Wisdom of Crowds Anti-Politics and the Counter-Revolution
Apr 14, 2026
Giovanni Orsina, Rome-based political theorist and historian, previews his book Counter-Revolution. He traces how post‑1960s anti‑political currents gave way to a populist counter‑reaction after 2008. Short takes on Giorgia Meloni as pragmatic right‑wing, Europe’s depoliticized institutions struggling, and the possible futures as politics returns to the foreground.
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How 1992 Judicial Scandals Cleared Italy's Political Slate
- Orsina recounts Italy's 1992–93 perfect storm of mafia killings, currency crisis, and judicial scandals that destroyed traditional parties.
- He explains judges and media allied to delegitimize parties, creating a blank slate for new actors like Berlusconi.
Populism As A Counter-Revolution
- Giovanni Orsina argues the post-1960s transformation was a non-political revolution that shifted utopian change from politics to law, morality, and markets.
- He links the Great Recession to a counter-revolution: contemporary populism re-politicizes by rejecting that depoliticized utopian model.
Postwar Europe Built To Depoliticize Democracy
- Orsina frames post‑1945 Europe as 'embedded liberalism' where democracy was filtered through parties and institutions to limit raw popular sovereignty.
- He sees the EU and constitutions designed to tamp down volatile politics rooted in Weimar-era fears.