THE WORLD OF "LA MISERIA"
225
of social cooperation in Italy (aside, perhaps, from the recent occupa–
tions of land which seem to represent sporadic manifestations of a cos–
mic sense of justice rather than the expression of movements in which
this
sense has become a permanent and guiding force in the realization
of lasting reforms).
"La omerta"
is a form of cooperation by which
the individual surrenders nothing. He simply participates in a con–
spiracy of silence making it difficult
if
not impossible for the authorities
to apprehend the delinquent. That the "conspiracy of silence," despite
superficial indications
to
the contrary, is to be regarded as a positive
value
in
the world of
ula miseria"
is attested, among other things, by
the fact of its geographic distribution:
in
regions where the material
conditions are such that the population is demoralized to the point of
having lost its dignity, one finds little or nothing of the "conspiracy of
silence."
The southern peasant's attitude toward the government is well ex–
pressed in the saying of Padula, according to which this peasant "has
been educated to consider the government as his worst enemy while
expecting that it do everything for him." Centuries of exploitation by
various governments or by forces that acted under government protec–
tion have developed
in
him an absolute distrust of the intentions of all
governments. At the same time, since he has no confidence in his own
ability to solve the most elementary problems of his community, he
feels he has no choice but to expect that the government act for him.
Behind this contradiction lies the deeper hiatus of his own personality:
the inability to create a continuum between the everyday reality and
the objects of his aspirations. The government is real and ideal in its
everyday reality; the State is incapable and unwi.lling to help the poor;
in fact, they are the object of its exploitation. Ideally, however, the
State is all-powerful and happy is he who can make use of some of
its power.
The failure to achieve and the faith in transcendent ideals like the
State are both present in the phenomenon of
upersonalismo,"
the insti–
tution of the influential person, which pervades southern Italy (and from
there, great parts of central Italy). For it is believed that it is not the
individual himself who achieves a certain result
by
his work and good
judgment, but the "influential" person whose magic powers are due
to
his
living close to still more influential persons who ultimately are
in
touch with the ideal power of the State. As far as the "influential"
person is concerned, this system is rooted in the desire to
sell
influence
(some feel that we have here the old Roman clientele system), so
