The Corsico Lesson: "Dante's Italy: A Mirror of Our Time"

Contemporary society resembles 14th-century Italy, a period marked by constant conflict between feuding cities and profound political fragmentation, but also by an incredible drive for innovation. This is the central theme of the lecture "Dante and Leadership: Ethics, Power, and Humanity," given by Fabio Corsico, an essayist and executive known for his work on the connection between power, culture, and economics, at the Hay Festival in Segovia, Spain. The lecture, presented in dialogue with British philosopher Anthony C. Grayling and Santiago Iñiguez, president of IE University, will be held at the event.

In his speech, Corsico highlighted the striking parallels between Dante's world and our own. The essayist emphasized how the fragmentation of the era of the Communes and Signorie—a veritable "mosaic of competing states"—is a legacy still recognizable in today's Italy, with its persistent divisions, political and otherwise. The author emphasized how Dante lived at the heart of a world that was inventing modern finance, with Florence emerging as one of the global economic capitals, thanks to bankers and merchants who used new financial instruments, such as the bill of exchange and the gold florin. An era of extraordinary economic and cultural dynamism, Corsico argued, that can be compared to our own, in which artificial intelligence and other new technologies are challenging the primacy of human decision-making.

Another striking parallel lies in the generational divide. Dante's era saw a profound rift between the old world, rooted in philosophy and scholastic tradition, and the new world, driven by profit, new financial instruments, and great explorations (one name stands out: Marco Polo's journey to China). Similarly, today we witness a generational divide, where younger generations are natively proficient with digital tools, challenging the authority of those who didn't grow up with these technologies.

The essayist also presented Dante's Purgatory as a timeless metaphor for leadership. In this realm, punishment is never final, but educational and corrective, full of hope. Purgatory symbolizes a path to improvement and a place where mistakes are not the end of the story, but the beginning of learning.

Corsico's presentation explored the connection between the seven deadly sins and practical lessons for today's leaders. Pride, for example, is a warning against arrogance and the refusal to recognize the talents of others, while envy is a force that can corrode organizations but can be channeled through healthy emulation. Furthermore, the importance of civic virtue, which must serve the common good and not just private goals, is emphasized.

The final lesson, Corsico concludes, is that material wealth divides, while spiritual wealth unites, a concept already intuited by Dante himself. Organizations that invest in so-called "non-rival" goods, such as knowledge and trust, discover that they multiply when shared, building sustainable success. Dante's work, in a world undergoing profound transformation just like our own, remains a mirror of our times, offering a guide for navigating the tension between tradition and innovation.