Imperialismo, nazionalismo e colonie nell’opera di Friedrich Ratzel

Imperialism, nationalism and colonies in the work of Friedrich Ratzel Ratzel is often associated with ‘fin dè siecle’ imperialism, but on the basis of a prejudice that condemns him to "be part of his time" before even having done the appropriate considerations; however, Ratzel is part of his time not because of imperialism, but as a participant in an intellectual debate, far more complex than a foreign policy option. Imperialism, nationalism and colonialism in Ratzel may be included starting by the concept of growth of Government. The problem of growth clarifies the dynamic aspect of the political geography of Ratzel, one of the most crushing innovations introduced by the German scholar into the geographical speech. We tried to show how the political action, within the Ratzel system, is used to obtain a greater advantage from the ground, that is a deep radication and not a necessarily-in-horizontal expansion, which is to the detriment of other countries. According to Ratzel, the end of history is the progressive connection between the human being and the ground; therefore the objective of the policy will be set accordingly, leading to the decline of the possible expansion in favour of growth. A better understanding of Ratzel’ way of thinking must begin from a more careful analysis of the "political idea" prevailing in those years in Leipzig. Study circles, conferences, books, and their relationships cultivated by Ratzel, shows a picture closer to the neo-German idealism.