1993/04/01 by Eleanor L. Brilliant, Eleanor Brilliant
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Diverse academic and cultural studies #Italian Fascism and Post-war Society #Italy: Economic History and Contemporary Issues
paper · doi:10.1007/bf01398386
openalex publication_date 1993/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26
Abstract This article describes and analyses the ideas and activities of the Italian industrialist, Adriano Olivetti (1901-1960). Although by most interpretations of the term philanthropy, Olivetti would be considered a philanthropist, Italians have not viewed him in that way, and outside of Italy his ‘philanthropic’ work has not received the attention it deserves. In this article the theory and praxis of Adriano Olivetti are analysed in order to shed light on two significant issues in the study of philanthropy generally: first, the basic problem of the applicability of the concept in different cultural contexts; and second, a related question about the borderlines between philanthropic, third sector activities and political activities, and how these borders may shift or even disappear under certain conditions of time and place.