Intimate feelings that explain politics

If you listen to the argument of a great Argentine sociologist, Santiago Kovadloff he recently quoted the German thinker Johann Gottlieb Fichte: “Every philosophical system is an expression of a temperament“. The sociologist in question –Hernan Vanoli– spoke about national politics, but not from crystallized or canonical ideologies, but from different identities built with an emotional, temperamental and very personal perception: his research enterprise is tellingly called “Public Feelings”, he has carried out intensive and systematic surveys and drawn a preliminary map that defies simplifications and clichés: there is almost no right or left, Peronism versus anti-Peronism and almost no other classic category. His study reveals that there is a first notable division in this new country: 17%, whom he calls “state interventionists” or “ideological progressives.”and then 83% called it “transactional”. The former, now reduced to an astonishing minority, see the state as the central actor and organizer of all collective life; The market, on the other hand, appears to them to be a social mistake and, at best, a necessary evil. The latter, being a veritable sea of ​​​​choices and a “more plebeian zone”, believe that society can organize itself: only a small part – the worshipers and worshipers of the lion – recognize themselves as resolutely anti-state, and this dogma is generally found in the youngest segments.

The rest of the “transactional” states prefer a quiet, impersonal state that is dedicated to only a few things, but This shows good performance. Within the vast “transaction region” there are two new subdivisions, which Vanoli calls “Individualists“, and the “supportive“. The latter represent 37% of the electorate and recognize numerous state failures, but also believe that the state should exist, albeit without epic or acrimony; the “Solidarists” support various forms of emotional involvement in intermediate civil society organizations and are meritocratic but with a community spirit: they claim that the politics of effort is valid and that at the same time the government should provide financial assistance to the extreme poverty. With the exception of a small group, even the “individualists” agree with social plans.

This great survey shows that the advancement of technology has also opened a horizontal gap between the young and the old: the former look at their elders with indifference, but the latter respond with increasing rejection and annoyance. For their part, the “individualists” make up 46% and that is where the ultra-conservatives and the libertarians nest side by side. For the sociologist, fans of Javier Milei “Not so much a right-wing Leninism as an immediate, anti-bureaucratic sensibility, they have a romantic vision of a past without hierarchies. They are less interested in the elimination of public bureaucracy than in sincerity, and, paradoxically, they have a non-hegemonic vision of cruelty linked to the tradition of popular justice. They subordinate justice to freedom.” And as the “interventionists” of the state do, they feel that they have to mobilize a society that is mobilized under the umbrella of the market and has the urge to “smash” brick by brick. status quo. Quite the opposite of the Republicans, for whom it is necessary to distinguish what works and not destroy everything at once: the ConicetFor them, it should be changed but not disappear; Libertarians, on the other hand, detest this “hierarchical institution”: Milei’s hard core distrusts almost every elite and also suspects that this group of scientists is “infiltrated” by Kirchnerism.

These studies also suggest that the main emotion prevalent in the homeland underground is ““a kind of insecurity that combines fear, some anger and a lot of helplessness”. A natural disbelief towards the institutions is murmured by many Argentine citizens as long as they have cheated them: the state grants terrible advantages, the judiciary has not proven effective, the legislatures have a bad reputation and the “vote changes nothing” (sic): here the anti-system suffrage is explained, explosively, furiously and without foreseeing too many consequences. Vanoli’s work is much larger and more demanding – it does not fit into this press article – but the sociologist concludes: “In times of rational societies there may have been rational votes. This is no longer the caseAnd he adds: “Now we must look at ideology not as a body of ideas, but as a symphony of emotions.” AND The question of values ​​is increasingly weighing on the subjective view of the voter“.

This movable board, which today turns almost every party sign into a rubber stamp, explains Argentina’s great subterranean metamorphosis, inscribed in a fast-moving world governed not by “lifelong beliefs” or “secular religions” but by personal feelings for the moment. Someone, as suggested sprucecan capture this temperament of the time and transform it into a philosophical system, but it will remain open and perhaps ephemeral. The truth is that yesterday’s statists, at just 17%, can no longer even claim that they are the full representation of the “people” or that they constitute the “vast majorities.” It is the perfection of their pernicious model that has created the very widespread revulsion: the statists have destroyed the state’s reputation. These two years of government could also be described as a Russian roulette of mixed emotions, in which many citizens, fleeing this outdated regime and experiencing strong emotions, risked a full vote for it outsiderThey were shocked by his amateurism and raw aggressiveness, they were grateful for the decline in inflation and suffered the resulting misery, they feigned dementia and feared a crash that would bring the “state interventionists” back to power. Some of the “transactionalists” never lost faith, but many others stayed at home and turned their backs on the elections or were forced to vote for the ruling party and today, after so much trouble and stress, they seem to be looking for a break from current politics: they cannot admire what they enthroned and prefer not to see so as not to suffer. These summers will pass and if there are no surprises, they will then be able to face the harsh reality again. A little peace. And everyone with their own feelings.