Pubblico e privato ai tempi del Covid-19

This paper aims to assess the impact of pandemic on the long-term relationship between political and economic power, from the point of view of historical sociology. To reach this goal, I will illustrate the problem of the “great divergence” and the theoretical proposal carried out by Giovanni Arrighi to explain this divergence and the development of modern capitalism. Arrighi’s proposal can be linked to two ideal types of social order, that is, public and private, and this link allows in turn for reflecting about the reactions of political and economic powers to the present and future crisis of 21st century.