Il futuro della Kakania. Il vizio dell’anacronismo e la trasmissione dei valori democratici in un mondo plurale

As it is well known, Musil’s unfinished novel The Man Without Qualities takes place in a fictitious country referred to by the playful term Kakanien. This imaginary society anticipates the many faces of today’s globalization. Any- way, the cosmopolitan ideal that was portrayed by Kakanien failed because of nationalism and President Wilson’s self-determination principle. Similarly, this paper wonders how democratic values on which Norberto Bobbio usual- ly dwells can be transmitted in an elusive and contradictory world like ours. Actually, such a question cannot be answered because none of us is a prophet, but it is worth discussing. In doing so, we must be careful not to confuse the fact of pluralism with democracy. On the other hand, it must be emphasized that democracy is not a matter of black or white, but a matter of degree. There is no such thing as a fully realized democracy.