L'Apocalisse diffusa. Millenarismo e globalizzazione

During specific historical periods characterized by high systemic uncertainty, an increase in collective anxiety, a decreasing perception of the ruling elite's legitimacy and disturbing social changes, political vocabulary seems to make room for symbols, metaphores and images drawn from apocalyptic discourse. This turn of the century seems to be a time of radical changes and not easily understandable ones, which come close to an "end of the world" with respect to previously dominant ways of life. We are in fact confronted with a twofold process. On one side, Apocalypse spreads: any oscillation of the precarious social balance is perceived as the "final" swing, so that progress seems to lead us to "the end" rather than to an end. This overuse of the apocalyptic terminology to indicate any crisis hides a more disturbing process: sociopolitical routes linked to globalization seem to bring mankind closer to the state of disorder present in St. John prophecy without the real prophetic aspects of his prophecy being related to the changes we are presently facing. Truly epochal changes which we lack a heuristic category to come to terms with.

Alberto Cavalli, L'Apocalisse diffusa. Millenarismo e globalizzazione in "TEORIA POLITICA" 2/2000, pp , DOI: