Capitalism, populism and new transformations of trust networks: the Greek case

The market system manifests some historical difficulties related to capitalism in its pure form and, therefore, with an ideology able to build political legitimacy. The social complexity increases with the transition from the «invisible hand» to the Keynesian model. While on one hand, it reinforces the role of social systems such as economics, politics, and law, on the other, it generates a kind of «functional intrasparency» that makes it difficult to separate economic purpose from political one. The paper focuses on the «concentrations» of the so-called populistic political movements that polarize toward new «trust networks» of social inclusion. In this framework, the Greek case can be seen as an emblematic example of what could be the impact of neoliberal policies on society and, in particular, on the rise of the populist Syriza party.