Antropologia e politica: una prospettiva progressista

Starting from a critical examination of the nexus between fear and politics, this article identifies the fear of self-dispossession as a feature common to contemporary societies. Within this context, the author maintains that an important role can be played by a vigorous reproposal of the principle of ‘self-belonging’, understood as, on the one hand, the aspiration that one’s dignity be respected, and, on the other, that the irreducibility and inviolability of the Self be recognised. This principle can serve as the foundation for not only an existential perspective of the liberty and relationality of the individual, but also a vision of society based upon respect for basic universal rights and a democratic practice which extends from the local to the global level.