This book was published in 1997. It is still available. It does not exist in an English translation. But it was translated into German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
Friday, July 3, 2009
This is the Italian translation of a book originally written in French (Le Plaisir et le Mal. Philosophie de la Drogue, Odile Jacob, 1997). This Italian edition is not available any longer. It is from the Introduction and Conclusion of this volume that a professor of philosophy in the University of Venice, Italy (Umberto Galimberti) copied circa five pages, notes and all. The case transpired in the Italian media, in the Spring and Summer of 2008.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
What is happening in Italy is important.
It would be a mistake to claim that this is just irrelevant gossip. Why?
In a democratic state, leaders are expected to be persons of a certain quality -- qualified, that is, because of what they do, how they think, and who they are. Now sexuality is the ultimate locus of the self, but it is also private. Elected representatives are of course entitled to respect for their privacy, like everyone else, but they cannot really expect their privacy to be respected, if they expose themselves spontaneously, euphorically, and repeatedly to crowds of strangers equipped with cell phones, and in places that are institutional.
The kind of person who emerges from the scenarios we are invited to discover is someone who fails to make any difference between a gentlemen's club and the official residence of the Italian Prime Minister; who uses official planes in order to carry, not special guests to state events, but entertainers to his own parties; who spends the night of Barack Obama's election with an escort, and to this effect, the escort in question claims, misses an official celebration. What a relief if some evidence to the contrary were offered to the public opinion!
The worst is the use of women. This whole fracas started when the Popolo della Liberta' intended to present, among its candidates to the European elections in June 2009, a number of women. "Woman" is an anatomical expression here. Since we have to please all those foreigners, who like too much pink in their governments, let us send a couple of our best specimens to Strasbourg and Bruxelles. Qualified for the job? But of course! You want women, here they are: just that. The escort who is now enthusiastically sharing her tapes and photos, taken in Papi's boudoir, was also running for office. Political opportunity thrown to females, just like television careers, building permits, and tacky jewelry.
It would be a mistake to claim that this is just irrelevant gossip. Why?
In a democratic state, leaders are expected to be persons of a certain quality -- qualified, that is, because of what they do, how they think, and who they are. Now sexuality is the ultimate locus of the self, but it is also private. Elected representatives are of course entitled to respect for their privacy, like everyone else, but they cannot really expect their privacy to be respected, if they expose themselves spontaneously, euphorically, and repeatedly to crowds of strangers equipped with cell phones, and in places that are institutional.
The kind of person who emerges from the scenarios we are invited to discover is someone who fails to make any difference between a gentlemen's club and the official residence of the Italian Prime Minister; who uses official planes in order to carry, not special guests to state events, but entertainers to his own parties; who spends the night of Barack Obama's election with an escort, and to this effect, the escort in question claims, misses an official celebration. What a relief if some evidence to the contrary were offered to the public opinion!
The worst is the use of women. This whole fracas started when the Popolo della Liberta' intended to present, among its candidates to the European elections in June 2009, a number of women. "Woman" is an anatomical expression here. Since we have to please all those foreigners, who like too much pink in their governments, let us send a couple of our best specimens to Strasbourg and Bruxelles. Qualified for the job? But of course! You want women, here they are: just that. The escort who is now enthusiastically sharing her tapes and photos, taken in Papi's boudoir, was also running for office. Political opportunity thrown to females, just like television careers, building permits, and tacky jewelry.
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