The author investigates the origin and development of the concept of liberty and its special meaning in the Republican tradition of political thought. The origin of the Western concept of liberty lies in ancient Greece, in the opposition between liberty and slavery conceived after the liberation of Athens from tyranny and the victory over the Persian empire. The author then investigates the Republican notion of liberty that originates in ancient Rome and reaches its peak with Cicero. This conception of liberty emphasizes self-government and partecipation in common deliberation and runs through Western political thought up to Rousseau, Tocqueville and the authors of the Federalist Papers.
The author proposes a key of interpretation of the post — modern age not as a mere cultural attitude but as an effective philosophical horizon of our time. Two considerations are needed in order to define it: the proclaimed impossibility of a one-way description of reality, and the conviction of the existence of a plurality of conceptual schemes which can not be absolutely reduced one to the other. Therefore postmodernism severely limits the possibility of analysing notions such as liberty, justice and good, which are laden with universalism. After indicating the different possible solutions, the author presents his personal thesis of reflective authenticity: from the kantian notion of reflective judgement, the author traces in authenticity (intended not in a simple psychological or existential sense) the quality of "being measure for one-selves" or self-congruence typical of arts' masterpieces. By disengaging this notion from its original aesthetic ambit it is possible, in Ferrara's opinion, to refer to a pluralistic or exemplar universalism, applicable to ethics as to law, to the political judgement as to the theoretical one, completely different from that generic universalism which is on the contrary based on trans-contextual principles, typical of the modern age.
In this essay the author maintains that the brelationship with the ideality of being is characterised by the well- promising convergence of truth's revelation with justice's assurance. The being's truth is attested by the stability of good. Being is being comme il faut, as it must be in order to be good, as it must be in order to be fine. From this point of view, post-modern conscience is criticised. The author argues that modern conscience is something different both from the figures of illuministic subjectivity, and from the figures moulded by historical conscience: it is not diachronic in relationship with the projectual, constructive, emancipatory orientation of freedom, but it is not synchronic either, as on the contrary structuralism (functionalism, constructivism, contractualism) wrongly maintain because of its need of coherence. We could define it chronic: linked to symbolic values of temporal flood and distrustful of any stability of being in its different ties (as truth and as justice). Distrustful, because it has separated being from its connections. In this way the contemporary drift of European secularisation has generated a new figure: that of an agnosticism interested in religion and uninterested in faith. The author gives an accurate analysis of this type of agnosticism by treating it as a figure of post-modern secularity.
The dispute that divided political philosophy during the eighties into two camps, liberals versus communitarians, would now appear to be over. On both sides an atmosphere of détente seems to be prevailing over the reasons for dissent. Even an author such as Charles Larmore, one of the most well-known advocates of a strictly political view of liberalism, has recently anticipated the possibility of integrating the romantic and the communitarian legacy within the context of liberal individualism.In his latest book, The Romantic Legacy, Larmore elaborates on this possibility by analyzing four fundamental features of romanticism: imagination, a sense of belonging to a community, irony and authenticity. In this essay, the author highlights the ensuing difficulties and defends the need to maintain the liberal distinction between political and cultural rights and the corresponding separation of the respective spheres of pertinence.
This paper deals with A. Young`s approach to the explanation of increasing returns, devoting attention not only to his 1928 famous article, but also to other interesting indications which can be found in his previous works. It argues that the logic of Young`s analysis is based on a multisectorial model subject to quantitative and qualitative transformations. Such a view allows us to understand 1) the emphasis, posed by the author, on propositions (that would have to be fulfilled) among different productives to ensure balanced economic expansion; 2) the attempt (made by the author in the appendix to 1928 article) to explain the economic system dynamics in presence of different intersectoral growth rates. The main conclusion is that Young`s theoretical contribution should be regarded as one of the first examples of structural economic dynamics, thus resulting quite unconformable to the neoclassical theoretical paradigm.
Nel testo si ripercorrono le principali tappe di uno dei periodi più difficili e complessi, e, insieme, più significativi della storia dell' Unione degli Italiani deli' Istria e di Fiume: quello che va dall a XIV Assemblea deii' UIIF (Parenzo, 23 maggio 1971) sino alle Conferenze UIIF sulla socializzazione (Parenzo, 14 dicembre 1984, e Pirano, 22 novembre 1985) e alla Petizione sui problemi della minoranza promossa da Gruppo '88 (Capodistria, dicembre 1987). Un periodo contrassegnato d a una delle più importanti fasi di risveglio politico, civile e culturale del gruppo nazionale cui seguì, quale conseguenza dei moti nazionalistici in Croazia e della repressione attuata dal regime jugoslavo, la destituzione (il 13 settembre del 1974) del presidente Antonio Borme ed un lungo momento di stasi per la comunità nazionale italiana che si protrarrà praticamente sino alla metà degli Anni ottanta. Con l' emergere, prima, dell' azione e delle proposte riformatrici dei giovani riuniti attorno alla Commissione giovanile dell' UHF, e quindi con le Tesi sulla socializzazione promosse dalla Seconda Conferenza dell' Organizzazione (Parenzo, 1984 e Pirano, 1985), si aprirà, anche se con difficoltà, una nuova fase di apertura, di trasformazione e di rilancio politico del gruppo nazionale che culminerà con la petizione, la tribuna pubblica e le altre importanti iniziative di Gruppo ' 88. ; U ovom radu autor prikazuje etape jednog od najtdih i najslozenijih razdoblja iz proslosti Talijanske unije za lstru i Rijeku, tj. zbivanja koja su se odvijala od 14. sjednice Talijanske Unije za Istru i Rijeku ( oddane u Porecu 23. svibnja 1971.) pa do konferencija o socijalizaciji (Porec, 14. prosinca 1984., Piran 22. studenog 1985.), te peticije o problemima manjina, koju pokreée Grupa '88 (Kopar, studeni 1987.). To je faza koju obiljezava budenje politicke, kulturne i gradanske svijesti medu clanovima nacionalne manjine, nakon cega, uslijed nacionalistickih pokreta u Hrvatskoj i represije jugoslavenskog rdima, dolazi do smjenjivanja predsjednika A. Bormea (13. rujna 1974.) te do dugogodisnjeg razdoblja stagnacije za talijansku nacionalnu manjinu, koja ée se protegnuti sve do sredine osamdesetih godina. Nakon pojave reformatorskih pokreta koje predvode mladi, okupljeni u Komisiji za mladd TUIR-a, i Teza o socijalizaciji koje su proizasle iz druge Konferencije ne bez prateéih potreskoéa, javlja se nova faza otvaranja i obnove nacionalne manjine, koja ée dosegnuti vrhunac pokretanjem peticije, politicke tribine i drugih znacajnih inicijativa Grupe '88.
Between the staging of 'Die Zauberflöte' by Mozart-Schikaneder and 'Der Diamant des Geisteskönigs' by Raimund a period of 33 years passed. According to the author, the permanence of the story presented by the plays could become exemplary and therefore worthy of study as far as its unchanging elements and its variables are concerned. Following the similarities in the 'bildung' of the two protagonists (Tamino in 'Zauberflöte' and Edouard in 'Der Diamant') and signalling the points in which their paths differ, the author tries to answer the question that stands at the core of her reflections: How could the same fabula of three decades previously (after years which saw 'everything happen', from the diffusion of the ideas of the French Revolution, to the Napoleonic Wars, the re-definitions of the European social and political situation at the Vienna Congress, the death of Napoleon and the Restoration) be performed again exactly during the Restoration, and another time on the stage of an out-of-town theatre of the Capital of the Empire?
In this essay the author shows what human beings share in a pluralistic society: on one side the great principles of speculative reason and, on the other side and above all, the great principles of practical reason (synteresis). In order to actualise these ancient suggestions the author underlines, the theme of mutual recognition, which passes through the best part of ethical and political contemporary thought. Within the notion of mutual recognition, terms like good, justice, freedom acquire their right and original meaning. Good what permits the flowering of my life; good is, therefore, to love myself; but I can love myself only by loving others as the ones who can make such flowering possible. Justice is to give everyone what he deserves. But what everyone deserves is to be recognised as a (transcendental) subjectivity. Freedom does not mean unconditioned arbitrary, but freedom to do good things. Since the first objective good, historically speaking, is the other's-being-there for me, freedom means, another time, freedom of recognising others as a good for me. Therefore doing, at the same time and in a certain order, my good through the other's good and the other's good through mine. Political good, if we remain at a molecular level.
The author begins a discussion about the problems, mainly normative, which impede the development of online scientific publications: the uncertain equivalence of electronic and printed contributions; the instability of digital textuality; the legislative lack in matter of legal deposit of online documents. ; L'autore avvia un dibattito sui problemi, di ordine soprattutto normativo, che ostacolano lo sviluppo delle pubblicazioni scientifiche on line: la non chiara equivalenza dei contributi elettronici e a stampa; l'instabilità della testualità digitale; le carenze legislative in materia di deposito legale dei documenti on line.
In two articles the author presents some key elements from his recently completed thesis about functional, non-intrusive information infrastructures for interorganisational public policy implementation. The development of these information infrastructures requires a new approach, chain-computerisation, based on new concepts and practices. This methodology is vital for public administration, if the problems associated with interorganisational policy implementation are to be overcome. Chain-computerisation recognises the impossibility in many interorganisational settings of implementing government policy, because no single organisational actor has authority over the system. Thus, for example, a Dutch requirement that prisoners serving longer prison sentences must notify the Benefits system so that benefit paid can be adjusted, cannot be enforced because this multi-agency setting is too complex to allow adequate co-ordinated control. What is needed is an informational solution which automatically signals to the Imprisonment system that a prisoner is receiving benefits. Such highly automated communication systems can also protect privacy, in this particular example by signalling that a note must be sent by the prisoner to his benefit agency rather than by triggering enforcement by the Imprisonment system without the prisoner concerned knowing it. This methodology can be seen as emerged from 'lessons learned' during the period that the author was responsible for the development of information policies at the Dutch Ministry of Justice. Chain-computerisation is explained here by means of examples taken from the penal and social welfare systems, but it should be emphasized that the methodology of chain-computerisation can be applied to many other situations where public policy is to be implemented by close co-operation of many autonomous public and private organisations.
Focusing on the fiscal and criminal provisions of the Statutes, the author analyzes the transformations in the Florentine legislation between 1409 (when Giovanni from Montegranaro prepared the first draft, reflecting the previous tradition) and 1415 (when Paul from Castro introduced changes that marked a significant turning point). The article also makes a few general remarks about the relationship between jurists and political institutions. ; Imperniando l'analisi sulle norme fiscali e sulle norme penali del testo statutario, l'autore analizza le trasformazioni della normativa fiorentina tra il 1409 (quando la nuova stesura, sostanzialmente in linea con la tradizione precedente, fu redatta da Giovanni da Montegranaro) e il 1415 (quando l'intervento correttivo di Paolo di Castro segnò una incisiva svolta). Non mancano riflessioni di carattere generale sul rapporto tra giuristi e istituzioni politiche.
This research focuses on Great Britain's experience with deregulation of urban bus transit services. In the first part of this study the market organisation after deregulation is examined. The article discusses the causes that, after ten years of deregulation, permit the author to declare that the "social" market is a competitive and contestable market while the "commercial" market doesn't present these characteristics. The second part of the article presents the effects of deregulation on producers, Governement and consumers. Service providers' operating costs fell much more sharply than the opponents of deregulation expected. The British Government emerged as a clear winner, with reduced bus transit subsidies. Real fares and service instability rose for the consumers. As a result patronage fell drastically with deregulation.
Il dossier documentario relativo al gruppo familiare di Totone di Campione (721-874) costituisce uno dei gruppi più interessanti di carte altomedievali italiane relative ai secoli VIII-IX. Seppur noto, anzitutto grazie a un vecchio studio di C. G. Mor (Per la datazione di un documento campionese del secolo VIII, in "Archivio storico della Svizzera italiana", 2 (1928), pp. 121-129) e poi soprattutto attraverso le analisi di Gabriella Rossetti (I ceti proprietari e professionali: status sociale, funzioni e prestigio a Milano nei secoli VIII-X. L'età longobarda, in Atti del X Congresso Internazionale di studi sull'alto medioevo, Spoleto 1986, pp. 182-207; Il monastero di S. Ambrogio nei primi due secoli di vita: i fondamenti patrimoniali e politici della sua fortuna, in G. Picasso (a cura di), Il monastero di S. Ambrogio nel Medioevo, Milano 1988, pp. 20-34), che privilegiano tuttavia gli aspetti relativi alla storia delle istituzioni nel passaggio tra età longobarda ed età carolingia, questo gruppo di carte si pone come utile punto di partenza per una riflessione su un'ampia serie di problemi che, se osservati su una scala regionale, possono non solo proporsi come verifica di interpretazioni più generali ma anche come strumento per proporne di nuove. Il dossier si compone di 22 carte, articolate in due parti: le prime 14, tutte conservate in originale, sono relative all'azione di membri del gruppo familiare di Totone (721-799), le rimanenti 8 si riferiscono invece alla chiesa familiare di S. Zeno di Campione e alla sua gestione da parte della basilica e poi monastero milanese di S. Ambrogio, a cui lo stesso Totone la donò nel 777.
Confine o frontiera? I due termini sono sinonimi, oppure indicano due modalità persino opposte di stabilire una linea divisoria? E quale rapporto esiste tra la valenza metaforica, spesso legata al mito e all'avventura, del concetto di «confine», e la sua materializzazione concreta come frontiere, poliziesca o militare? L'autore sviluppa questi interrogativi a partire dalla propria esperienza biografica e familiare; estendendo poi la perlustrazione a un altro tipo di confine: quello linguistico e culturale. La traduzione letteraria come possibilità di superare questo confine, e di riflettere su alcuni elementi basilari della scrittura stessa. ; Border or frontier? Are the two terms synonymous or do they perhaps indicate opposing modes of establishing a dividing line? And what is the relationship between the metaphorical content of the concept of «border», often tied to myth and adventure, and its concrete materialization in frontier, police and military? The author develops these questions from her own particular experience and then extends the survey to another type of border, the cultural and linguistic, and considers literary translation as a form of crossing it and transmitting the basic elements of writing.
