Individui, masse e poteri, oggi

Abstract

The article reviews the main aspects of the research led by Elias Canetti in Crowds and Power. By analyzing the meanings of the images of his life’s work” [Lebenswerk], the article tries to demonstrate the relevance of its categories for a critical diagnosis of the present. Beyond “grabbing the twentieth century by the throat” by showing the hunting dynamics between individuals, crowds and power, the categories introduced by Canetti in his most important book
can be updated in order to understand the predatory relations among humans in
contemporary societies. For this reason, the last part of the article will be focused on the main transformations that have occurred in the collective and individual processes of domestication in contemporary societies: the final paragraph analyzes the latest developments of the baiting and double crowds of war in western democracies together with the spreading of the “secret
strategy of commands” inside and outside contemporary workplaces. Finally, the article will examine the possibility of social transformation embodied in today’s flight and prohibition crowds.