Lezioni di Politica Sociale as a Classic of Political and Economic Though

Lezioni di politica sociale, written by Luigi Einaudi during his Swiss exile in 1944, is examined to highlight the conceptual model it is based on. It serves as a guide for designing rational social policies by combining economic theory with explicit ethical principles related to income and wealth distribution. Social policy requires politics in its highest sense, and Lezioni di politica sociale demonstrates how to make political choices without prescribing what those choices should be: that decision is left to us. Given this framework, it is no surprise that Einaudi, despite being a moderate intellectual and a proponent of sober, solid conservatism, was an important reference for intellectuals – often politically engaged, even socialists – who followed some of his methodological steps but harshly criticized how he applied them.