Abstract

This thesis is simple in intent. It analyzes some of the major, political ideas of Ignazio Silone and Milovan Djilas, and endeavours to account reasonably for their personal rebellions and commitment to revolution. It traces their subsequent metamorphoses from Marxists to democratic Socialists. The work is divided into two sections, the first, dealing with Silone, the second with Djilas. Chapter One presents the reader with a general introduction to nineteenth and twentieth century Italy. Chapter Two, centers on Silone’s personal background, his political work and the problems faced by his Abruzzi cafoni. Chapter Three deals with Silone’s descriptions of the many social and psychological difficulties involved in the encounter between an intellectual and the peasantry. Chapter Four describes the peasants’ traditional opposition to government and church. Part Two presents the ideas of Milovan Djilas. Chapter Five is an introduction to nineteenth and twentieth century Yugoslavia and its development as a state. A short account of the history of the Yugoslav Communist party (League) concludes the chapter. Chapter Six, presents the reader with some important facts in Djilas’ life. Chapter Seven studies Djilas’ lucid treatise on the Soviet and Yugoslav Revolutions, and their differences from the 1789 French Revolution. Chapter Eight examines the author’s arguments of the contradiction of Marxism in the Soviet and Yugoslav Revolutions. Industrialization led to the party bureaucracy’s socio-political stranglehold over the state and its people. The Conclusion seeks to highlight the similarities and differences in the lives and views of these two men.