Southern European Pathways Across the Great Crisis

The aim of this paper is to define a typology of individual and collective reactions to the Great Crisis which is affecting Southern European societies from 2010. Borrowing from a famous work of Albert O. Hirschman on individual and collective behavior in front of the social power, I argue that the answer to the crisis - latest manifestation of neoliberal globalization - can be understood primarily in terms of an opposition between three strategies: emigration (exit); innovation (loyalty); participation (voice). Other paths are possible, however, especially with reference to ritualistic behaviors directed to passively accept the downward pressure on the standards and quality of life.