Antonio Labriola (July 2, 1843 - February 12, 1904) was an Italian Marxist theoretician. Although an academic philosopher and never an active member of any Marxist political party, his thought exerted influence on many political theorists in Italy during the early 20th century, including the founder of the Italian Liberal Party, Benedetto Croce and one of the leaders of the Italian Communist Party, Antonio Gramsci.
Labriola was born in Cassino (t...
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Antonio Labriola (July 2, 1843 - February 12, 1904) was an Italian Marxist theoretician. Although an academic philosopher and never an active member of any Marxist political party, his thought exerted influence on many political theorists in Italy during the early 20th century, including the founder of the Italian Liberal Party, Benedetto Croce and one of the leaders of the Italian Communist Party, Antonio Gramsci.
Labriola was born in Cassino (then in the Papal States), the son a schoolteacher. In 1861, he entered the University of Naples. Upon graduating, he remained in Naples and became a schoolteacher. During this period, he pursued an interest in philosophy, history and ethnography. The early 1870s saw Labriola take up journalism and his writings from this time express liberal and anticlerical views.
In 1874, Labriola was appointed as a professor in Rome, where he was to spend the rest of his life teaching, writing and debating. Although he had been critical of liberalism since...
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