LIBRI DI GABRIELE TURI

Francesco Benigno pulls apart the stereotypical image of the terrorist, identified in public opinion as an Islamic fundamentalist inspired by religious motives. Instead, he reconstructs the historical development of political violence beginning with the events of 1793-94, when "revolutionary terrorism" was born, a strategy which sought to mobilise the community sympathetic to its ideas and use terrorism as a means of combatting a stronger enemy. After the various attacks in the 19th century, inspired by nationalist ideas or anarchist propaganda, the 20th century was characterised by widespread forms of terror which did not distinguish between political/military targets and civilians. Benigno’s analysis, based on a rich variety of sources, tends to privilege events and provides an almost encyclopaedic account of them, and so occasionally runs the risk of lumping together different phenomena. It is a stimulating, and at the same time contradictory work, maybe as a result of its excessive ambitions.

Based on his own experience and documents of the editorial board, the Director of «Passato e presente» reflects upon the history of the journal, from its foundation in 1982 up to today. Taking into account the context of Italian history journals and the deep political and cultural changes in the country, Gabriele Turi analyses the innovative feature sections of the journal, its collaborations with Italian and overseas scholars, its broadening scope as well as the most debated topics and the circulation of the journal. The underlying thread of «Passato e presente» still remains, according to Turi, the difficult balance between professional ethos and public engagement, which was put to test especially while drafting the editorial on 9/11 and the organization of the 2002 and 2010 conferences on Berlusconi and the berlusconismo.

Robin Blackburn examines the slave system in the two Americas - United States, Brazil and Cuba - which he judges as an essential element of capitalist modernity, capable of contributing to, or even explaining the industrial revolution. Instead, its abolition, according to the author, was due not to economic causes, but to internal or international crises, the struggles for independence, the wars and revolts of the slaves, rather than the humanitarian propaganda of the antislave movement. Often the battle for emancipation - in particular the Haiti revolution that broke out in 1791 - did not yield any immediate gains for the former slaves, but left as its heritage the defense of the universal rights of man.

Della cultura di destra è stato sottolineato l’aspetto mediatico, ma il berlusconismo è un fenomeno più profondo, capace di influenzare ampi strati del ceto medio: un’ideologia eclettica che amalgama le tradizioni di Forza Italia, Alleanza nazionale e Lega nord, fondendo insieme populismo, individualismo esasperato, revisionismo storico, uso strumentale e identitario della religione. Nell’ultimo ventennio le forze di destra hanno occupato lo spazio lasciato vuoto dalle sinistre, indebolite negli anni ottanta dall’offensiva culturale del riformismo craxiano: una volta al governo sono state capaci di costruire gli strumenti di una propria egemonia culturale, riviste e fondazioni portatrici di messaggi semplici ed efficaci: libertà intesa come liberismo e diffidenza per lo Stato, lotta al relativismo culturale, rilettura revisionistica della storia che tende a equiparare fascismo e antifascismo in nome di una "pacificazione nazionale". La Rivoluzione francese è considerata la fonte di tutti i mali della modernità, il Risorgimento un premeditato attacco alla religione cattolica; la triade "Dio, Patria, Famiglia" è coniugata ieri come oggi a sottolineare l’identità di un paese timoroso degli immigrati e delle loro culture. Si è così formato uno schieramento culturale teo-con che appare oggi tanto forte da far ritenere che nella società italiana il berlusconismo possa sopravvivere a lungo a Berlusconi.