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(2017) Making communism hermeneutical, Dordrecht, Springer.

If the weak would win

the specter of communism and the re-birth of democracy

Silvia Mazzini

pp. 115-124

This article develops from one of the central theses formulated by Vattimo and Zabala in Hermeneutic Communism. It constitutes the metaphysical idea of a unique and objective truth being the core of a totalitarian and violent political system that establishes itself as absolute by excluding any form of alternative or multiplicity. It focuses on how the "winners of history' gain and maintain their political, economic, and social power, giving rise to what Vattimo and Zabala describe as today's "armed capitalism'. In order to take a stand against this situation, the two authors suggest a possible way out: "the end of truth is the beginning of democracy'. But is it possible to practice politics without the idea of truth? And if so, how? In this respect my contribution investigates the subversive as well as creative potentialities of a "hermeneutic communism', examining if and how it would be possible to witness a "rebirth of democracy' thanks to the "victory of the weak' - i.e. of the so-called "losers of history'. Through an aesthetical inquiry about the political and communicative implication of the paradigmatic and ambivalent literary figure of Hamlet, I will further attempt to explore the importance of a non-verbal communication in an hermeneutical, democratic dialogue. By doing this, I will also pose a paradoxical, quite tragic question: will the strong be isolated and marginalized, if the weak would win?

Publication details

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-59021-9_15

Full citation:

Mazzini, S. (2017)., If the weak would win: the specter of communism and the re-birth of democracy, in S. Mazzini & O. Glyn-Williams (eds.), Making communism hermeneutical, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 115-124.

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