Invertebrate Spain (as in without backbone), and The Revolt of the Masses are two of José Ortega y Gasset’s best-known works. Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955), a Spanish philosopher and essayist, wrote during the first half of the 20th century when Spain wavered between monarchy, republicanism, and dictatorship. For him, the Basque and Catalan separatisms of his day were manifestations of the existential ordinariness of societal values, and of the mediocrity of Spanish institutions. Spain had ceased to be “an active and dynamic reality” and had become a society without ambitions or illusions.
In Invertebrate Spain, Ortega y Gasset defines a nation as “a project suggestive of life in common” and argues that Spain “invertebrates” itself by the intellectual poverty and deficiency of its political class. He emphasizes that the shortcomings of a mediocre, invertebrate ruling class transfer to the institutions they lead. This fosters a radical demoralization of society. He expands on the theme in The Revolt of the Masses noting that “masses” are the aggregation of individuals that have become “de-individualized.” These individuals have stopped being free thinking and have been dissolved into an amalgam that thinks and acts for them. Thus, Ortega y Gasset argues, Spain has ceased being a nation and has become “a series of deadlocked compartments.” These reflections of José Ortega y Gasset came to mind as I read of the latest (July 2018) surreal controls imposed by the Cuban government on its population. The Communist Party of Cuba's 6th Congress introduced some minimal economic reforms in 2011, primarily by allowing self-employment in about 200 trade activities including buying and selling used books (activity #23) and working as a public toilet attendant (activity #29). These self-employed attendants are presumably in charge of maintaining the facilities and charging patrons a fee.
The bizarre list of economic activities permitted in 2011 corresponds to Ortega y Gasset’s depiction of decision-making by a mediocre and invertebrate ruling class. And yet, some observers foolishly portrayed these changes as those of inspired new leadership. The need, of the Cuban military and Communist Party, to control every aspect of life is antithetical to the individual freedoms and empowerment necessary to bring about an economic renaissance.
- Hits: 1919
Introduction
Is Donald Trump the lone character to blame for the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021? I wouldn’t be too surprised if a fair and transparent Congressional procedure proves that President Trump has made serious mistakes in his frantic attempts to overturn election results in those States where he claimed fraud had occurred.
the wishes of that party, which had previously selected five members to join the Committee but were vetoed by the Speaker. Nor has a single witness appeared to testify in favor of President Trump or to at least point to some mitigating circumstances. Is a fair trial possible in such circumstances?
A un año de las manifestaciones pacíficas del 11 y 12 de julio de 2021 se hace aún más urgente detenerse a tomar conciencia de lo que considero que es lo más importante de aquellos eventos, lo que más trasciende sus detalles o valoraciones: la voz del pueblo.