Il PCI e il centrosinistra. Una rilettura del convegno Tendenze del capitalismo italiano

This article reconsiders the Italian Communist Party’s attitude toward the centre-left coalition in the early 1960s through a rereading of the 1962 conference Tendenze del capitalismo italiano. Rather than interpreting the PCI’s position as a simple expression of ideological backwardness or hostility to reform, the essay highlights the plurality of debates within Italian communism on economic development, democratic planning, reformism and the transformation of Italian capitalism. The conference appears as a crucial turning point in which different currents—associated with figures such as Giorgio Amendola, Bruno Trentin, Pietro Ingrao and Luciano Barca—confronted the challenges posed by the economic boom, state intervention and the emerging centre-left experiment. By placing the event within both historiographical debates and the broader political context, the article shows how the PCI sought to redefine its role as an opposition force capable of influencing reforms, social mobilization and the modernization of Italy.