The Rise of Private Powers: Authority, Freedom and the Fragmentation of Economic, Cultural and Political Power
The ninth session of the EPLab Permanent Seminar will be led by Francesca Paruzzo (Researcher in Constitutional and Public Law, Università degli Studi di Torino), who will talk about “The Rise of Private Powers: Authority, Freedom and the Fragmentation of Economic, Cultural and Political Power”. The session will take place on 26 May, at 10:30, in room A209 at NOVA FCSH (Berna Campus), and will be held in English.
Abstract
This reflection starts from a classical assumption in political theory: power is not unitary, but plural. The distinction between economic, cultural and political power has historically made it possible to understand the structure of society and to shape the project of modern constitutionalism, primarily aimed at limiting political power in order to safeguard individual freedom.
This theoretical framework is increasingly challenged by the emergence of private powers that operate across these different spheres. As suggested, from a different perspective, by the functional tripartition identified by Georges Dumézil, the various forms of power are never entirely separate; yet, in contemporary societies, they appear increasingly overlapping and concentrated in the hands of private actors. As a result, economic power undergoes a qualitative transformation, extending into the cultural sphere—by shaping the formation of public opinion—and into the political sphere, by redefining the very conditions of participation.
In this context, the relationship between authority and freedom must be reconsidered: forms of domination are no longer located solely within the State, but are dispersed throughout the social field, through asymmetries of knowledge and control over communicative processes. The central theoretical question then becomes whether and how the categories of constitutional thought can be extended to the limitation of private powers. Digital technologies, in this perspective, represent a paradigmatic case in which these transformations become particularly visible.
More information on the EPLab Permanent Seminar here.