Post by sarohwe38 on Nov 16, 2011 19:04:43 GMT -5
Crisis is a recurring issue in today’s society, as it was in the past, and will continue to be in the future. It is more common than not to see people taking advantage of crisis for personal gain, and bend it in a way to best suit their needs and desires. An extreme example of this is a tyranny of consensus, in which crisis is manipulated and people are killed as a means to gain or keep control. Another example of manipulation of crisis for personal gain is regarding the ex-prime minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi is under immense scrutiny as a result of his questionable and recently made public past in which he has been “long dogged by sex scandals and corruption charges, (and) is considered a major cause of the country's political gridlock” (Will Getting Rid of Berlusconi Solve Italy's Debt Problems?). Silvio Berlusconi has been known to rebound from the depths of failure in attempts to stay in power. Due to this, people are unsure if Berlusconi is gone for good. While Silvio Berlusconi may no longer be in a position of influence in the Italian government as their prime minister, he can still control the media and stay a topic of discussion through manipulating crises at hand and those to come.
In the past, Silvio Berlusconi has successfully manipulated crises of sex scandals to help him keep his control over Italy. Unfortunately, Berlusconi has played this card one too many times with the most recent sex scandal. Whenever something negative regarding Berlusconi surfaces, he makes the general public look at a crisis in a way that makes it seem he is doing the right thing in an attempt to stay in power. However, people do suspect that while out of office, Berlusconi will still have a prominent influence on Italy through manipulation of crises in the Italian media. The media has said that eliminating Berlusconi from Italian politics could backfire and actually cause more harm because his successor may institute a drastically different system of government. This successor may have good intentions that go awry when the country goes into shock because of a drastic change in methods of manipulation. Both Berlusconi and his successor could manipulate crisis to be favorable to them, as Berlusconi has done before.
Berlusconi’s corrupt seventeen yearlong reign as prime minister of Italy influenced the defeat of the Italian economy. One of these is the 2.6 trillion dollars’ worth of debt Italy is currently in, leading to its nickname “‘Greece on steroids’” (Italy’s Debt Crisis). People “fear that Italy will not be able to pay its creditors, (which) raises fears of another global economic meltdown” (Italy’s Debt Crisis). Berlusconi’s attempts to manipulate this crisis did not work in his favor thus Italy is now toying with the idea of defaulting. People are hesitant to do so; however, because it is unknown if it will cause more harm than good in the long run, as it has the potential to allow for greater manipulation of crisis.
Therefore, Silvio Berlusconi and his corrupt government exemplify how the manipulation of crisis influences our individual views of government leaders and how they choose to run their respective governments. Berlusconi is known to have manipulated crises to benefit himself, which contributed to his downfall. Through Berlusconi, it is shown how manipulation of a crisis determines the outcome of various corrupt governments. In the case of Silvio Berlusconi as well as other corrupt government leaders, one sees how the manipulation of crisis constantly influences and forges the identity of society.
Word Count: 595
Work Cited:
theweek.com/article/index/221221/will-getting-rid-of-berlusconi-solve-italys-debt-problems
theweek.com/article/index/221281/italys-debt-crisis-why-everyone-is-panicking
theweek.com/article/index/221412/is-silvio-berlusconi-really-gone-for-good
In the past, Silvio Berlusconi has successfully manipulated crises of sex scandals to help him keep his control over Italy. Unfortunately, Berlusconi has played this card one too many times with the most recent sex scandal. Whenever something negative regarding Berlusconi surfaces, he makes the general public look at a crisis in a way that makes it seem he is doing the right thing in an attempt to stay in power. However, people do suspect that while out of office, Berlusconi will still have a prominent influence on Italy through manipulation of crises in the Italian media. The media has said that eliminating Berlusconi from Italian politics could backfire and actually cause more harm because his successor may institute a drastically different system of government. This successor may have good intentions that go awry when the country goes into shock because of a drastic change in methods of manipulation. Both Berlusconi and his successor could manipulate crisis to be favorable to them, as Berlusconi has done before.
Berlusconi’s corrupt seventeen yearlong reign as prime minister of Italy influenced the defeat of the Italian economy. One of these is the 2.6 trillion dollars’ worth of debt Italy is currently in, leading to its nickname “‘Greece on steroids’” (Italy’s Debt Crisis). People “fear that Italy will not be able to pay its creditors, (which) raises fears of another global economic meltdown” (Italy’s Debt Crisis). Berlusconi’s attempts to manipulate this crisis did not work in his favor thus Italy is now toying with the idea of defaulting. People are hesitant to do so; however, because it is unknown if it will cause more harm than good in the long run, as it has the potential to allow for greater manipulation of crisis.
Therefore, Silvio Berlusconi and his corrupt government exemplify how the manipulation of crisis influences our individual views of government leaders and how they choose to run their respective governments. Berlusconi is known to have manipulated crises to benefit himself, which contributed to his downfall. Through Berlusconi, it is shown how manipulation of a crisis determines the outcome of various corrupt governments. In the case of Silvio Berlusconi as well as other corrupt government leaders, one sees how the manipulation of crisis constantly influences and forges the identity of society.
Word Count: 595
Work Cited:
theweek.com/article/index/221221/will-getting-rid-of-berlusconi-solve-italys-debt-problems
theweek.com/article/index/221281/italys-debt-crisis-why-everyone-is-panicking
theweek.com/article/index/221412/is-silvio-berlusconi-really-gone-for-good