Se non segui la politica sei un idiota (non è un insulto come credi)

"Idiot" in ancient Greek didn't mean "stupid." It meant someone who only minded their own business, leaving public affairs to others. In the last fifty years, Italy has gone from a 93% voter turnout to 64%, and 15 million citizens openly declare they no longer care about politics. I am one of them, and in this video I try to understand why, analyzing everything from the individualism Tocqueville predicted in 1840, the sense of structural impotence of modern democracy, and an uncomfortable question: Italian politicians aren't from Mars. They're our children. And if they're inadequate, perhaps the problem isn't who we vote for. It's what we do (or don't do) every other day of the year. Subscribe to the newsletter https://substack.com/@andreapassador Bibliography Politics: Aristotle https://amzn.to/43z8Afh Democracy in America: Tocqueville https://amzn.to/43FKoI4 The Future of Democracy: Bobbio https://amzn.to/4eb8AZ1 Vita activa. The Human Condition: Arendt https://amzn.to/4nUVXod Bowling Alone: ​​Putnam https://amzn.to/4vf3Kj9 My novel, Emme di Marcello https://amzn.to/4wgSzb6 As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Chapters 00:00 — I'm an idiot (and you probably are too) 00:30 — The etymology they didn't teach you in school 01:45 — My confession: geopolitics yes, Italian politics no 02:45 — The numbers of Italian disinterest (ISTAT + turnout) 04:00 — First root: individualism according to Tocqueville 05:00 — Second root: the sense of impotence and Aristotle 06:30 — Italian politicians are our children 07:30 — What does it really mean? "doing politics" (Arendt and Putnam) 8:45 AM — Concrete examples: from the condominium meeting on down 9:30 AM — I'm an idiot in training. Are you? Sources of the data cited in the video Data on turnout in Italian political elections: Pagella Politica Data on Italian political participation: ISTAT 2024 — Statistical Focus "Political Participation in Italy" Let me know in the comments What does "doing politics" mean to you today in Italy? Not in the abstract. Concretely. What do you do or what have you stopped doing, and why. I really read; maybe there's a better answer than the one I gave. #politics #etymology #idiot #individualism #italy #democracy #participation #tocqueville #arendt #aristotle #bobbio #putnam #verbose #books #philosophy #current events