Etica e crisi. La critica sociale come passione

The article discusses one of the most widespread contemporary social pa- thologies: the gap between life and criticism, between the capability to judge the present in the name of a different future, more just and desirable (perfor- mance par excellence of an ethical posture in the face of our time) and the ability to mobilize, to act consistently and effectively in this direction (his quintessential effect when it turns into social criticism). It identifies the caus- es of this phenomenon in the uncontested triumph of absolute presentism, a historical regime which is being deconstructed as a shared elaboration of the dominant memory. And in the sadness of the critical passion – a concept that is here articulated and discussed – caused by the critical theories today more in vogue.