In 1918, whilst attending Sapienza University of Rome, he abandoned his position to become a follower of the actual idealism of Giovanni Gentile.
[2] Spirito's particular interest in fascism was corporatism and he came to discuss the subject in depth through the journal Nuovi Studi di Diritto, Economica e Politica.
[2] He wrote extensively on his favoured topic of integral corporatism, a system where ownership would be concentrated in the hands of workers rather than shareholders.
[5] Spirito's economically left-wing ideals did not come to fruition in Fascist Italy and in the later years of fascism fell out of favour with Benito Mussolini.
[2] Initially, his academic attention was taken up with economics and criminal law, but, later in his career, he became more interested in philosophical questions.