I have been wondering for some time now whether Italian democracy can rightly be considered a democracy. I wonder whether this problem is due to a power conspiracy in the shadows or to the widespread criminal culture and I wonder whether, on the contrary, the evident problem of an inadequate and immoral ruling class with impunity is the main or only attributable cause of the overflowing criminal culture.
I have often looked with nostalgia at the chivalric values that are so lacking in our times. But no one has ever claimed nor could ever claim that democracy is the freedom to be rude and degenerate. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a monarchist. Precisely for this reason I believe that democracy is not a system of government that justifies immorality and irresponsibility. No! Democracy is a system of government that calls everyone to their civic duties and moral integrity. I am a fervent supporter of democracy and for this reason I maintain that democracy must make the citizen responsible. Exactly as chivalry made the aristocracy responsible during the monarchy. I consider, on the contrary, tyranny to be the system of government of whimsy and irresponsible children.
You will surely have heard that the psychological problems of adults are generally attributable to childhood. The criminal nature is always characterized by infantilism and emotional deficiencies. Totalitarianism is the most brutal crime that exists, also because it is committed in an associative form. I believe I have found, in this way, the logical connection between totalitarianism and mafia association. But the similarities are many and for this reason (perhaps it has always been so) today neo-fascism and mafia clans have an ideological bond, not only practical nor temporary. We also have historical memory of it with the documentation of the trafficking between the Banda della Magliana and the Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari (NAR). It seems that even the TNT that killed the judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino with their fellows came from the Roman subversive circles. Someone has traced the origin of that TNT to the NAR convicted in the 70s and then released.
I will focus, however, on the ideological and character similarities of the most brutal criminal forms in history: criminal associations and tyranny.

What most characterizes tyranny is:

● The ability to allow by law provisions that are contrary to common sense.

Today we can say that a dictator can be noticed by the fact that he allows himself to legislate without taking international law into account. But, even when international law did not exist, dictators could be noticed by their aggressive foreign policy and their repressive domestic policy that was indifferent to the principle of impartiality. In short: by the total absence of common sense, also called good sense, in the management of the country.

● Limitation of freedom of speech.

Every unjustified limitation of freedom is a barbarity of man against man, but the most atrocious limitation is the limitation of freedom of speech because the ability to speak is what distinguishes us from beasts.

● Limitation of freedom of movement.

It is sad to see an animal on a leash even if, in the best case scenario, that animal is tied up to avoid it danger. But seeing a man locked up without reason must deeply outrage anyone with a sense of justice.

●Absence of guarantees for a fair trial.

The tyrant does what he wants and changes his mind whenever he wants. In times of tyranny, a segment of the population that emulates the tyrant always exists and it is allowed to bully the weakest because it is useful to the tyrant to manage the territory. The result is that in court the laws are applied at the discretion of power. This is the reason why the right to a fair trial is recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

●State lies and repression of the truth.

The main characteristic of totalitarianism is the state lie. The cult of the image linked to totalitarianism brings with it the justification of every lie in order to protect the image of the dictator and all his collaborators. We can therefore speak of idolatry, using a religious term. The lie is not only justified but flaunted as a privilege to the point that it is allowed to lie openly, to deny the reality immediately surrounding us. This characteristic survives in the neo-subversive environments that infect the state in Italy from inside the barracks.

● Denial of the principle of legitimate defense.

The direct consequence of the points listed above is the denial of the principle of legitimate defense. With totalitarianism the state becomes a dispenser of injustice, so no one can claim the right to defend their own safety and property. Here the two opposing totalitarianisms, communism and fascism, unmask their affinities more than in the other points listed. The dictator is the master of the territory and manages the wealth as he pleases. The dictator and his collaborators decide whether it is a theft or not, even without making the matter official, it is enough to blatantly ostracize.
The same thing applies to all other crimes, even physical attacks.

Now let’s analyze the points that the criminal nature of any criminal, especially that of criminal associates, and the criminal nature of the supporters of a dictatorship have in common. If we have to distinguish two different lists, the reason is that dictatorship is a legalized crime, but the resignation and silence caused by organized crime, where and when it dominates, is very reminiscent of the climate of a dictatorship.

●No sense of justice.

Any criminal is such because he seeks the privilege of acting in denial of the rules. This implicitly means recognizing and appreciating the privilege of crime. Justice, on the contrary, is the respect of the rules, even unjust rules, until one manages to openly challenge them to abolish them.

●No one is innocent.

The criminal is distinguished by the fact that he does not conceive of innocence. This would make him feel like a loser. It would increase his frustration at not having been able to compete on the path of merit. This is true both in the case of legalized crime, as occurs in dictatorships, and in the case of a criminal residing in a civilized nation. Each with the means at their disposal, both persecute honest people, precisely because honest people cause criminals deep frustration.

●Two yardstick.

This is commonly said in Italy when one acts in a non-impartial manner. Criminals are never impartial, they always have someone to favor or penalize. Dictatorships are even less impartial.

●Passing the buck.

Passing the buck is another typical scandalous Italian custom. This depends on the overflowing criminal culture that recognizes the privilege of some to make mistakes to the point that they do it on purpose. However, someone must pay for the mistakes made. Who better than an innocent person? In this way, the repressed frustration that the criminal feels when dealing with an honest person is vented. This privilege, more than any other, characterizes existing dictatorships and subversive environments. It is an ideological question: totalitarianism is the ideology of privilege, crime is the search for privileges.

●To preach well.

Criminals always have a good word to say. To lure someone to defraud him, to hide the preparation of a crime or to flaunt a privileged social position incongruent with their own moral conduct, as the mafiosi do, accustomed to denying their own guilt as a sign of defiance to their interlocutors. All this looks a lot like state propaganda during dictatorships. In fact, which dictator could not be accused of populism?

●Do-goodism.

I don’t have to dwell on this point. Just reread the previous point. But it is truly painful for an Italian like me to reflect on how cruel the “good people” can be when, defending their interests or the interests of their accomplices, they penalize the innocent. In Italy we have the justicialists and the guarantors but, since coherence is not mandatory, these are basically two contradictory attitudes always flaunted in defense of one’s accomplices or of the most powerful, in search of favors.

●Unofficial truths and official truths.

The habit of lying and the habit of leaving lies unpunished determines the need for two versions of the facts. In this Tower of Babel, the only certainty is that disobeying bullies is very dangerous. Following rumors only serves to understand the fickle will of the rich and powerful. Knowing the truth is almost impossible in criminal environments but this does not matter because the truth is not interesting in such environments.

●Truth does not exist.

The same habit of lying and the same habit of leaving lies unpunished gradually destroy the value of truth. For every criminal, the truth is a well-conceived crime. The reason is always the same: the courage of truth demonstrates the human failure of the criminal who, for this reason, always looks for the speck in the eye of others, to the point of exhaustion.

●Image is everything.

Perhaps judging the external image of people at first glance helps everyone to orient themselves in the world. But for criminals, denying the substance of the facts is not a fault. The result is becoming incapable of understanding the truth.

●Emotional deficiencies.

In Italy, criminal culture is passed down from generation to generation with a cascade of mistreatment and this generates the emotional deficiencies typical of each new generation of criminals but, even when the criminal nature does not depend on a cultural or family tradition, criminals always look for a person who can correct their behavior, an educator. It is an ideological challenge identical to that of a young bully towards an adult, a teacher for example.

●Calling the community to their defense.

The ideological challenge of the previous point culminates in this strange habit that shows all the childishness of the criminal.

Criminals, while shamelessly telling their version of the facts without the need to be consistent with themselves from one moment to the next, demand the support of the entire community. When all defenses have collapsed, they invoke do-goodism. Here too it is a challenge: civil society does not work, this is what they want to demonstrate.

●Circular reasoning.

The criminal’s presumption of innocence leads to dangerous circular reasoning. Circular reasoning is a recognized symptom of schizophrenia and also of bipolar disorder. The criminal believes that he could never have behaved better than he did, therefore he is innocent. This suggests to him the cowardice that prevented him from being an honest person.

●Collateral revenge.

Both the usual criminal and the political terrorist have a distorted concept of “respect”. Both must enforce themselves with force because there is no justice in the world. This is the reason for collateral revenge.

●Idolatry.
This is a religious term that adequately summarizes the evil on earth in all its forms. Idolatry is the reason why the image of the state, or the image of a criminal, is defended with shameless lies. The idolatry of money is the reason for most crimes. The idolatry of a political group allows that political group to commit the worst crimes with impunity, or is the reason for the worst crimes.

Having analyzed these points, I would like to ask Italians whether they believe they live in a democratic nation or in a dictatorship. Many polemically speak of oligarchy, and with their right. Others justify the usual abuses of power with the presence of nostalgic fascists, without however intervening to correct them. Fascist ideology has certainly survived in Italy, especially in institutional environments, but has democracy ever truly been implemented here?

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