\u201cThe markets, representative democracy and globalisation are under accusation by the prosecution\u201d. And \u201cit is not the invasions of new barbarians that threaten the liberal citadel, but the very foundations of the citadel itself which are showing signs of crumbling\u201d.\u00a0 This is the opinion of Mattia Ferraresi, the brilliant journalist, who speaks from New York about the USA to the readers of the \u201cIl Foglio\u201d magazine. And it appears in the pages of \u201cThe heavy century\u201d, a clear-sighted analysis, published by Marsilio, which goes \u201cto the origins of the new global disorder\u201d.\u00a0 That \u201cheavy\u201d description, which marks our tiring and controversial 21st century, indicates weight, psychological oppression, pain and also vulgarity. It reflects the distinguishing mark of the times in which public pronouncements have been reduced to schematic partisan slogans, and the language of politics, even at the highest institutional levels, no longer corresponds to the criteria of dialectics, of rhetoric, or of the construction of a consensus, but serves only to incite the fans and insult their \u201cenemies\u201d.<\/p>\n
The research by Ferraresi is thus political, social and cultural. It examines the current affairs of the United States, in this season of the Trump presidency, now one year into its term. It seeks out the reasons for a radical lack of tolerance for the cultures of the so-called \u201cliberal order\u201d (precisely that representative democracy, the markets, the international relationships for discussion and exchange, everything which a great liberal scientist, Karl Popper, had succinctly described as \u201cthe open society\u201d).\u00a0 And he warns: \u201cThe recrudescence of nationalism, the myth of the strongman<\/em>, the roaring politics of identity are the fractured consequences of a malaise: underestimating it means facing the other way in the hope that the unpresentable populists are vanquished and the illness disappears by itself\u201d.<\/p>\n Here is the key word. Malaise. A subject which is increasingly relevant today: \u201cLeft behind – How to help places hurt by globalisation\u201d, is how the \u201cThe Economist\u201d effectively described it in its issue of 21st October 2017 for an enquiry into social classes and countries \u201cleft behind\u201d by the global dynamics of exchanges and of the new technologies, thereby giving food for the critical and self-critical thoughts which nowadays characterise wide areas of the economy, starting with the International Monetary Fund, which for years has been the temple of neoliberalism and of positive globalisation (we spoke about this in our blog of 7th November last).<\/p>\n An economic malaise (the middle classes have not gained any real economic benefit from globalisation and indeed have suffered the negative consequences of the radical changes in production methods, in terms of salary and jobs). And also a social and cultural malaise, which is hitting a significant portion of the new generations. That, for example, of thirty- and forty-year-olds, who have been duped by promises of a better future from the positive effects of liberalisation, flexibility and globalisation and who today, however, are living through the discomfort of dreams which have been curtailed, impoverished, and shattered, of uncertain work, and of weaker prospects for growth. These generations have been given a voice by, among others, Raffaele Alberto Ventura in his \u201cTheory of the uneasiness of the middle classes\u201d, minimum fax. By documenting the fissures of highly parochial individualism, the consequences of the break-down of the \u201cgenerational pact\u201d, and the limits of a culture \u201creduced to market forces\u201d. He outlines another serious element of political and social crisis, of lack of trust in politics, in the institutions (Europe, amongst others), and in the possibilities for the future. This is giving rise to \u201cbad blood\u201d (as documented in the latest Censis Report) and to \u201cresentment\u201d: these are psychological drivers which are cynically exploited by those who, in politics, like to foment fear and foster revolt, not responsible reforms.<\/p>\n In times of such radical economic and social changes it can happen, indeed, that inequalities and injustices increase. The two phenomena are very different as between each other, as is explained by Angus Deaton, the Nobel prizewinner for Economics in 2015 (\u201cIlSole24Ore\u201d magazine, 27th December 2017): the former constitute part of the economic cycle and also have positive aspects (they stimulate competition, they demonstrate the effects of winning on merit), on condition that they are not excessive. The latter are rightly perceived negatively. The political problem to be reckoned with, in this \u201cheavy century\u201d, is the quality of the response.<\/p>\n The ancient lesson of Karl Marx comes to mind: \u201cFrom each according to his ability, to each according to his needs\u201d (a phrase which has since become a reference for every piece of liberal, reformist and social democratic legislation). But also the challenge, which is still open, of how to marry liberty with social justice (\u201cJustice and liberty\u201d is a slogan which belongs to the best political culture, that of the liberals and democrats such as Piero Gobetti, the Rosselli brothers and then Norberto Bobbio and the original \u201cradicals\u201d brought together through the pages of \u201cIl Mondo\u201d (the World) by Mario Pannunzio, which can be found in contemporary public debate).<\/p>\n These are important subjects, worthy of further reflection, including by philosophers who are attentive to the subjects of public ethics and of responsibility. Such as Martha C. Nussbaum in \u201cAnger and Forgiveness \u2013 resentment, generosity and justice\u201d, from Il Mulino. In a society in which intolerance and resentment is growing and where people are now challenging the very reasons for living together in a civilised fashion, in the name of nationalism, racism and populistic ideals both ancient and modern, it is worthwhile looking into the roots of relational systems, in small and large communities. Ms. Nussbaum places a keen emphasis on the analysis of the \u201canger\u201d, deemed \u201cpoisonous and popular\u201d, linked to \u201cthe affirmation of personal respect, in the case of men, for their virility, and in the case of women, for their claim to equality”. Sound starting points, frequently. Which, however, are also distorted by the pervasiveness of the new media, <\/em>and which feed the vicious circles of conflicts and opposition. It would be better, suggests Ms. Nussbaum, to have another look at the ideas of forgiveness, punishment and justice, and to call for \u201cless vendetta and more reconciliation\u201d: \u201cInjustice should be countered by a courageous action but above all by a strategic one.\u00a0 Building a world which is humanly \u201cinhabitable\u201d requires intelligence, self-control and generosity, a patient and tireless disposition of the soul to see and to search for the good rather than fixating obsessively on the bad\u201d. This is a strong moral commitment. But also a far-sighted dialogue about the survival of democracy.<\/p>\n Alongside far-sightedness, there is urgency, to avoid any further aggravation of the deterioration and the malaise. And to avoid letting any more wasted time go by.<\/p>\n Some people had already seen clearly into the future, by examining the tendencies of crisis, more than twenty years ago. But nobody listened to them. Those such as Christopher Lasch, one of the major historians of ideas, and the author in 1994 of \u201cThe Revolt of the Elites\u201d, published at the time in Italy by Feltrinelli: the loss of contact between the economic and intellectual aristocracies and \u201cnormal people\u201d, snobbish multiculturalism, the well-off liberalism of the financiers, the managers, the successful artists and communicators, the smart people <\/em>who were always travelling, always moving around, infused with a pervasive \u201ctouristic vision of the world\u201d. It was the elites who chose to \u201crebel against\u201d the masses, argued Lasch provocatively, criticising from the viewpoint of a left-winger a series of vices which were already at that time undermining the solid foundations of the very democracy of America (several of those \u201cradical chic\u201d attitudes had already been mocked, as early as in 1970, by the controversial arguments of Tom Wolfe, the conservative writer). Now the book has once more appeared on the scene, re-read and re-launched by right-wingers, such as Steve Bannon, a long-time supporter of the Trump presidency (the story has several strange twists and turns…). It is once again on the bookshelves in Italy too,\u00a0 published by Neri Pozza, with a renewed title, \u201cThe Revolt of the Elites\u201d and an explicit sub-title: \u201cThe Betrayal of Democracy\u201d. With a suggestion which still remains valid, in order to avoid new fractures between the economic and cultural powers and the middle classes, <\/em>which would further inflame serious populistic tendencies: we need to construct communities founded on shared values, open debate, social inclusion, equality of opportunities, responsible competencies, and mutual co-operation. To re-introduce, in fact, good democracy and a \u201ccivil economy\u201d into the modern world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cThe markets, representative democracy and globalisation are under accusation by the prosecution\u201d. And \u201cit is not the invasions of new barbarians that threaten the liberal citadel, but the very foundations of the citadel itself which are showing signs of crumbling\u201d.\u00a0 This is the opinion of Mattia Ferraresi, the brilliant journalist, who speaks from New York […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-corporate-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n