I love Paul Preciado; every time I read him I feel enriched, I understand things better; he is a joyful guide in these complicated times. Internazionale features one of his articles that appeared in Libération following the youth protests in France. As always, his interpretation is illuminating. He cites a painting by Goya, another artist I love: Saturn Devouring His Children.
‘In Greco-Roman mythology, Cronus-Saturn is time itself, a Titan who devours his children in a savage, endless ritual. Today, it is an allegory of the baby-boomer generation devouring its children.’ And again: ‘The way in which patriarchal capitalism, in its evolution towards fascism, annihilates its children by devouring their future.’ Could it be put any more clearly? It’s all there in a single sentence.
A few days ago, I heard an interview with Minister Salvini on the radio. He was talking about the forthcoming budget bill and the idea of backtracking on pensions – a move that seems to have been partially blocked by the majority. I shall not dwell on the technicalities and the nonsense he spouted to explain the U-turn; what struck me was how everything is always and solely geared towards the present circumstances of those who are already there – those in a privileged position (with a job and therefore the prospect of retirement) – as opposed to those who do not have a job: young people, in short.
I was struck by the interview because I saw Cronus devouring his children – their futures. It is no wonder that students across Europe are rebelling; they sense more keenly and precisely than we do the jaws that are crushing them, and they also understand just how incapable the current ruling class in every country is of devising an idea or a plan that takes them into account.
After outlining plans to draw on the next generation’s prospects, Salvini also listed the government’s priorities for the budget law. Here too, there were no surprises in what he mentioned, nor in what he failed to mention even in passing: education and healthcare. Let us all retire early, but without falling ill, for heaven’s sake.