Eteronomia versus autonomia. Emergenza e individualizzazione nel primo anno di pandemia in Italia

The essay presents the perceptions about risk and trust collected in Italy during the first year of Covid-19 using secondary analysis data. The aim is to show how the fallout of the pandemic goes beyond the sphere of health and extends to those of individual action and social relations. The hypothesis is that the prolonged interruption of the normality of everyday life has temporarily halted the individualisation process. Risk, mistrust, uncertainty of social cohesion and deterioration of public debate, as observed in the survey, have contributed to reducing the space for the achievement of personal autonomy by producing heteronomy.