Dalla menzogna politica al mito politico: per una genealogia coloniale della menzogna moderna a partire da Arendt e Derrida

In this article, the possibility of building a colonial genealogy for the Arendtian concept of modern lie is considered. For this purpose, the different forms and figures of the false proposed by Arendt and Derrida are discussed, with particular reference to traditional and modern lie, self-deception, counter-truth, ideology and political myth. Moreover, the hypothesis of a diachronic articulation between political lie and political myth is proposed under the name of “mythopoeic development of the political lie”. The hypothesis is then tested trough an examination of two historical cases: the first case is centred around Hernán Cortés’ political lies and their aftermath in connection with the myth of the conquest of America, while the second case concerns Cecil Rhodes’ political lies in relation with the construction of Rhodesia and the related “white mythologies”.