Una democrazia messa a nudo dalla pandemia. Brevi riflessioni

Democracy laid bare by the pandemic. Short remarks

Abstract

The definition of what democracy is has not ceased to question scholars and non-scholars, since a first model of it arose in the ancient Athenian polis. Over the past two and a half centuries it has emerged as the great challenge facing Western societies. Extending freedom to all, this is its promise, this is the task assigned to it. However, the recent world crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic has once again placed the issue of safety, health and more at the center of the political agenda and related cultural debate. In other words, it has brought back to the center the primary function of a state organization and exposed the dilemma between the status of freedom and the feeling of fear.

Keywords: Pandemic; Democracy; Fear; Freedom; Self-government.