workingclasshistory:

On this day, 27 September 1975, a conservative Italian newspaper wrote in reviewing a mysterious report which had been sent to it: “Instead of fearing the agreement with the Communist forces, the well-advised bourgeoisie must ally themselves with the [Communist Party] so as to utilize its incomparable ‘power of illusion’ upon the workers for the support of the traditional domination by the merchant bourgeoisie. The true menace against the current stabilizers doesn’t come from the Communist Party, but from the revolutionary possibility of a general rebellion of the masses against their condemnation to salaried work”. The document, entitled The Veritable Report on the Last Chance to Save Capitalism in Italy by an author calling himself “Censor” was distributed to 520 leading industrialists, politicians and journalists, purporting to point to a way of quelling the widespread strikes and working class rebellion sweeping Italy. However the author later revealed himself as Gianfranco Sanguinetti (pictured), a libertarian socialist member of the Situationist International, and his report as a masterful hoax. It caused real scandal at the time, especially as the Strategy of Tension (terrorist attacks carried out by the far right and security services and blamed on anarchists and the far left) which it referenced had not yet been acknowledged. You can read the report here: http://libcom.org/library/veritable-report-last-chance-save-capitalism-italy-censor https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1221110364740778/?type=3