CONTRO IL BUROCRATISMO ONNIPOTENTE. WILHELM RÖPKE, LA CULTURA LIBERALE ITALIANA E “IL MONDO” (1949-1953)

Although Wilhelm Röpke (1899-1966) is widely known today mainly thanks to his best-known books, he was also a contributor to various magazines. In many respects, this journalistic contribution has remained hidden. This essay therefore examines the contribution of the German-Swiss thinker to the Italian weekly magazine “Il Mondo”. After an introduction to his intellectual profile, it examines Röpke’s relationships with the liberal Italian culture of his time, in particular with Luigi Einaudi, whom he regarded as an intellectual companion, and with Benedetto Croce, whom he admired but also criticised. He then discusses his contribution to the weekly magazine directed by Mario Pannunzio, which would continued from 1949 to 1953. From the twenty articles written for “Il Mondo”, emerges a figure hostile to any form of collectivism. For Röpke, right-wing and left-wing socialism were equally incompatible with the ideal of freedom.