La democrazia senza qualità. Appunti sulle "promesse non mantenute" della teoria democratica

[Autom. eng. transl.] The conviction that feeds the essays collected in this volume is that the 'realistic' definition of democracy, outlined from the famous pages Joseph A. Schumpeter, is based on a 'one-dimensional' reduction of reality. A reduction that only captures some aspects of the real democratic regimes and that neglects instead to consider the historical, economic and military framework in which the old term-concept of 'democracy' has been redefined, during the twentieth century, becoming something completely different compared to the past. A similar representation is based, in particular, on a programmatic 'expulsion' of values. Not only because it removes the idea that democracies should pursue great democratic values, but, above all, because it excludes the idea that certain values constitute the support that sustains a concrete democratic regime. In this way, the 'realistic' theory constructs the image of a sort of 'qualityless' mannequin, while democracy appears as a 'democracy without qualities'. As a form emptied of all political, ethical and ideological substance, yet - like Musil's "man without qualities" - placed at the bottom of every resolution.