When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
LA STAMPA

Doctor Draghi, Strong Medicine Or Just Another Painkiller?

Italy's new Prime Minister Mario Draghi, the highly respected former head of the European Central Bank, is tasked with fixing festering systemic failures.

Mario Draghi (center) in Parliament on Thursday
Mario Draghi (center) in Parliament on Thursday
Mattia Feltri

-Analysis-

ROME — Mario Draghi is finally the new Italian Prime Minister. On Thursday, the Lower House of Parliament voted him in with a staggering 535 votes in favor, 56 against, and 5 abstentions. Such a wide majority is a telling detail: Italians have huge confidence and sky-high expectations, seeing in Draghi a man who can rescue the country — a kind of superdoctor to cure the sickness eating Italy from inside....

The situation reminds me of the latest work by Seoul-born German philosopher Byung-Chul Han, an intriguing little book titled The Palliative Society: Pain Today. In the Italian edition, the subtitle reads along these lines: "Why we have banished suffering from our lives."

Han is an acclaimed and prolific philosopher. His work often revolves around an indictment of "neo-liberal" society, a somewhat elusive adjective that can match with every tie. His thesis is that our contemporary society rejects pain, both physical and psychological, which is considered useless and scandalous in the creeping neoliberal doctrine.

We reject that we or others could be in pain, which prevents us from unloading it on society. We always blame ourselves instead, and thus we preclude the revolution.

In a "palliative democracy," pain is alleviated, but diseases are not cured.

I am neither a philosopher, or German, but I have always been convinced of the exact opposite. Precisely because we reject pain, when it arrives we unload it on society: our pain is always someone else's fault — anyone but us — and that culprit must be identified and punished so we can simply carry on with our lives as if nothing happened.

After all, the first pages of Han's book are enlightening. They explore the concept of "palliative democracy," a regime in which pain is alleviated, but diseases are not cured. "Palliative politics lacks vision and is unable to implement incisive reforms, which would cause pain," he writes. "It prefers to resort to short-acting painkillers, whose effect is limited to covering up systemic dysfunctions and failures."

It would be difficult to draw a more accurate portrait of Italy in the last few decades. Now, we have a new doctor, Mario Draghi, who is tasked with fixing deep-rooted problems and festering systemic failures. But in order to be effective, Draghi's cure will inevitably have to hurt — and quite badly. But of course, there is always the other possibility: to remain a pain-free, sick society that just wants its painkillers back.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

eyes on the U.S.

Murdoch Resignation Adds To Biden's Good Luck With The Media — A Repeat Of FDR?

Robert Murdoch's resignation from Fox News Corp. so soon before the next U.S. presidential elections begs the question of how directly media coverage has impacted Joe Biden as a figure, and what this new shift in power will mean for the current President.

Close up photograph of a opy of The Independent features Rupert Murdoch striking a pensive countenance as his 'News of the World' tabloid newspaper announced its last edition will run

July 7, 2011 - London, England: A copy of The Independent features Rupert Murdoch striking a pensive countenance as his 'News of the World' tabloid newspaper announced its last edition will run July 11, 2011 amid a torrid scandal involving phone hacking.

Mark Makela/ZUMA
Michael J. Socolow

Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States of America on Jan. 20, 2021.

Imagine if someone could go back in time and inform him and his communications team that a few pivotal changes in the media would occur during his first three years in office.

There’s the latest news that Rubert Murdoch, 92, stepped down as the chairperson of Fox Corp. and News Corp. on Sept. 21, 2023. Since the 1980s, Murdoch, who will be replaced by his son Lachlan, has been the most powerful right-wing media executivein the U.S.

While it’s not clear whether Fox will be any tamer under Lachlan, Murdoch’s departure is likely good news for Biden, who reportedly despises the media baron.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest