Carlo Costamagna (21 September 1881, in

Quiliano Quiliano ( lij, Cuggen) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about west of Savona. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,225 and an area of .Al ...

– 1 March 1965, in

Pietra Ligure Pietra Ligure ( lij, A Prïa) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. It is mainly a touristic city. Pietra Ligure borders the follo ...

) was an Italian lawyer and academic noted as a theorist of

corporatism Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...

. He worked closely with

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

and his

fascist movement Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

Path to fascism

After studying law, Costamagna joined the fascist movement in 1920 and in 1924 was appointed National Secretary of Technical Councils.

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *'' Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pr ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the ...

'', 1990, p. 68 Politically Costamagna was highly

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

and saw

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

as a transitory phase that existed only for the imposition of corporatism. On this point he had a long-running intellectual debate with

Sergio Panunzio Sergio Panunzio (20 July 1886 – 8 October 1944) was an Italian theoretician of national syndicalism. In the 1920s, he became a major theoretician of Italian Fascism. Early life Sergio Panunzio was born on 20 July 1886 in Molfetta, Italy. ...

who was a strong supporter of the fascist state as an end in itself rather than just a means to economic change. He edited his own journal, ''

Lo Stato ''Lo Stato'' (Italian: ''The State'') was a monthly political and finance magazine which existed in the Fascist Italy between 1930 and 1943. Its subtitle was ''Rivista di scienze politiche e giuridiche''. History and profile ''Lo Stato'' was sta ...

'', which he founded in 1930.

Academic career

As an academic he was appointed Professor of Corporate Law at the

University of Ferrara The University of Ferrara ( it, Università degli Studi di Ferrara) is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 5 ...

in 1927, going on to hold similar posts at the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa ( it, Università di Pisa, UniPi), officially founded in 1343, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. History The Origins The University of Pisa was officially founded in 1343, although various scholars place ...

and the University of Rome. His corporatist theories were strongly influenced by the

statism In political science, statism is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation and the means of production. While in use sinc ...

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...

Government work

Alongside his role in the academic world Costamagna was also involved at various level of politics in

Fascist Italy Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

. Between 1926 and 1927 he was involved in drafting a series of laws with fellow legal expert

Alfredo Rocco Alfredo Rocco (9 September 1875 – 28 August 1935) was an Italian politician and jurist. He was Professor of Commercial Law at the University of Urbino (1899–1902) and in Macerata (1902–1905), then Professor of Civil Procedure in Parma, of ...

and economist

Giuseppe Bottai Giuseppe Bottai (3 September 1895 – 9 January 1959) was an Italian journalist, and member of the National Fascist Party of Benito Mussolini. Early life Born in Rome, Giuseppe was son of Luigi, a wine dealer with republican sympathies, and Ele ...

designed to convert Italy to a fascist state. The concept of the "ethical state" that they developed became the official ideology thereafter.Piero Ignazi, ''Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe'', Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 17 He then moved on to take a leading role in the Ministry of Corporations. He became a member of the

Italian Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( it, Camera dei deputati) is the lower house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Senate of the Republic). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral system, meaning they perform identical funct ...

in 1929 and served in its successor the

Chamber of Fasces and Corporations Chamber of Fasces and Corporations ( it, Camera dei Fasci e delle Corporazioni) was the lower house of the legislature of the Kingdom of Italy from 23 March 1939 to 5 August 1943, during the height of the regime of Benito Mussolini's National Fas ...

. He was admitted to the

Italian Senate The Senate of the Republic ( it, Senato della Repubblica), or simply the Senate ( it, Senato), is the upper house of the bicameral Italian Parliament (the other being the Chamber of Deputies). The two houses together form a perfect bicameral sy ...

in 1943, by which time he had become part of the circle around the writer

Julius Evola Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian philosopher, poet, painter, esotericist, and radical-right ideologue. Evola regarded his values as aristocratic, masculine, traditionalist, heroic, and defiantly ...

.Rees, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right'', p. 69

Post-war

Costamagna did not face prison for his involvement in the fascist government after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

but he was barred from any university involvement as a consequence. He was involved in the formation of the

Italian Social Movement The Italian Social Movement ( it, Movimento Sociale Italiano, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national ...

and, with his combination of conservative ideals, corporatist economics and Evola-inspired mysticism became one of the leading exponents of the Italian version of the

Conservative Revolutionary movement The Conservative Revolution (german: Konservative Revolution), also known as the German neoconservative movement or new nationalism, was a German national-conservative movement prominent during the Weimar Republic, in the years 1918–1933 (betw ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costamagna, Carlo 1881 births 1965 deaths Academic staff of the University of Ferrara Italian fascists Italian jurists Conservative Revolutionary movement Italian Social Movement politicians 20th-century Italian politicians Academic staff of the University of Pisa Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome People from Quiliano 20th-century jurists Italian magazine founders