barbarians

Of Carlo Formenti

Source: Carlo Formenti
We must integrate the barbarians or we must drive them out? This is what Paolo Mieli asks himself in a leading article in today's Corriere (29 August). The barbarians, Obviously, they are the populists who sit in the control room today without having obtained permission from the old elites. The metaphor is a quirk of an aspiring historian? (poor Montanelli: look who today occupies the role that you deserved beyond your political ideas...). No, this time Mieli steals the idea from two politiciansologists – Giovanni Orsina and Angelo Panebianco – who resorted to it to discuss whether it is worth “civilizing” the barbarians, as the Romans had attempted to do with Odoacer (Orsina version) or chase them away (Panebianco version). Disturbing metaphor, comments Mieli, for the sole fact that the harshness of today evokes the dark era of the fall of the Empire. But disturbing for whom? I would say especially for us citizens, given that we are faced with yet another confirmation (the last one was given to us by Mattarella with his unconstitutional veto on Savona) that the old castes cannot accept certain unpleasant side effects of democracy: when the "ox people" vote on issues for which they are not competent, the mistake must be corrected with good manners (Orsina) or by hook or by crook (Panebianco). The evils hoped for by Panebianco call into question Europe and the Greek-style care that it has proven capable of applying in the event of a "serious mistake" by the electorate. After all, we are a faithful student of Hayek-style neoliberalism (today canonized by the ordoliberists who govern Europe) who had explicitly declared that it was a totalitarian but liberal regime (to Pinochet so to speak) it was preferable to an ultra-democratic but “statist” regime. And the “radical” leftists (the PD is no longer worth talking about)?. Unfortunately, instead of pressing the government on the issues on which it has made some timid positive steps (nationalizations against Genoa-style events, redistributive policies, Fornero reform, great works, tensions with the EU), without obviously giving up attacking him harshly on Salvini-style security paranoia, they seem increasingly willing to play the role of useful idiot, that is, to act as a spare tire of an anti-populist front that, if he succeeded in overthrowing the government, it would impose a return to a "normality" made of even more ferocious sacrifices for the subordinate classes, so that they understand that when you make a mistake you pay dearly... Read More