Ultimately, the curtailing of social expenditures was undertaken with a more insidious objective than merely curbing the defi cit. It was about sound relations of production, and specifi cally about disciplining the workers. Here Ricci left no doubts when he attacked social reforms for "protecting hustlers [faccendieri] and troublemakers [facinorosi]" (Ricci 1926, 15). He was especially critical of unemployment benefi ts that quelled the market's force over labor: "When there is a government that gives out subsidies to the unemployed, the temptation is born to become unemployed [nasce la tentazione di disoccuparsi], to take the subsidy, to work less, and produce less" (Ricci 1926, 22).

Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, loc. 1238