Un communisme qui fonctionne

à Lipari. Autrefois, il y a fort longtemps… C’est ce que nous explique Rod Heikell :

In 580 BC the island was colonized by Greeks from Knidos and Rhodes, who soon organised a small navy to combat the Phoenician and Etruscan pirates who regurlaly raided the islands. The fleet grew and their skill in these windy waters made them a force to be reckoned with. It must have seemed a logical extension to become pirates themselves and the Liparese boats became feared  in the area between the Liparis and the Strait of Messina. The Liparese system of government at this time was an early form of communism that appeared to work. All land, houses, ships, and goods were held communally and redistributed every 20 years in a huge festival. All the pickings from piracy were distributed equally when ships returned.

Decline started in the Roman era. Lipari sided with Carthage in the Punic Wars and consequently Rome sent a fleet to take the island. Thereafter the islands hobbled along behind Sicily and declined through neglect.  In the 20th century many Liparese emigrated to Australia and America. Only in the 1970s and 80s did the fortunes of Lipari revive with tourism, though many, myself included, would say that the chic boutiques and expensive restaurants and bars on Lipari have turned it into a concrete and glass imitation of itself for the smart set from Rome and Naples. I wonder what would happen if the Liparese decided to redistribute everything equally in 20 years’ time?

Intéressant aussi de constater que l’île a été colonisée par Cnidos, cette ville grecque d’Asie mineure, au bout de la péninsule de Datça dans l’actuelle Turquie, mouillage bien connu de Joli Rêve. Ça fait une trotte, encore une fois les anciens marins n’avaient peur de rien. Aujourd’hui, Lipari est une ville et une destination chic, très fréquentée par l’élite romaine ou milanaise, et les plaisanciers de toute sorte.

           

Étiquettes : Carthage, Cnidos, communisme primitif, Eoliennes, Knidos, Lipari, Rhodes, Rod Heikell, Rome