From Calamandrei to Mattarella, the rules and values to defend and relaunch freedom and democracy
“Democracy is not a final conquest, it must be constantly realised, lived, consolidated and interpreted”. And “Freedom is like air: you only realise how much it is worth when it becomes scarce.”
In these difficult and controversial times, in the face of the negative tendencies towards banality and vulgarity, and the growing resentment of democracy, it is worth rereading some of the greatest pages of our political literature. For example, the speech given by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in April 2015 to the young winners of the “From resistance to active citizenship” competition. And Piero Calamandrei‘s speech on the Constitution in 1955, with its key passage: “It’s so beautiful, it’s so simple: there is freedom. We live in a free society and there are other things to worry about than politics. Of course I know that. The world is so beautiful, there are so many beautiful things to see, to enjoy, instead of worrying about politics. Politics is no fun.
However, Calamandrei continues, “freedom is like air: you only realise how much it is worth when it becomes scarce, when you know the suffocating sensation that my generation has known for twenty years and that I hope you, young people, will never know.
The conclusion is exemplary, for future reference: “I hope that you will never know such agony, because I hope that you will create the conditions that prevent such agony from ever happening: always remembering the need to watch over freedom, and making your own contribution to political life”.
Since the end of the Second World War, which ended with the defeat of Nazism and Fascism, we have experienced eighty years of peace in Europe, marked by the expansion of that wonderful synthesis between liberal democracy, the market economy and the welfare state, that is, between freedom, enterprise, well-being and social cohesion (all of which we have taken for granted). The implosion of the Soviet empire, due to its profound political, economic and social limitations, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, has comforted the idea – or rather the illusion – of a radical success of the West, its cultures and its values, to the point of fueling the arrogant and deceptive idea of “exporting democracy”.
But history has by no means “ended” with the “victory” of the West, despite the predictions of even a brilliant political scientist like Francis Fukuyama. Far from it. And today we are faced with the shocking disruption of traditional geopolitical balances and the assertion of the primacy of the values and interests of major international players (China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, the diverse Arab world, waiting for the new power to emerge from Africa), while the political and cultural changes taking place in Washington are forcing us to rethink the role of the United States, which is usually perceived as the cornerstone of Western democracy.
In a nutshell, the new season seems to be marked by the growing sphere of autocracies, and liberal democracy is faltering. There is a feeling of being held hostage by the outside (the war in Ukraine is an exemplary example of this). And there is also a feeling of creaking inside. In fact, there is a growing dissatisfaction with participation in political life and voting, a fundamental moment in the construction of the “popular will” (one of Calamandrei’s fears). There is growing indifference, or worse, intolerance, towards some of the pillars of democracy: the separation of powers between the branches of government, the autonomy of the judiciary, freedom of the press, the value of critical thinking, the sanctity of pluralism of thought.
It is the age of populism, selfish sovereignty, intolerance of diversity, resentment of scientific research and the complexity of intellectual work. The spread of social media, with its poor game of “likes” that impoverishes thoughts and words, is exacerbating the crisis.
This is why it is necessary to return to critical thinking, to create new dialectical spaces for international relations, which are necessary in any case, in order to defend and revive the “breath of freedom”. And to talk about politics, to study history, law and economics, to reflect on our values and the foundations of democracy. Which go beyond a simple electoral vote. And the crushing of social and political life in the parody of an “all in” poker hand, where whoever wins the electoral round becomes the absolute master of the entire democratic scenario.
So, read and discuss. Let us focus our attention on the words of the “Fathers of the Constitution”, the product of a synthesis of the best movements of Italian political thought, Catholic, liberal, socialist and communist, linked to the values of parliamentary democracy (the Acts of the Constituent Assembly are brilliant testimony to this). Revisiting the European authors of liberal and democratic thought (including the three signatories of the “Ventotene Manifesto”, Altiero Spinelli, Ernesto Rossi and Eugenio Colorni). Reflecting on the relationship between freedom and responsibility, history and future, recalling Aldo Moro’s lesson on the “new season of duties” necessary for the renewal of Italian democracy (he was killed by the Red Brigades and also on the orders of powers that have not yet been clearly identified by the judiciary, specifically to prevent that renewal).
To do this, we need to focus our attention on an indispensable book, “Vi auguro la democrazia” (I wish you democracy), a collection of speeches by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella recently published by De Agostini (with a preface by Corrado Augias) and aimed at the younger generations, from which we took the initial quote of this blog. Mattarella writes: “Democracy is not a final conquest, it must be constantly realised, lived, consolidated and interpreted, because times change, forms of communication change. Democracy must be implemented every time, at all times, so that it is authentic in its values, in the ways that change from season to season. It lives because it is applied and implemented. Always created, in changing times and under changing conditions, respecting its values”.
Democracy in motion. To live and let live. Culture to be explored further. The defence of memory (a fundamental commitment at a time when, regardless of the facts, there are powers and powerful people who theorise “alternative truths” and present “factoids” as facts on social media). Responsibly building a future. And knowledge on which to base choices and behaviour.
Including legal and institutional knowledge. As illustrated in the pages of “I presidenti della Repubblica e le crisi di governo – Cinquant’anni di storia italiana 1971- 2021” (The Presidents of the Republic and the Government Crises – Fifty Years of Italian History 1971-2021), a collection of essays edited by Stefano Sepe and Oriana Giacalone, published by Editoriale Scientifica in the series of the Institute of Political Studies “S. Pio V”. Acute and wise reflections. With a fundamental reference to the doctrine of Costantino Mortati (one of the “founding fathers”, teacher of constitutional law to generations of lawyers since the 1950s) on the “moderating power” of the President of the Republic in the formation of governments after elections and in the resolution of governmental crises: the role of the tenant of the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic, the Quirinale, is to “ensure that the direction of the people corresponds to that of the representative bodies and to that of the latter among themselves, in order to maintain constant harmony”. Democracy as plurality. Balance of power. Checks and balances. The complete opposite of “one man in command”. Our democracy must continue to live and grow.
(photo Getty Images)
“Democracy is not a final conquest, it must be constantly realised, lived, consolidated and interpreted”. And “Freedom is like air: you only realise how much it is worth when it becomes scarce.”
In these difficult and controversial times, in the face of the negative tendencies towards banality and vulgarity, and the growing resentment of democracy, it is worth rereading some of the greatest pages of our political literature. For example, the speech given by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in April 2015 to the young winners of the “From resistance to active citizenship” competition. And Piero Calamandrei‘s speech on the Constitution in 1955, with its key passage: “It’s so beautiful, it’s so simple: there is freedom. We live in a free society and there are other things to worry about than politics. Of course I know that. The world is so beautiful, there are so many beautiful things to see, to enjoy, instead of worrying about politics. Politics is no fun.
However, Calamandrei continues, “freedom is like air: you only realise how much it is worth when it becomes scarce, when you know the suffocating sensation that my generation has known for twenty years and that I hope you, young people, will never know.
The conclusion is exemplary, for future reference: “I hope that you will never know such agony, because I hope that you will create the conditions that prevent such agony from ever happening: always remembering the need to watch over freedom, and making your own contribution to political life”.
Since the end of the Second World War, which ended with the defeat of Nazism and Fascism, we have experienced eighty years of peace in Europe, marked by the expansion of that wonderful synthesis between liberal democracy, the market economy and the welfare state, that is, between freedom, enterprise, well-being and social cohesion (all of which we have taken for granted). The implosion of the Soviet empire, due to its profound political, economic and social limitations, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, has comforted the idea – or rather the illusion – of a radical success of the West, its cultures and its values, to the point of fueling the arrogant and deceptive idea of “exporting democracy”.
But history has by no means “ended” with the “victory” of the West, despite the predictions of even a brilliant political scientist like Francis Fukuyama. Far from it. And today we are faced with the shocking disruption of traditional geopolitical balances and the assertion of the primacy of the values and interests of major international players (China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, the diverse Arab world, waiting for the new power to emerge from Africa), while the political and cultural changes taking place in Washington are forcing us to rethink the role of the United States, which is usually perceived as the cornerstone of Western democracy.
In a nutshell, the new season seems to be marked by the growing sphere of autocracies, and liberal democracy is faltering. There is a feeling of being held hostage by the outside (the war in Ukraine is an exemplary example of this). And there is also a feeling of creaking inside. In fact, there is a growing dissatisfaction with participation in political life and voting, a fundamental moment in the construction of the “popular will” (one of Calamandrei’s fears). There is growing indifference, or worse, intolerance, towards some of the pillars of democracy: the separation of powers between the branches of government, the autonomy of the judiciary, freedom of the press, the value of critical thinking, the sanctity of pluralism of thought.
It is the age of populism, selfish sovereignty, intolerance of diversity, resentment of scientific research and the complexity of intellectual work. The spread of social media, with its poor game of “likes” that impoverishes thoughts and words, is exacerbating the crisis.
This is why it is necessary to return to critical thinking, to create new dialectical spaces for international relations, which are necessary in any case, in order to defend and revive the “breath of freedom”. And to talk about politics, to study history, law and economics, to reflect on our values and the foundations of democracy. Which go beyond a simple electoral vote. And the crushing of social and political life in the parody of an “all in” poker hand, where whoever wins the electoral round becomes the absolute master of the entire democratic scenario.
So, read and discuss. Let us focus our attention on the words of the “Fathers of the Constitution”, the product of a synthesis of the best movements of Italian political thought, Catholic, liberal, socialist and communist, linked to the values of parliamentary democracy (the Acts of the Constituent Assembly are brilliant testimony to this). Revisiting the European authors of liberal and democratic thought (including the three signatories of the “Ventotene Manifesto”, Altiero Spinelli, Ernesto Rossi and Eugenio Colorni). Reflecting on the relationship between freedom and responsibility, history and future, recalling Aldo Moro’s lesson on the “new season of duties” necessary for the renewal of Italian democracy (he was killed by the Red Brigades and also on the orders of powers that have not yet been clearly identified by the judiciary, specifically to prevent that renewal).
To do this, we need to focus our attention on an indispensable book, “Vi auguro la democrazia” (I wish you democracy), a collection of speeches by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella recently published by De Agostini (with a preface by Corrado Augias) and aimed at the younger generations, from which we took the initial quote of this blog. Mattarella writes: “Democracy is not a final conquest, it must be constantly realised, lived, consolidated and interpreted, because times change, forms of communication change. Democracy must be implemented every time, at all times, so that it is authentic in its values, in the ways that change from season to season. It lives because it is applied and implemented. Always created, in changing times and under changing conditions, respecting its values”.
Democracy in motion. To live and let live. Culture to be explored further. The defence of memory (a fundamental commitment at a time when, regardless of the facts, there are powers and powerful people who theorise “alternative truths” and present “factoids” as facts on social media). Responsibly building a future. And knowledge on which to base choices and behaviour.
Including legal and institutional knowledge. As illustrated in the pages of “I presidenti della Repubblica e le crisi di governo – Cinquant’anni di storia italiana 1971- 2021” (The Presidents of the Republic and the Government Crises – Fifty Years of Italian History 1971-2021), a collection of essays edited by Stefano Sepe and Oriana Giacalone, published by Editoriale Scientifica in the series of the Institute of Political Studies “S. Pio V”. Acute and wise reflections. With a fundamental reference to the doctrine of Costantino Mortati (one of the “founding fathers”, teacher of constitutional law to generations of lawyers since the 1950s) on the “moderating power” of the President of the Republic in the formation of governments after elections and in the resolution of governmental crises: the role of the tenant of the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic, the Quirinale, is to “ensure that the direction of the people corresponds to that of the representative bodies and to that of the latter among themselves, in order to maintain constant harmony”. Democracy as plurality. Balance of power. Checks and balances. The complete opposite of “one man in command”. Our democracy must continue to live and grow.
(photo Getty Images)