FLASH
Shkruar nga Luciano Violante
To counter the influence of political theocracies, we must democratize our democracies...
Since the end of the Cold War, we have relied on two certainties: the unstoppable process of global Westernization and the unstoppable process resulting from global democratization. Both certainties are crumbling. Between 22 and 24 October 2024, the 36 BRICS countries met in Kazan (800 km east of Moscow), driven by a strong anti-Western motivation. In Beijing, from 31 October 2024, the countries of the so-called Global South met, 30 of which are part of the BRICS group, all under Chinese and Russian hegemony. Some have strong internal tensions, India and Pakistan for example, but all follow a strong anti-Western line, always led by Russia and China.
Compared to these countries, the West is in the minority economically, politically, energetically, and numerically. Democracy is not having the best of times; only 20% of the world's population lives in a democratic regime today; a few decades ago, it was 60%. The part of the world in which we live faces four authoritarianisms, different from each other, but all dangerous to the West and democracy. These are Trump, Putin, Netanyahu, and Hamas, who boast theocratic legitimacy, explicitly biblical in the case of Trump and Netanyahu, Islamic in the case of Hamas, absolutist in the case of Putin.
The Republican Party's powerful Heritage Foundation is drafting a 2025 Agenda for Trump, and it's not limited to the more traditional Christian groups that read the Bible literally.
The main points are: a) God has delegated human affairs to three distinct institutions: the family, the Church, and civil government, which must be guided by a biblical vision.
b) The spiritual battle takes place between the forces of good and the forces of satanic power;
c) has friends and enemies; has no allies;
d) seven mountains must be climbed: arts, business, education, family, government, media and faith;
dh) a Christian should be placed on top of every mountain.
This explains why some incompetents, but loyal to these principles, have been placed at the head of important sectors of the administration. Netanyahu, for his part, has compared the Palestinians to the Amalekites, the people whom Saul, the first king of Israel, was ordered to exterminate by the prophet Samuel.
Putin's philosophical background integrates both political and divine command. This philosophy was formalized in "The Code of the Russian Man," published by Sergei Karaganov, the only philosopher Putin claims to read. Karaganov's book has a single underlying theme: Russia and its government are engaged in a special mission before God.
A phrase from von Münnich, commander of the Russian army in the mid-eighteenth century, is cited as a guide: "Russia is governed directly by the Lord, our God. Otherwise, it would be impossible to understand how this state still exists."
Hamas's absolutism, based on a militant reading of Islam, is unfortunately widely known. Religious backgrounds give the claims of Trump, Putin, Netanyahu, and Hamas, quick applicability, indisputability, and a strong motivating influence, because they are legitimized by those roots. We must not forget the extraordinary power of religious values.
Democracy, on the other hand, is losing its emotional charge, its ability to persuade; it is losing, to use old-fashioned language, its driving force. It has lost its foundation of values and has been reduced to proceduralism.
The attitude towards Russia is symptomatic. While Putin justified the attack on Ukraine as a war against the immoral West because we legitimize same-sex unions and allow LGBT demonstrations.
Europe, currently the only liberal-democratic continent, has reacted. Absolutely rightly so. But we have been silent about our values, about the centrality that respect for individuals and their rights holds for us. We have been silent because democracy has become a procedure, a pure technique. However, as demonstrated by the participation in the protests in Gaza, citizens and families are certainly willing to mobilize for values. Therefore, we must oppose political theologies by forcefully reaffirming the values of equality and respect for fundamental rights. These are issues related to a democratic vision of society and the future. In short, to resist the influence of political theocracies, we must democratize our democracies. / Adapted from "Pamphlet" by "Corriere Della Sera"
Lini një Përgjigje