Abstract

The purpose of this contribution is to explore and reshape the overarching issue of social representation. This essay offers an effective, inclusive model of society, whose pattern is more consistent to the general principles set out by the First Book of the Italian Civil Code and by Article 2 of the Italian Constitution. In this perspective, special attention is to be paid to the role of intermediate bodies/groups. The essay differentiates between the «typical» social groups, envisioned by several provisions of the Italian Constitution, and the so-called «atypical» ones. It may be appropriate to take into account the new rising subjects, to some extents discriminated within the present social context: the sick and the elderly, the youth and women, the outcasts and the migrants, who seek representation and frequently join new «movements» in order to claim their rights. There is the need to rediscover people and enhance their abilities, even despite the emerging new technologies. This goal can only be achieved by fostering an all-embracing model of participation, which includes all the divergences and differences of modern society.