the cItalian rice it is not so much economic, but above all cultural, social, ethical. The task of politics is not to smooth the hair on the belly of the voters, but to make the choices that must be adopted for the common good become popular. The paradox of our country is that citizens appreciate Draghi and Mattarella, they admire their "Gravitas" as statesmen, but then they vote for whoever screams the loudest, who promises the moon.
Hope lies in the feeling that many people are fed up with the unfulfillable promises by the political forces and want to turn to a party which, instead of giving so many gifts to every small or large corporation, sets itself the much more ambitious goal re-establish the bond of belonging of citizens to a community. Restoring the sense of common destiny to our country by overcoming the culture of individual desires that have been transformed into rights, to recover a balance in which the "duties" of individuals towards the community are once again valued.
Politics must therefore be forward-looking, offer security against geopolitical, health or economic events that individuals cannot see or resist. It must offer justice and social equity, it must create an environment suitable for the development of individual personalities, without falling into exaggerated individualism made up only of rights and no duties.
Carlo Calenda: the political project
This is the ambitious political project of Carlo Calenda is described in his latest book, “The freedom that does not liberate – Rediscovering the value of the limit“, edited by Theseus's ship. This is the more political conclusion of the previous two essays Wild Horizons e the monsters, which is the basis of the political commitment of Calenda who founded a party a few months ago "Action” and which is now presenting itself in the political elections of 25 September together with Matteo Renzi's Italia Viva.
Un third pole based on a totally different idea from that of the two traditional poles which, moreover, have given a bad test of themselves every time they have gone to government. It is no coincidence that Italy has been at a standstill for over twenty years. Left and right coalitions have always been a pure electoral cartel. Their governments didn't last long and even when they managed to complete the legislature, they didn't have the ability to make the reforms that really would have been necessary to put Italy in a position to face the world crises or to seize the opportunities of the globalization.
Republicanism and social liberalism
Calenda explains in the book - released before the government crisis and the use of elections - the sense of his proposal of a new "republicanism", of a social liberalism, which rejects exaggerated individualistic liberalism on the one hand and welfare statism on the other.
In the first case, one has been created in Western countries total uncertainty about the future, a distrust of politics that appeared incapable of managing such great transformations, in short, a situation of depression and immobility that turns to the State for the satisfaction of any need. Thus arises an excess of requests that the public authorities, even when they appear inclined to accept every request for assistance, are unable to satisfy. Democracy itself is put at risk. People are beginning to think that nationalism and a good dose of authoritarianism could be the right recipe for defeating fears, for facing internal and external enemies, with the necessary attitude, beating "the fists on the table".
Authoritarian regimes vs democracy
It is not true that authoritarian regimes are more efficient than democratic ones in safeguarding the interests of a community. The vile assault of Putin atUkraine it is highlighting the unpreparedness of dictatorial regimes, their corruption, the need to compensate for incapacity with brutality towards both their own citizens and "alleged" enemies.
The many citizens who in Western countries, and in particular in Italy, have detached themselves from politics, so much so that participation in the vote has greatly decreased in recent years, are perhaps realizing that the choices of governors influence (and how!) our daily lives. And not only for this or that providence that the Government can decide (tax reduction, early retirement, various bonuses) but for what it determines forr the opportunities that are offered to us, for the freedom to express oneself, for the possibility of moving forward without the constraints of an ideological and bureaucratic cloak. That is, for the big issues that seem distant, but which instead have immediate effects on individuals and on the way of being together in a society.
Traditional political slogans and the need to change pace
The traditional political offer beats on the usual slogans: reduce taxes and increase spending. But this recipe that we have practically adopted for several decades has not given good results: the economy stalled, we have grown less than all other European countries; bureaucracy has degraded, Justice doesn't work, school doesn't train our young people so much that we have become the most ignorant country in the West.
We have to change pace. We must understand that there is not only the present, we need a new idea capable of recreating the convenience of being part of a community towards which everyone must feel the duty to do something in order to benefit from collective progress. Calenda quotes Mazzini to rediscover the value of civic duties, to make people understand that without social cohesion based on equity and justice the whole country cannot progress and individual citizens will have to suffer from a succession of illusions and deceptions by crude and unscrupulous politicians.
