The rule of madness
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, June 15, 2026
How can one explain — or even simply attempt to understand — what is happening in the United States? How can one put forward the fact — actually inexplicable — that the nation which until recently dominated the world has been — and continues to be — governed for the past decade by a technically mentally deranged president? Perhaps the only possible answer is that the United States find themselves in a historical situation for which only madness is adequate. When a country reaches the ultimate stage of the spiritual break-up, no rational decision to address it is any longer accessible. One can only rush, with all means, the now inevitable collapse, and madness — real or simulated — is certainly the most useful instrument of government.
As a loyal subject of the United States, Europe, too, is self-destroying and, like the United States, appears to be rushing into madness. Whether some European states will be able to stop themselves on the brick of the abyss or whether they will fall down into it along with the wretched and illegitimate body called European Community, is something the next few years will show.
Giorgio Agamben, Quodlibet, June 15, 2026
How can one explain — or even simply attempt to understand — what is happening in the United States? How can one put forward the fact — actually inexplicable — that the nation which until recently dominated the world has been — and continues to be — governed for the past decade by a technically mentally deranged president? Perhaps the only possible answer is that the United States find themselves in a historical situation for which only madness is adequate. When a country reaches the ultimate stage of the spiritual break-up, no rational decision to address it is any longer accessible. One can only rush, with all means, the now inevitable collapse, and madness — real or simulated — is certainly the most useful instrument of government.
As a loyal subject of the United States, Europe, too, is self-destroying and, like the United States, appears to be rushing into madness. Whether some European states will be able to stop themselves on the brick of the abyss or whether they will fall down into it along with the wretched and illegitimate body called European Community, is something the next few years will show.
(English translation by I, Robot)
Francisco Goya, The Madness of Fear, 1819–1823. Courtesy of WikiArt. |
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