Francesco Saverio Merlino

Francesco Saverio Merlino (9 September 1856 – 30 June 1930) was an Italian lawyer, anarchist activist and theorist of libertarian socialism.

During his law studies at the University of Naples Federico II, Merlino joined the International Workingmen's Association, supporting its anarchist wing. He went on to join other anarchist organizations and support their militant movement for more than twenty years. In 1884 he was forced into exile in England interspersed with some trips to the USA. In 1894 he returned to Italy, where he served two years in prison.

At the end of the 19th century, after long disputes with his friend Errico Malatesta about the relationship between anarchism and democracy, he abandoned anarchist ideas to become a theorist of libertarian socialism. Provided by Wikipedia