Rabbi Ḥayim (Chaim) Hirschensohn (1857–1935) was one of only a handful of Jewish thinkers to work out a Jewish political theology, and on account of his progressive stances he became a favorite of liberal circles within contemporary Judaism. Therefore, a passage in his book Malki Bakodesh, in which he expresses clear opposition to universal suffrage, “invited” mitigating interpretations. Yet, a survey of Hirschensohn’s various writings reveals that they contain a trend of political elitism. Is this surprising? Hirschensohn’s progressiveness notwithstanding, the article argues that his elitist sentiments are rooted in three major intellectual trends within modern Judaism: Mitnagdism, Haskalah, and Zionism. In the writings of seminal thinkers in each of these movements, we find political elitism and reservations about government “by the people.” Hirschensohn’s personal history positioned him at the confluence of these trends, and so his elitist opinions should be viewed as the outgrowth of these intellectual traditions.

While Piero Gobetti has often been the subject of historical attention in Italy since his death in 1926, the existing literature on this anti-fascist intellectual and editor has almost always considered him in the context of political tradition and focused on his theories and historical studies rather than on his editorial activities. This article aims to redress this balance, by situating Gobetti within the context of the socio-economic environment of post First World War and early fascist Turin, and by examining his role as an editor and cultural organiser with respect to his most well known periodical: La Rivoluzione Liberale. Drawing on the personal correspondences of Gobetti and the administrative archives of the periodical, an account of its circulation and readership will be constructed in order to determine the nature (in geography, education, profession and political affiliation) of the community of the ‘Liberal Revolution’.