Abstract

New Mutualisms. Politics, Needs and Emancipation. According to the research hypothesis that forms the backdrop of this contribution, the most diverse forms of mutualism represent variants of political action born of, among, and for subjects in need. In contrast to the hypothesis of an uncritical valorization of these experiences, however, it is not necessarily the case that these collective actions of solidarity reciprocity also express the same need for renewal of institutional politics. The reconstruction of the different stages of the modern history of mutualism will allow to question the alleged mutually exclusive relationship between politics and needs theorized by a long and authoritative philosophical tradition and, paradoxically, reaffirmed precisely by its fiercest critics such as Hannah Arendt. Following this operation of historical and conceptual contextualization it will become possible to identify the main differences between mutualism and other forms of civic engagement of the charitable or assistentialist kind, and then to draw an idealtypical classification of the different degrees of politicalness openly claimed or, in fact, expressed, by its contemporary manifestations.