Since the advent of globalization and the financialization of the economy, the few people who truly matter have vanished from reality, acquiring an ethereal quality. They are no longer earthly; their numbers are dwindling, and we cannot place them anywhere in particular. Large landowners, the wealthy of yesteryear, operated in specific locations. This was the case in the 19th and for much of the 20th centuries. Industrialists and financiers had a homeland; they identified with a culture, territory, and people. They wanted to be part of a community and be recognized as its most prominent members. Whether industrialists, financiers, or rentiers, the ruling classes, while continuing to exploit their contemporaries as much as possible, had limits and made certain gestures, precisely to be recognized as patrons or benefactors. They wanted to distinguish themselves, but they asserted their belonging by leaving traces of being from a specific place. In Catalonia, there exists a large bourgeoisie that, in other times, wanted to be respected, recognized, and valued, even though its main business was the slave trade. The Botín family, who amass their fortunes through banking across the globe, are careful to maintain a privileged relationship with Santander, the city that lends its name to their business. Their attempt to remain grounded in reality didn't necessarily make things fairer, but it did mitigate inequality somewhat, acknowledge its existence, and foster a connection with the people and the region, even if they always looked down upon them.

"Fascism will return, and when it does, it will do so in the name of freedom." These prophetic words of Thomas Mann were spoken in the United States in the 1950s after his dramatic experience of Nazism. The totalitarian impulse never truly disappeared, and today the conditions are ripe for its powerful resurgence. For some years now, we have spoken of the right's mutation toward populism. However, we have ample evidence that we are witnessing the return of fascism in both form and substance, and that what lies before us is a new battle between fascism and democracy. Although history does not repeat itself, the political, social, and ideological conditions of 1930s Europe are being fulfilled. Now, the playing field is the entire world. The leadership of the totalitarian project is spearheaded by the United States—see the events in Minneapolis—but it has contaminated the domestic politics of almost every country. What were initially illiberal proposals, in Orbán's words, have ended up becoming an open bid to revive dictatorships. The culture of force and contempt for individual and national freedoms is being openly imposed.

It is often said that humans are capable of both the best and the worst. The human condition is endowed with the capacity to express and act in many forms of kindness, giving rise to displays of affection, empathy, and solidarity. Expressions of evil are the other side of the coin: wars, violence, xenophobia, sadism... Examples of cruelty are almost endless, with unjustifiable and difficult-to-count current manifestations. The systematic genocide practiced by Israel in Palestine is the most prominent example right now, but so too is the type of warfare waged by Putin's Russia in Ukraine, Trump's degrading treatment of immigrants in America, Mazón's excuses as a deadbeat in Valencia, or the abandonment of the elderly in Madrid's nursing homes. We are not talking about mistakes or unforeseen circumstances, nor about collateral damage, but about the behavior of people who are unconcerned about the suffering and death of others or who, as in the Israeli case, even seem to openly enjoy it. Entire groups are dehumanized and subjected to extreme violence until they are annihilated, in an industrial and organized manner. Human groups stripped of their rights and their status as subjects, mere objects to be destroyed.

The far right is growing everywhere. In Argentina, Milei, whom many thought was in crisis, has been reborn. Polls in almost every country indicate a shift in voting patterns toward right-wing populism, which, while not possessing all the characteristics of historical fascist movements, shares many similarities. Beyond the fact that communication skills may explain part of this shift, there are objective causes that, although not easily explained, are also at its root. Economic inequality, social exclusion, a lack of opportunities, the low credibility of institutional politics, the fear among the middle class of losing their status... The far right knows how to exploit fears, uses immigration as a scapegoat, and promises redemption and a return to an imaginary, tribal society. Easy and false answers to complex social and economic problems. It cannot be denied that all this is happening because traditional political parties have failed to address people's concerns or respond to social changes. The fact that these concerns are expressed in brutal and unpleasant ways should not prevent us from listening more to the people. Many young people no longer identify with democratic values or believe they should defend them. This tectonic shift in political preferences is not solely, or even primarily, a matter of the right wing, which has led to its traditional electorate becoming more extreme. Traditional political frameworks have fragmented, ultimately swelling the ranks of fascist-leaning voters from various sources. This is a reaction to humiliation and disillusionment: the triumph of post-politics.

Historically, the hard power of the military, the economy, and trade has been linked to and prevailed over the soft power of cultural hegemony. Force has been used as a basis, and persuasion as a means and justification to prolong its effect over time. To establish international hegemony, a position of dominance, economic leadership logically counts, as does military supremacy. These factors, in fact, often go hand in hand. Having the largest and most powerful military helps set the pace of the economy not only in relation to production, but also to trade and, especially, to finance. The strength of capital, combined with a large and well-trained military, is often essential for playing a decisive role in global geopolitics. If the 19th century was Britain's century—the industrial revolution, colonialism, control of the seas, City finances...—after the First World War, the centrality of the world shifted to the United States, which was its true winner—British collapse, industrial hegemony, Wall Street's financial center, Hollywood...—a new era. Certainly, after the Second World War, new global players such as the USSR and China emerged, but despite the firmly established blocs, American leadership remained unchallenged. Despite some military demonstrations, but also failures, until recently, it was a series of intangible cultural traits that made it a country followed, copied, admired, respected, and recognized.

The way things are done, behavior, has far more significance than we often realize. After all, forms also shape the substance of things. In today's politics, abrupt, rude, and broad-stroked methods have prevailed, far from stylish, or at least with a brutalist style that makes no concession to elegance, kindness, or nuance. Trump is the culmination of a ruthless way of exercising power. An option chosen to make it clear that, in politics, force or the threat of using it is everything. Rudeness and fear turned into virtues. The Popular Party and the entire Spanish far right practice similar procedures. It's about being unpleasant, disqualifying one's opponent to the point of paroxysm, eliminating any kind of humanity from the consideration of "others." Much of this occurred in Catalonia during the height of the Process. Any subtlety or interest in dialogue disappeared; the possibility of thinking differently was denied; the adversary was not recognized. There were only enemies to denigrate. –idiots– in the most extreme way possible. But a path that exhausted itself. The 2024 elections showed that a large portion of Catalan citizens wanted something else, believed in another path, as well as in other ways of doing politics.

The former president has been disappearing from the Catalan political scene and becoming a luxuriously forgotten figure. Sometimes he reappears, but it's more a matter of form than a profound reality. Like Lladró ceramics or retired public officials, he's there and only someone remembers him from time to time, highlighting that some things are conditional on him still being in Waterloo. Even if he does speak out, he means little and has become a dead weight in the country's politics. His rapid move from the crest of a wave to the most humiliating of oblivion shows us that tempus fled and that people's capacity for amnesia is inversely proportional to their willingness to praise mythologized leaders and swear eternal love to them. It is obvious that until the amnesty that some judges resist is applied, he will remain in the way, like a stone in the road that forces walkers to go around in circles, but which is now almost history. Together, however, he remains politically trapped. Although some Puigdemontist leaders appear, the party needs and strives to return to the realpolitik, redo the itinerary of recent years and join CiU, as interest groups demand, and return to worrying about the real world as a conservative alternative linked to old Catalanism, even if the language is sovereignistBut it's necessary, above all, to make this possible, for Puigdemont to be removed from the equation and thus be able to renew faces and policies. Paradoxically, it's the judges who are so bellicose toward the trial who keep them stuck in their 2017 positions.

The debate over whether or not it is necessary to expand El Prat Airport has been rather simplistic and has been characterized by conflicting and bitter positions based on political party alignment. For some, it has been a symbol of an outdated developmental model, and for others, a condition sine qua non For being in the world and somewhat too focused on associating growth with well-being, something that doesn't have an exact correlation. In fact, the issue isn't really—or at least shouldn't be—"growth." per se and linked to increasing tourist flow, but rather the extension of a runway that makes it possible for intercontinental flights to land and take off, so we don't have to be secondary in global communication networks. If the economic focus is on reindustrialization and a knowledge-based economy, there is no doubt not only about its benefits but also about its imperative need to be attractive to the global economy. However, increasing flights to more Chinese or American cities and their frequency does not mean that those who come from now on will only be CEOs of large companies, university researchers, or engineers dedicated to AI. As seems obvious, everyone who wants to come will come and, therefore, many more tourists, with the negative implications this entails in a city already absolutely saturated with visitors. I am aware that actions are being taken by the Generalitat (Generalitat) and Barcelona City Council to address a complex issue that has ended up turning Barcelona into an uninhabitable theme park and economically unsustainable for its citizens. Along the way, culture and personality are also left behind, without addressing the issue of the environmental unsustainability of the phenomenon at this point in the film. As a means of economic development, tourism is pitiful: a large portion of spending goes to airlines, technology platforms, and multinational hotel companies based abroad. Its intensive use of low-skilled and poorly paid labor could also be discussed. The average salary in the hospitality industry, which accompanies the tourism sector, is €17,000, while in industry it is over €40,000. Precariousness, a great deal of precariousness, and too many negative externalities.

The agreement that the Catalan government has forged with ERC, the Comuns (Commons), and a multitude of Catalan-speaking advocacy organizations, which was presented on May 13 at the IEC, has significant practical significance, as abundant resources are allocated to the protection and promotion of Catalan—more than ever—but it has an even greater political and symbolic dimension. The main one is that the Catalan language is no longer held hostage by nationalism and independence movements and returns to the domain of everyone, or almost everyone, as it had been for many years. This allowed for its full normalization and its widespread use in all schools. The result, beyond the institutional sphere, was that the vast majority of young people, regardless of their mother tongue, could write and speak it normally. Another point is that Catalan society is at least bilingual, and this, which citizens experience and manage with complete normality, should not become a fictitious problem created in the political sphere. Catalan has always been a heritage and a distinctive element of the vast majority of Catalans, regardless of their political position or alignment. With the Transition, a sense of responsibility regarding the language prevailed, and the decision was made to ensure that all citizens had full proficiency in both Catalan and Spanish. A diverse and complex society, both culturally and linguistically—and also in its identity drive—chose to unite and equip itself with mechanisms for cohesion and integration. "Catalonia, one people" was a slogan that signified this desire not to segregate and to establish plural and shared senses of belonging. It's another matter whether the European Union will recognize its status as an official language. It's a battle that will be won. Time will tell.

The education system is suffering a long and profound crisis, but only those who work in it are aware of it and seem to be concerned about it. At every level, whether primary, secondary, or university, professionals are shocked by the low level and scarce motivation with which students arrive and leave. Teachers' lounges, places where discouragement has become a disease, whether in the form of burnout or depression. You must be very cynical not to experience the effects of the imposter symptom. The concept teach It has become so devalued that it forces us to maintain a ritual whose results are disappointing and almost useless. Few of the students in the classroom deserve the title of students, given that it is no longer what they do, not so much because of their responsibility as because prevailing methodologies establish that the function of educational centers is different. Knowledge has become secondary; memory, effort, and learning have been banished in favor of emotional well-being and so-called competenciesTeachers, stripped of their role and leadership, must act as facilitators of esoteric group dynamics.

Relationships between politicians and journalists are always complex. The former need to be "understood" and treated well by the media, while the latter foster relationships of trust to obtain scoops and privileged information, although closeness can be compromising for both. Having contacts and interlocutors shouldn't entail, as often happens, excessive familiarity or closeness. It's all very well to brandish the phrase "any information or article that doesn't upset someone is nothing more than propaganda," but the reality isn't so clear-cut. Journalists often like to act as a laborer, and the media no longer stand on their own two feet. There's no balance between a massage and the most furious discrediting. Neither at one extreme nor the other does the journalist perform their function. We citizens want verified and properly contextualized information. Readers, listeners, or viewers will decide whether to criticize or court the media. As the media has weakened and become more dependent on public funds, its tone has changed, taking sides with some potential funders. It's obvious that objectivity, like freedom or utopias, can only be approached without being completely achieved, but certain offensive biases should be avoided. It should be imperative to strive for neutrality, especially in public media.

The migration phenomenon acts as a major source of discord and social and political concern. This is because the country has received significant influxes in recent years, and some have exploited the inherent difficulties of managing them to question them, reject them, and express xenophobic ideas. Regarding the misunderstandings and discomfort that coexistence with new cultural forms can cause in some people, there are those who, instead of smoothing them over and addressing them appropriately from a political perspective, have done exactly the opposite. They have used them as a weapon in confrontation to stimulate base passions and raise our supremacy against a people who have been forced to leave their sociocultural environment to make a living. Too many people handle this issue clumsily and self-servingly, without the slightest scruple about the possibility of causing fractures that are later difficult to heal. It's not a bad thing to publicly discuss the migration phenomenon, but it is a bad thing to speak of it with rumors and lies, to fail to explain the whole truth, and, most importantly, to fail to maintain the respect due to all kinds of people. Migrations, large population movements, are inherent to human history. Europe now receives people from all over, but less than two hundred years ago it sent a quarter of its inhabitants to other continents.

Politics has become performative. Content, objectives and representation of interests are not in the first layer of politics. The concept of staging predominates, of the construction of a story, not so much one that supports a rationalizing vision as one that appeals to the emotional dimension. It is not so much about "doing" or acting to achieve something, but about demonstrating that "one is" for the consumption and reinforcement of acolytes, to mark the perimeter and, in the process, weaken rivals who have become "the other." Some political scientists claim that this language of polarity, of continued denial and defiance is now necessary to be in the game of winning or dislodging the occupation of power at a given moment. There are those who like to talk in a pompous way about the spin doctors, a kind of Machiavellian characters more typical of Game of Thrones They seem to be the ones whispering in the ears of the political leaders who count. A kind of magicians, lacking a project, ideas or morals, who promise to carry you to power on their shoulders and who have appropriated all the dignity that might remain in politics to turn it into a zero-sum game with absolutely destructive social and cultural effects. People without principles who have not been taught that, in democracy, forms constitute the substance of projects. That setting fire to the forest for a temporary heat gives you many years of scorched earth.