Giambattista Vico was perhaps the first to observe that anonymous and ordinary human beings, not the kings, not the powerful, they are the real authors of the collective work that we call history. Societies evolve in such a way that the results do not match the intentions. There is therefore no cause-effect relationship but some stages, those that the Neapolitan sage described, which are always fulfilled.
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In the current controversy over Twitter, many have condemned, or applauded, that this platform breaks the monopoly of information, it democratizes opinion and thus equates the messages of the undocumented with those that are issued with knowledge of the facts and verifiable argumentation. Similarly, Twitter cracks the monopoly of the traditional media and gives the floor to whoever wants to express themselves in public. This is true, whether you like it or not, but it changes less things than many think. Where is the problem? Some see it in the insults, others in the ‘fake’, those from beyond in the incitement to hatred or violence. Well, they are things that have always existed. In all probability and thanks to the internet a citizen has many more means of knowing the facts than in any previous age, when rumors spread without the possibility of discernment. But it may not be for the better.
The result in terms of power and submission is the same as always. Power is not permanent. Either the servitude. The result of tensions, unpredictable. In fact, the only thing that Twitter has contributed to change but would also change according to Vico’s laws, is the disappearance of the referents, the annulment of all kinds of hierarchy, the non-recognition of merit, the systematic discredit of those installed. So the real problem with Twitter is not Twitter, because all this, the unstoppable transition from the democratic age to the chaotic age, began much earlier, as denounced, of course without success, by Harold Bloom, the most brilliant of the followers. modern Vico.
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