Testo riveduto della relazione svolta il 18 marzo 2021 presso l’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano nell’ambito del seminario L’ombra delle “colonne infami”. La letteratura e l’ingiustizia del capro espiatorio, destinato al volume degli Atti, a cura di G. Forti – C. Mazzucato – A. Provera – A. Visconti (Vita e Pensiero, Milano).
SOMMARIO 1. Sul ruolo finora non adeguatamente indagato delle condotte mimetiche. – 2. Dinamiche produttive del capro espiatorio. – 3. La giustizia commercializzata, e il paradigma del dono. – 4. Il capro espiatorio rovesciato. – 5. È tutto ok.
‘Reverse mimicry’: the alternative landing to the sacrificial violence by R. Girard
ABSTRACT
The essay considers the view of Girard according to which the scapegoat would be the original antidote of the potential struggle of all against all, which derives from the imitation of the other in the satisfaction of desires. However, reservations are expressed about the belief that this dynamic is an indisputable characteristic of the human condition, recognizing the fundamental contribution of Girard in the urgency of taking leave of the use of violence, no longer governed through ancestral rituals, which characterizes our time increasingly, with the danger of a planetary catastrophe. Then, five contexts of persistent effectiveness of the production mechanisms of scapegoats are illustrated, identifying at the base of them a ‘commercial’ vision of human relations and justice: this is refractory to accept the manifestation of the ‘gift’ as a fact not linked to the logic of compensation. In conclusion, the reflection of Girard on the ‘innocence’ of sacrificial victims and on the irrepressible role of those who voluntarily take charge of the affirmation of good before evil is resumed: that ‘reverse mimicry’ that Girard leads back to ‘imitatio Christi’ according to which the victim is a living person.
KEYWORDS
Scapegoating and criminal law – Criticism to commercial models of justice – Innocence of sacrificial victims