Can socialism survive without abandoning the core principles of liberal democracy?

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Carlo Rosselli thought so. A prominent anti-fascist intellectual, he challenged the Marxist orthodoxy of his era by arguing that parliamentary liberalism was the essential method for achieving socialist goals. His vision of liberal socialism, forged in exile and defiance, remains a provocative synthesis of freedom and collective reform.

Born in 1899 to a wealthy Roman family, Carlo Rosselli evolved from a soldier in the First World War into a fierce critic of both Italian fascism and Soviet-style communism. His intellectual foundation was built on a rejection of the Marxist-Leninist focus on the dictatorship of the proletariat. Instead, influenced by his observations of the British Labour Party, Rosselli championed a model where socialism served as the ultimate aim, while liberal democratic norms provided the necessary framework for its realization.

In 1929, while in exile, Rosselli published his seminal work, Liberal Socialism. The book was a direct challenge to the Italian left, which largely viewed Marx's Das Kapital as the only legitimate guide. Rosselli argued that true socialism must enhance, rather than limit, individual freedoms and associations. This heresy earned him the ire of the Third International, which labeled his ideas as reactionary, and the lethal attention of Benito Mussolini, who eventually ordered his assassination in 1937.

Rosselli's commitment extended beyond theory. He founded the militant anti-fascist movement Giustizia e Libertà and personally fought in the Spanish Civil War, where he famously declared, 'Today in Spain, tomorrow in Italy.' Even as he grew more radical in his final years—praising the social organization he witnessed in anarchist Catalonia—he remained a staunch defender of democratic procedures. His life and work represent a rare attempt to reconcile the structural goals of the left with the procedural integrity of the liberal tradition, a synthesis that continues to challenge contemporary political thought.

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