THE ITALIAN CONFINDUSTRIA AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOUTH (1950-1955)

Abstract

At the end of the Second World War, Italy was perceived as being divided into two entities that were very different in terms of cultural traditions, social organisation and economic development. The South was believed to suffer from historical backwardness and in need of aid from effective public policies. A debate began in moderate governmental circles that was accentuated after the parties of the Left (Communists and Socialists) were expelled from the government in May 1947. Representatives of the interests of the important northern capitalists, Confindustria, were anxious that the resources of the Marshall Plan would not be concentrated in the south of the country. On the other hand, economists and politicians of Keynesian inspiration proposed development policies that were focused on the industrialisation of the south via an association created in 1946, SVIMEZ (the Associazione per lo Sviluppo dell’Industria nel Mezzogiorno). The Christian Democrat-led govern-ments thus needed to navigate between the SVIMEZ position and the need to maintain a positive working relationship with important capital owners in the north of the country. The article retraces the main stages of this debate in the ten decisive years from 1945 to 1955. Research was conducted in the general archives of Confindustria and this material allowed for detailed reconstruction of the intense internal debate within this organisation. Particular attention was paid to the clash between Sicindustria, led by the liberal entrepreneur La Cavera, and the central management nucleus of Confindustria. In the end, there were no specific industrial policies developed for Southern Italy and the concerns of both Sicindustria and SVIMEZ were ignored. So too were those of the American authorities who were worried about possible expansion of communism in depressed areas such as those of Southern Italy. These concerns have been made clear in documents of the CIA and the US Department of State that are now available.