Italian philosopher, theorist of operaismo and autonomism, co-author of Empire with Michael Hardt
Born in Padua, Negri took his degree in philosophy in 1956 and taught state theory at the University of Padua, where he obtained the chair of political philosophy in 1967. A member of the Italian Socialist Party from 1956 to 1963, he moved through Quaderni Rossi and Classe Operaia, co-founded Potere Operaio in 1969 and was a leading figure of Autonomia Operaia. Arrested on 7 April 1979 and accused of being behind the Red Brigades, he was cleared of armed insurrection but convicted on other charges. Elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the Radical Party from prison in 1983, he was released and went to France, where under the Mitterrand doctrine he taught at Paris VIII and elsewhere. He returned to Italy in 1997 to serve his sentence and was released in 2003. With Michael Hardt he wrote Empire (2000), Multitude (2004) and Commonwealth (2009). He died in Paris in 2023.
Also known as: Toni Negri
Activities and affiliations
-
1956–1963
Scholarship and theory
-
1967–1979
Italy state institutionsProfessor of political philosophy, University of PaduaMain
Scholarship and theory -
1983
Italy state institutionsMember of the Chamber of Deputies (Radical Party)
Legislature and state representation
Career Timeline
- 1956–1963Member of the Italian Socialist Party
- 1967Chair of political philosophy, University of Padua
- 1969Co-founds Potere Operaio
- 1979.04.07Arrested in the 7 April case
- 1983–1997Exile in France, teaching at Paris VIII and elsewhere
- 2000Empire (with Michael Hardt)
- 2003Released from prison