Ordine Nuovo

(New Order), a revolutionary socialist group formed in Turin, Italy, in 1919. Its nucleus, the editorial board of a weekly publication of the same name, was founded in May 1919 and consisted of A. Gramsci, P. Togliatti, U. Terracini, and A. Tasca.

The Ordine Nuovo group undertook the task of activating the revolutionary struggle of the proletariat and criticized the leadership of the socialist party for its lack of initiative and decisiveness in the struggle. The group became the organizing force in the factory and plant council movement of 1920, during which an attempt was made to apply the experience of the Russian soviets to concrete conditions in Italy. In addition, the Ordine Nuovo group laid the foundation for one of the biggest actions by the Italian proletariat—the general strike in Turin in April 1920. In the turbulent postwar atmosphere of revolutionary crisis in Italy, the group tried to solve two problems simultaneously —to create a new, militant proletarian party and to encourage the broadest revolutionary activity by the masses, on the basis of the factory council movement. However, Ordine Nuovo was unable to fully accomplish these aims, particularly because its practical activity was essentially limited to Turin.

To a considerable extent, the Ordine Nuovo group paved the way for the formation of the Italian Communist Party (ICP) in January 1921. Ideologically, it was the most mature group to join the ICP. The leaders of the Ordine Nuovo group, especially Gramsci (Tasca later broke with them), made significant contributions to solving the theoretical problems of the Italian revolution—for example, the problem of proletarian hegemony, the alliance of the proletariat of the north with the southern peasantry, and the leading role of the party.