La fine di un’era? Suggestioni apocalittiche al tempo del Covid-19

Abstract

In this chapter, the author explores, with introspective approach, the collective experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. The chapter seeks to provide an explanation for the paradox wherein, during the initial phase of the pandemic, citizens passively accepted the restrictions imposed by the government, which due to the lack of scientific evidence were generic and largely irrational, while in the second period, characterised by the availability of the vaccine, forms of rebellion were witnessed. The author explains the first situation by resorting to an analysis of symbolism and discursive figures used in public communication. For the second, he introduces insights from the conception of time and history of the Oromo people of Ethiopia, capable of elucidating the political paradigm shift experienced by the European Union during the pandemic period. The author then employs suggestions from the anthropological theory of incorporation to explain the public's reactions in terms of resistance.