I doveri dell'uomo : Mazzinian influences on Maltese nationalism under British rule

Abstract

Mazzini's influence in the 19th century was so great that it is easy mistakenly to believe that its main tenets emanated exclusively or originally from it, whether that be the bond of family or the right to property. These are important constituent elements of Mazzinian philosophy but what distinguishes its legacy above all must surely be Mazzini's strongly enunciated and propagated belief in the nation. A regard for the nation was rendered indispensable in opposition to the subjection to tyranny, be that foreign occupation or papal rule. It is in Mazzini' s heroic attempts to rally the people, including the working classes, under the guidance of God, to the fundamental belief that duty was the obverse of right, and that a social class could not exist outside of its nation, that Mazzini posited the greatest challenge to Marx, and was at his most inspiring and compelling.