La pasión (euro)mediterránea sobre pueblos resistentes y ciudadanos difusos

Abstract

With modernity far behind us, and with its inherent contradictions well-documented and assumed, we have both feet firmly set in the 21st century and are confronted with the duty to face a challenge. A challenge that involves looking forwards into the future. Thus, in the words of Eric Hobsbawm, the time has come to “relax the atmosphere using reason and common sense, but retaining a strong sense of commitment that favours a government for the people –for all people, rich and poor, smart and obtuse, informed and ignorant–, and favours their consultation and consent.3” Looking forwards into the future, the task that appears before us seems complex, as complex as the type of commitment that intellectuals and politicians must assume if they are to, genuinely, solve the recurrent topics of our times: how to understand emerging conflicts and make peace possible without resorting to armed intervention. Instead of preventive wars, we should, therefore, consider preventive balances and models of stability. However, the dilemma cannot be untangled unless we start by solving the –genuine, not theoretical– conflicts that are justified by or based on models of nationalisms or empires, underpinned by mythical-theoretical descriptors or discourses which, beyond their demonstrable validity, are perpetuated by the managers of the mass-media. In a society that is definitely cosmopolitan, the time has come to design effective strategies for intervention and participation. Particularly in and for the Euro- Mediterranean area.