The opium of the people

Culture, as the Power understands it and as we have accepted it, is no longer knowledge, but instead a refined tool that dulls our awareness and makes us complacent with the world as it is. And this is the new "opium of the people", bestowed upon us in abundance to make of us light-hearted lotus-eaters.

How many Italians make a living out of "culture"? They – nay, we - are millions, well positioned in schools of every order and grade, in newspapers, in publishing, in entertainment, in television, on radios, on blogs, in museums, festivals, in departments of culture, of tourism, in advertising…we are the greatest "factory" in the country, albeit completely devoid of whatsoever collective identity. A massive cash trail and a massive trail of waffle. But aside from its financial relevance, is not perhaps that the system which we are a part of, that we are complicit with, uses this same excess of culture also to distract us from concrete collective action, numbing us with words, images and sounds? We certainly have no need for this type of culture that is glitzy and manipulative. What we need is a critical culture able to look at the world with a sharp eye and more importantly with the ambition of becoming action. A culture, or better a plurality of cultures, that is able to detox from the blackmail and flattery of power, so as to understand and consequently, to act.

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