region. Further east (Germany through to Russia) this manifested itself in open revolutionary movements that directly challenged the existing political order and even the nominally victorious nations saw proletarian movements using mass strikes and economic disruption to further their economic wellbeing. This was most acute in Italy (probably due to the weakness of the Italian bourgeoisie and its concentration of industry) but also occurred, on smaller scale, in France, Britain and even the US. In some cases the workers won rewards (40 hr week was a major demand) but they were also subjected to harsh counter-reaction that would later often manifest itself in fascist movements

*And indeed Italian history - the 'Red Years' had been preceded by an infamous 'Red Week (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Week)' just a few years previously

[Pogue]

The book Live Working or Die Fighting makes alot of mention of this. Theres a chapter on it. Like the rest of the book its brilliant.

[The Ungovernable Farce]

As of June 2009, there's a new London AF pamphlet about it, which you can read online here: http://www.af-north.org/italy/final.pdf .