Abstract

GAMBAROTTA, Emiliano. On freedom here and now. Neo-authoritarianism and neoliberalism in light of the pandemic. Intersticios sociales [online]. 2023, n.25, pp.69-97.  Epub Apr 27, 2023. ISSN 2007-4964.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a crisis not only in health but also in political culture. It is the latter that is expressed, among other ways, in the demonstrations that, in the name of freedom, oppose to various health measures. In light of this phenomenon, one of the objectives of this paper is to study the category of “freedom”, specifically, its use by both the neoliberal ethos (first section), and the neo-authoritarian ethos (second section). The argument of the paper is that this use underlies those manifestations, while acquiring a growing protagonism in the current political culture. In this context, the other objective of the present work (developed in the third section) is to propose an alternative perception of freedom, one that aspires to be useless for the goals of both anti-democratic ethos.

Keywords : democracy; political relationship; constellation; abstract freedom; concrete freedom.