Maurizio Viroli
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151823
- eISBN:
- 9781400840274
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151823.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Italy is a country of free political institutions, yet it has become a nation of servile courtesans, with Silvio Berlusconi as their prince. This is the controversial argument that this book puts ...
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Italy is a country of free political institutions, yet it has become a nation of servile courtesans, with Silvio Berlusconi as their prince. This is the controversial argument that this book puts forward. Drawing upon the classical republican conception of liberty, the book shows that a people can be unfree even though they are not oppressed. This condition of unfreedom arises as a consequence of being subject to the arbitrary or enormous power of men like Berlusconi, who presides over Italy with his control of government and the media, immense wealth, and infamous lack of self-restraint. Challenging our most cherished notions about liberty, the book argues that even if a power like Berlusconi's has been established in the most legitimate manner and people are not denied their basic rights, the mere existence of such power makes those subject to it unfree. Most Italians, following the lead of their elites, lack the minimal moral qualities of free people, such as respect for the Constitution, the willingness to obey laws, and the readiness to discharge civic duties. As this book demonstrates, they exhibit instead the characteristics of servility, including flattery, blind devotion to powerful men, an inclination to lie, obsession with appearances, imitation, buffoonery, acquiescence, and docility. Accompanying these traits is a marked arrogance that is apparent among not only politicians but also ordinary citizens.Less
Italy is a country of free political institutions, yet it has become a nation of servile courtesans, with Silvio Berlusconi as their prince. This is the controversial argument that this book puts forward. Drawing upon the classical republican conception of liberty, the book shows that a people can be unfree even though they are not oppressed. This condition of unfreedom arises as a consequence of being subject to the arbitrary or enormous power of men like Berlusconi, who presides over Italy with his control of government and the media, immense wealth, and infamous lack of self-restraint. Challenging our most cherished notions about liberty, the book argues that even if a power like Berlusconi's has been established in the most legitimate manner and people are not denied their basic rights, the mere existence of such power makes those subject to it unfree. Most Italians, following the lead of their elites, lack the minimal moral qualities of free people, such as respect for the Constitution, the willingness to obey laws, and the readiness to discharge civic duties. As this book demonstrates, they exhibit instead the characteristics of servility, including flattery, blind devotion to powerful men, an inclination to lie, obsession with appearances, imitation, buffoonery, acquiescence, and docility. Accompanying these traits is a marked arrogance that is apparent among not only politicians but also ordinary citizens.
Maurizio Ferrera
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263853
- eISBN:
- 9780191734281
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263853.003.0014
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The pension systems of Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece are organized according to the Bismarckian blueprint: ‘corporatist’ schemes of compulsory insurance covering different occupational groups, ...
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The pension systems of Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece are organized according to the Bismarckian blueprint: ‘corporatist’ schemes of compulsory insurance covering different occupational groups, with different regulations. Historically, Italy pioneered developments by introducing compulsory pension insurance in 1919. Portugal and Greece followed suit in the mid-1930s, while in Spain fully fledged compulsory pension insurance arrived in 1947. Between the 1950s and 1980s, the pension systems in Southern Europe were significantly expanded in terms of coverage and improved in terms of benefits. This chapter discusses the trajectory of pension reform in Italy, the largest country in Southern Europe. It describes the main pension reforms of the first pillar; the efforts for promoting the development of a second, funded pillar; and recent developments under the administration of Silvio Berlusconi. The chapter also examines the gradual transformation of the ‘end-of-contract-payment’ (TFR) scheme.Less
The pension systems of Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece are organized according to the Bismarckian blueprint: ‘corporatist’ schemes of compulsory insurance covering different occupational groups, with different regulations. Historically, Italy pioneered developments by introducing compulsory pension insurance in 1919. Portugal and Greece followed suit in the mid-1930s, while in Spain fully fledged compulsory pension insurance arrived in 1947. Between the 1950s and 1980s, the pension systems in Southern Europe were significantly expanded in terms of coverage and improved in terms of benefits. This chapter discusses the trajectory of pension reform in Italy, the largest country in Southern Europe. It describes the main pension reforms of the first pillar; the efforts for promoting the development of a second, funded pillar; and recent developments under the administration of Silvio Berlusconi. The chapter also examines the gradual transformation of the ‘end-of-contract-payment’ (TFR) scheme.
Shmuel Nili
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- October 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198859635
- eISBN:
- 9780191891984
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198859635.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter revolves around “media demagogues”: politicians who rely on their mastery of the media, and on recurrent lies, as they exploit the electorate’s worst fears and prejudices to gain and ...
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This chapter revolves around “media demagogues”: politicians who rely on their mastery of the media, and on recurrent lies, as they exploit the electorate’s worst fears and prejudices to gain and retain power. The rise of media demagogues produces integrity complexity for the political actors who surround them, including both political operatives who are considering whether to serve the demagogue, and fellow politicians, who are considering whether to ally with him. From the perspective of both of these kinds of political actors, it may appear as if integrity’s dictates are indeterminate. Should one wash one’s hands clean of the demagogue in the name of personal integrity, or collaborate with him to limit the threats he poses to the polity’s collective integrity? Taking up the cases of Donald Trump, Silvio Berlusconi, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the chapter shows how the integrity framework can offer a systematic solution to this problem.Less
This chapter revolves around “media demagogues”: politicians who rely on their mastery of the media, and on recurrent lies, as they exploit the electorate’s worst fears and prejudices to gain and retain power. The rise of media demagogues produces integrity complexity for the political actors who surround them, including both political operatives who are considering whether to serve the demagogue, and fellow politicians, who are considering whether to ally with him. From the perspective of both of these kinds of political actors, it may appear as if integrity’s dictates are indeterminate. Should one wash one’s hands clean of the demagogue in the name of personal integrity, or collaborate with him to limit the threats he poses to the polity’s collective integrity? Taking up the cases of Donald Trump, Silvio Berlusconi, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the chapter shows how the integrity framework can offer a systematic solution to this problem.
Shmuel Nili
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- October 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198859635
- eISBN:
- 9780191891984
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198859635.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Conventional philosophical wisdom holds that no agent can invoke its own moral integrity—no agent can invoke fidelity to its deepest ethical commitments—as an independent moral consideration. This is ...
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Conventional philosophical wisdom holds that no agent can invoke its own moral integrity—no agent can invoke fidelity to its deepest ethical commitments—as an independent moral consideration. This is because moral integrity simply consists in doing what is, all-things-considered, the right thing. Shmuel Nili argues that this conventional wisdom is mistaken with regard to individual agents, but is especially misguided with regard to liberal democracies as collective agents. Even more than individual persons, liberal democracies as collective agents often face integrity considerations of independent moral force, affecting the moral status of actual political decisions. After defending this philosophical thesis, Nili illustrates its practical value in thinking through a wide range of practical policy problems. These problems range from “dirty” national security policies, through the moral status of political honors celebrating political figures of questionable integrity, to the “clean hands” dilemmas of political operatives who enable media demagogues to scapegoat vulnerable ethnic and racial minorities. Accessibly written, and combining detailed philosophical analysis with numerous vivid real-world examples, Integrity: Personal and Political will appeal to moral, legal, and political philosophers, to political scientists, and to scholars of political communication.Less
Conventional philosophical wisdom holds that no agent can invoke its own moral integrity—no agent can invoke fidelity to its deepest ethical commitments—as an independent moral consideration. This is because moral integrity simply consists in doing what is, all-things-considered, the right thing. Shmuel Nili argues that this conventional wisdom is mistaken with regard to individual agents, but is especially misguided with regard to liberal democracies as collective agents. Even more than individual persons, liberal democracies as collective agents often face integrity considerations of independent moral force, affecting the moral status of actual political decisions. After defending this philosophical thesis, Nili illustrates its practical value in thinking through a wide range of practical policy problems. These problems range from “dirty” national security policies, through the moral status of political honors celebrating political figures of questionable integrity, to the “clean hands” dilemmas of political operatives who enable media demagogues to scapegoat vulnerable ethnic and racial minorities. Accessibly written, and combining detailed philosophical analysis with numerous vivid real-world examples, Integrity: Personal and Political will appeal to moral, legal, and political philosophers, to political scientists, and to scholars of political communication.
