Potenza della tecnica, potere del diritto. Lezioni dal novecento sulla lotta della scienza giuridica con la perfezione della tecnica

The article considers two texts, both from 1965, authored by two of the greatest pro- tagonists of the twentieth century: Hans Kelsen and Carl Schmitt. It argues that the greatest lesson of the twentieth century pertains to the unfeasibility of the claim to regulate human society by resorting to technology on its own. Technology aims at perfection, precision, repeatability. The perfection of technology is the result of logical and mathematical processes, which seek to eliminate all uncertainty and ambiguity through the reproducibility of results. But the perfection of technology conflicts with the imperfection of law: an unavoidable imperfection because it reflects—and cannot but reflect—the complexity of the human condition, with all its contradictions.