Livio Maitan in English

Help us publish in English “Towards a history of the Fourth International” by Livio Maitan.

Why we want to publish this book:
This book is an analysis of the major events of the second half of the Twentieth Century by a Marxist and a participant. Livio was for a long period part of the leadership of the Fourth International. Livio deals with the strategic and programmatic problems his generation faced as it sought to work towards a democratic socialist alternative.

Why we need financial support for the translation:
Resistance Books is making an appeal for donations to complete the translation of this book. We are a non-commercial publisher, run by volunteers, but we have to employ translators and designers as we do not have those skills. We are hoping to raise to €5,000 to pay for the translation and the design of the book.

Michael Löwy is author of many books on Marxism and the history of socialism. He worked together with Livio for many years. In this video, he explains why it is important to translate this book.

About the book:
In ''Per una storia della IV internazionale: la testimonianza di un comunista controcorrente'', Livio relates his experience of being a revolutionary communist during the second half of the 20th Century. From his early commitment to communism in 1942 under fascism in Italy, Livio chose to be ‘against the current’ by rejecting both Stalinism and social democracy. Instead, he charted a course of democratic and revolutionary Marxism, which brought him to the ‘Trotskyist’ movement, participating on its international leadership. Livio also became from 1991 a leading member of Rifondazione Communista until his death in September 2004 at the age of 81.

Dave Kellaway is long time socialist from Britain. In the eighties, he worked closely with the late Italian socialist Livio Maitan. In this video, he describes some memories of Livio as a activist and friend.