Cynicism and apathy as “habitus” or
cultural dimension in southern Italy
The idea of this article come from a
interview done by Roberto Saviano about a book called “ La Bellezza
e l'Inferno” published in 2009 from Mondadori Editor.
In this article I will try to define
the cynicism as a cultural dimension for responding to the scarsity
of ressource present in the territory of south of Italy. In this
paper, the cultural dimention definition come from the work of Geert
Hofstede ( 2002) as a collective programming of the mind
distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from
another.The cinicism represent a behavioural predisposition present
inside the society, especially in south of Italy.
In this case, we have the presence of a
list of many form of cynicism present inside the context of south of
Italy as indicator according to Hofstede of the high degree of social
distance present in this society where the cynical person don't have
to justify themselves because powerful people don't need to
legittimate decision. As a example, I can mentioned the case of
cynicism when I am able to nominate as my close friend people with
influential power in my life context.
A other way of seing the presence of
cynicism as a natural response to the human jungle life is a direct
correlation of the general idea that money are the more powerful
indicator during lifetime.
In this case, I can interpreted the
cynicism as the result of the straight of money in this context.
Other case very significant for understanding people with people it's
the presence of a cynical behaviour in front of the law because I can
defend my self with good lawyer because I am rich enough for having
this behaviour. Cynicism is the natural ally in southern Italy to
“furbizia” ( it's mean to be astute with bad connotation ) as a
cultural dimension present inside the society. It's mean in
particular that I don't need to legitimate my behaviour because it's irrelevant in this context.
Cynicism indeed as the result of
necessary closeness to the power in order to survive in this context.
The concept of cynicism represent a
idea well construct inside the society, in other words information,
opportunity need to be preserve more than to be spread in order to
keep power in few hands. This few hands many time are relative or
close friends coming from the infancy period.
Even inside the same group, it could be
that people seem to be cynical in order to “appear” more poweful
than other people around them. In some circumstances, peoples need to
have “ good friend” in order to establish a position in power in
front of the eyes. This cynical behaviour are in line with the scarcity of resource present in the territory. It's mean that this
resources are scarce and are not available for many people. For that
reason, the people cultivate this idea of secret in order to use for themselves or for some very near persons this information. The cynical
approach are in opposite with the notion of spread information as a
way of creating abundance inside the society in term of prosperity,
information, advice and benefit for much persons as possible.
The cynicism is a way of looking to the
world based in the certity that only the value of money can determine
the world around us and for that reason I can be a “ cynical” in
opposite with the idea of “sharing” inside the society because at
the end of the day the idea of jungle life emerge all the time inside
the context of southern of Italy. In this context, the power of money
are the only one virtue without any cultural or arts presence in this
landscape. This absence of arts inside the life of this human group
create a lost of empathy towards the other citizens with the
consequence of created more social distance between members of the
society.
A other face of cynicism inside the
southern society it's put in evidence by some politicians when they
have to be in front of the law. In this circumstances, the influence
of the social position and the possibility of having the right
“connaissance” made feel this person having any risk to face for
your illegal behaviour. In this case we can argue according to
Hofstede that politicians don't need to legitimate there position
and enjoy the social distance as a protector factor during their
career life.
This attitude called in Italian “
furbizia” became the most natural ally to the cynical person
because the two cultural script are in connection againt the respect
of onesty and the need of integrity.
The cynical behaviour is very spread in
south of the nation because it represent a way of putting a emotional
distance with a other cultural script present in italian society
called “ fesso” ( like stupid person). To be represented like a “
fesso” is a terror for many persons in this context of “
furbizia”.
Indeed, the notion of “connaissance”
and the power are always relative to the next context and for that
reason you can be always “ fesso” for a other person. This terror
of to be treated like “ fesso” are always present in the ground
during this kind of formal interaction. And this feeling could be
present during all your entire life.
In a certain way, we can infer that
the cynical behaviour could be a defence for many person with the
consequences that many persons can't be just like they are because
they have to protect our position in front of the eyes of other
persons.
A important point to remember about the
notion of cynicism is the presence of a positive connotation for many
people in southern Italy because cynicism is a synonymous of to be “
furbo” with the positive consequences that I can take care of my
self and other persons.
Today the cynical behaviour in
connection with the social egoism had reach a extreme degree of
influence into the life of southern citizen for the reason of a
strong privatisation of the life. This social egoism represent a
strong barrier in order to have some real change in cultural term
inside the community of the southern Italians.
Apathy as a cultural response of the
person in southern Italy.
The concept of Apathy, from a cultural
perspective, represent a form of sadness reaction in front of the
misuse of resources around you.
In front of a immutable reality, our
personality live a strong emotional stress that push people with a
more sensitive soul to close themself and became apathetic in front of
the reality.
The apathetic persons represent a form a
standby time of our energy in front of the reality and represent a
tentative of auto-esclusion from a context in which we don't identify
ourself or we are unable to impress our action in this context. In
Italy, a very influential writer like Roberto Saviano call the context
with the name of “ sistema” due to correlation of different
social actor in create this state of affair.
Many time the personal apathy represent
a metaphor of the territorial collective apathy because you start to
think about why to be in action inside a context or “sistema”
where all the elements seems to be compromise by diffuse incompetence
and inability to deal with everyday routine.
This phenomena of the apathy represent
a feeling of drowsiness and social inutility inside the youth mind
with the consequences that peoples starts to think to be not prepare,
unable to entry into a world where are present other valuable codes,
other behaviour are positive and all this codes are just not teach
inside the educational system.
This feeling of apathy are very spread
inside the youth and unemployed community because you feel the
impossibility of change inside the society like a condemnation.
This apathy is the result of the
difficulty of working in network because of the cynicism value
present inside the society and because of a long decade of social
egoism inside society.
In order to escape from the feeling of
apathy, the persons need to be conscient that alone it is impossible
to achieve something important in this context where the resources
are allocated in very few hands and this few hands are very careful
to not expand this resources inside some not grateful groups. This
situation has create a extreme amount of frustration inside the more
competent youth defraud de facto of gaining opportunity
from other youths or social groups choose by people in power for
pursuing the future career. This context has create a important cost
of social injustice for the collective face of youth persons in Italy
and especially in south of the nation.
The feeling of apathy touch usually the
peoples with a more important cultural capital even if nowadays with
the strong economic crisis workers people can have the same feeling
for other reasons like for examples: not accepted immobility from
work, difficulty of accepting idea of unemployment and so forth. This
social group can live the same feeling of apathy in term of closeness
to the world and inadequate feelings in front of a changing world.
The apathy represent a emotional
response in front of a reality in which you don't have the key
access. The dimension of apathy is linked with the cultural dimension
that your life are not in your hand and you live with a sense of
abandonment.
Cultural scene in Italy
The societal debate in Italy have a
distant emotional device because the in-group members lived in self-referential and the citizen are just a external spectator of
the own future.
The public sphere are represented by
the television and national press has element in strong correlation
between them. In this atmosphere, the citizen are completely ignored,
misled from the position of aware citizen because all the system work
with the notion of self-referentiality.
This is the main reason for not
speaking about the problem of everyday life because politics need
only to speak about politicians not about policy. Strong social
distance from the population in accord to Hofstede model of cultural
analysis are a good starting point in order to understand this
context. Even scandal are in a certain way functional to the politics
in order to legitimate their leadership inside the society. The
self-referentiality with a strong use of mass-media represent the
only for politicians to legitimate their position. They don't need
really to legitimate in term of what they do but more in term of
mediatic exposition their presence. All this for not speaking about
the citizenship and their real problems.
The only participants are some
politicians, some supposed journalists is the only way for being
introduce in this circle of self-referentiality.
In very rare case, it is possible to
have some interaction between politicians and citizens. In this
situation, we can see clearly a strong degree of imposition ( Brown,
Levinson ,1978) between the politicians able to put into a silent
position the citizen during a debate like the minister Martelli with
a citizen-spectator inside the television show Anno Zero as a result
that in cultural term, we can assume that the politician believe that
the citizen are incompetent for discussing with him.
From this point of view we can think
that politician have eliminated from the general media any kind of
important information with the consequences that politicians can
think that people don't known exactly what's going now inside the
parliament. A constant element in cultural term is a lack of respect
to the collective face of the citizen inside the Italian politicians.
The goal of this self-referentiality is
functional to maintain the status quo, in other word pushing people
to live the politics like something far from them in order to keep “
few” to manage with the affair of “many”. All the citizen not
spectator will be called like “anti-politics” partisan from the
in-group at the power.
The key point in this description is
the unclear language use by this politicians in order to create
uncertainty, ambiguity, technicality as a way of pushing outside the
ring the citizen and as a result it is the best way for killing
effective democracy.
All the linguistic device are well used
in order to misled the citizen like for example: preventive polemics,
objection premeditate, bureaucratic and business terminology in order
to keep save the self-referentiality and all the cast members. They
eat all the welfare state of Italy and leave nothing to the people.
Mezzogiorno as a cultural scene
Mezzogiorno as a cultural dimension
mean a setting where the main problem are the daily routine. In other
words, how to park a car, the long queue at the post office, the
incompetence of the people, the non presence of public transportation
in many place, non respect of basic politeness between person
represent the main issue for understanding this context. Every day
you live with anxiety the realisation of little things like to pay a
bill into a post office or to wait a bus for moving into the city.
In order to mitigate all this negative
aspects of life, the majority of the people use the personal
relationship with people for obtaining as a favour what it's just your
right. Into the south, the people don't look the employee like
someone available to me but they are looking for some personal
relationship with this person in order to receive a better customer
service.
In Mezzogiorno, it is possible to
encounter a kind of conversation called “menefreghista” (
careless in english) as a cultural response to the impossibility of
change and don't want to be engaged in something too big for them.
Our destiny are not in our hands is a common point inside this
purpose.
In the south of Italy, the family ( for
most people) are always pleased to help you as a way of keeping
influence on you even when you don't live anymore inside the family
house or to be very intrusive when you live inside the nuclear family
like this period of the history.
A strong influential power still into
the hand of television in south of Italy as i called a legal drug
for keeping alive many peoples without any kind of life like
desperate housewife or youth in rural province of Italy.
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