Of Alessio Trovato
Source: Sputnik
I think the generation aged forty and over remembers it. Once upon a time there was a left that talked about Palestine, he criticized capitalism, he abhorred imperialism, he fought for the rights of workers and the weakest, he wanted a strong state, authoritative, capable of defending all social classes and providing services. Then at a certain point…
At a certain point you open the newspapers and read: “Populism is right, la peggiore destra. The one against which a gentleman like John McCain fought to the end.”
Meaning what, at a certain point that left one disappeared. In its place a 'left' has appeared’ which speaks of globalization as the Holy Grail, he is neoliberal like no one before, bombs Belgrade with NATO without UN resolution, sanctions Russia and Syria without going through Parliament, it fixates on civil rights and completely forgets social ones, Calls Soros a 'philanthropist', we hope for greater controls and censorship on social media, he talks about democracy and freedom of expression but if you vote as you like he calls you a populist, if you talk about national sovereignty he calls you a fascist and a racist if you worry about border defense.
And cry McCain. On the contrary, he explains to you that he fought alongside you, he was the one who defended you from the right because he was the one who, in case of need, could help you organize yet another color revolution against your political enemy. Therefore losing not only your own identity but also that of your true adversary.
A left that doesn't see the black in those who encourage, finances and supports neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine, the fundamentalist groups in Syria or is thinking of everything to be able to provoke the world war against Russia (because this is what the gentleman McCain did for a living), but he only sees black in his direct political opponent. Therefore, whoever helps her fight it becomes the savior, the good, the friend, also left-wing.
Bene, the left one there, that by going beyond its own provincialism it could take advantage of unlimited electoral opportunities at the end of 'Berlusconism'’ To the right, instead she actually ended up committing suicide by herself.
Why? What was the point of becoming bourgeois like this just when the rest of the people were instead tending to “reproletarianize”? A gigantic electoral base given to political opponents who came from nowhere, without experience, without the media behind us, without lobby, roofing, with nothing at all other than the ability to say those four things on the cross that the people expected.
“Say something left wing”, Nanni Moretti also implored, has no, Nothing, they didn't want to say them. They have always tried to educate from above instead of being educated and directed. They preferred to lose historic voters and reduce themselves to a chic club for a select few, exclude and marginalize yourself for the narcissistic pleasure of feeling like geniuses and misunderstood, Perhaps. Or, they really lacked the ability to understand that that immodesty would have cost them dearly and with them they also dragged with them all the national press that supports them, it too has ended up losing readers every day who are desperately looking for something true to read and can no longer find it.
Yet those people are still there. Those people who remained on the left as the left was once understood, it still exists somewhere. Just because he no longer feels represented doesn't mean he's disappeared. All those people who have strong doubts about neoliberalism, on globalism, on the good intentions of the Atlantic Alliance, who prefers to talk about concrete social rights lost rather than theoretical civil rights to be won, who wants a serious and not fake state, who also wants to see more clearly in international politics, that now he searches for news online because he no longer trusts traditional media, that by justice and freedom he still means what was once meant, who used to listen to the poisoned girl and who today when he hears Saviano takes over an excruciating nostalgia for Pasolini, those people there have not disappeared.
Houston, we got lost!
Perhaps the traditional dichotomy between right and left has disappeared, or at least, overlaid by other forms of opposition, entirely new and more complex - globalism versus sovereignism / neoliberalism versus welfare state / democratism versus democracy. This new, more complex picture in turn forces each of us to ask ourselves new, more complex questions — who we are, where are we going, what we really want? Answering these questions becomes the new challenge, not only political but the challenge that we all now owe to ourselves.
Even the left that today is wondering where to start again... but that they should start again by asking themselves these questions here and forget about all that useless talk about McCain, right, populists and various stories. That he would start again simply by asking himself some new questions instead of insisting on always giving himself the same old answers.