SOMMARIO English version

Shock and awe. This is how Naomi Klein described the effect and intention of “disaster capitalism”. But, as we explained in the Editoriale, we try to overcome the “awe” that the coronavirus pandemic inspires in us by re-reading in a different light the transformations taking place under our eyes. First, we asked the body of Democratic Medicine the questions found in Il costo sanitario della pandemia.  We were still in the “first wave”, and Italy was already leading the ranking in terms of sickness and deaths. Some interviews, collected in Il Covid-19 in Lombardia: casi, esperienze, testimonianze di lavoratori, then explained what were the conditions of safety or rather, of insecurity in the infected workplaces of the Lombardy health system.Moreover, protests and conflicts in the workplace immediately accompanied the first appearance of the pandemic, as we reported in Lotte operaie nell’emergenza sanitaria, both for general lack of preparation and for the employers’ attempts to unload the costs on the workers or, failing to do so, on the community. In Pianificazione e controllo dei lavoratori, the role of the state and workers’ participation in decision-making processes are discussed, drawing inspiration from past experiences. With regard to La logistica della pandemia we look at what happened in one of the key economic sectors, the one that perhaps carried the greatest weight throughout 2020, as Cartoline dal porto di Genova told us. The Italian logistical hub suffered global repercussions and struggles, accounted in chronological order in Emergenza sanitaria, lavoro e catena logistica. However, no other field has perhaps suffered so intensively and extensively as education, of which L’effetto lockdown sulla scuola draws up an initial balance. Naturally, the coronavirus pandemic overlapped with problems and tensions already underway, of which we give a brief overview. Let’s start with the Decreto Rilancio and the regularization of foreign workers without work permit, an “amnesty” that has practically failed in the agricultural sector, as reported by Lavoro agricolo migrante: appunti sulla sanatoria. Yet European experiences indicate the need, made strategic by the ongoing health emergency, to strengthen internal food self-sufficiency and raise agricultural wage levels, as reported in Salario e diritti nei campi italiani. The urgency of organizing freelance workers especially in creative and cultural sectors – cleared by the lockdown – is reaffirmed in Lavori culturali senza rappresentanza? The “workers’ inquiry” served to reconsider Il lavoro in Veneto, especially from the point of view of temporary workers. Finally, two methods underlining. First, United States today: brief view of class conflict, is useful to reiterate the importance of the historical-political method for understanding the nature and objectives of the “new” American working class struggles. Second, The Weight of the Printed Word. A book by Steve Wright signals the return to consultation of the written sources of one of the greatest connoisseurs of  Italian Operaismo.