The human dimension of economics and politics in Adriano Olivetti’s thought

Abstract

This article outlines the essential features of the life and extraordinary and complex work of Adriano Olivetti. He created a new business model in Ivrea based on a humanistic conception of economics. Its economic philosophy places the person and work at the center, highlights the importance of spiritual and cultural forces and values, considers the industry as a factory of well-being for the entire community, seeks the conditions to achieve the common good within a specific community and gives priority to the person over the State. This conception has its roots in Christian civilization, which does not consider individual benefit as the ultimate goal of economic activity, but rather places the integral good of the person and the entire community at the center. From this perspective, Adriano Olivetti can be considered a precursor of civil economy. Olivetti was inspired by the communal personalism of Maritain and Mounier, and sought to implement a community-based political order by creating the "Community Movement." In the statute and political declaration of this movement, a federal vision of the State is manifested, the principle of autonomy, decentralization and political participation of workers, insistence on spiritual and Christian values, and a conception of the socialized but non-stated economy. Olivetti's cultural and political legacy is truly significant and hopes to be fully developed in the third millennium.