An authority on Italian socialism authored a book about it

An authority on Italian socialism authored a book about it. I know it sounds presumptuous.

Farm boys from Tuscany thought not much of it. Sisters and cousins came home from college, hiking anew. The collective. A consensus. Well, I started to ask my sister questions. For one, how it stands up to real democracy. “Short-sleeve culture massages us from behind,” our socialist sister reminded us. “A switchblade rally for unshaven bodies. I have a scholarship.”

Improving Italy meant hosing down those standouts who’d sing counter-cultural messages up there on stage. “We press our own sausages,” I conceded. “We consent to a lousy banter over freedom from the collective’s consensus.”

Now, as you know, once my sister starts laughing, quieting it is another matter.

“Guesswork,” she answered. “That’s what being a socialist is all about.” So I started publishing pamphlets. It helped. I got into a junior college. She spent six years in prison. "The ways things can conclude,” she confided.