Düsberg:Basaglia

What remains when radicalism becomes history? It has been a hundred years since the birth of Franco Basaglia. The psychiatrist from Northern Italy was a leading voice there and later worldwide for a revolutionary critical movement that demanded nothing less than the abolition of asylums. Where do we stand now, and what remains of Basaglia? Many thoughts and approaches that emerged from the European reform movements of the 1968 era have either been confined within daily work life or forgotten today. A person who was so influential in shaping our understanding of social interaction and participation deserves more than just a fleeting mention in the waves of history. Basaglia's legacy represents the triad of practice, critical theory development, and utopia: this is the essence of creativity and renewal. In the collected words, both his own and those of subsequent generations, a diverse and multidisciplinary group of authors from Italy and Germany draws an interim conclusion: Have the conflicts of the past truly been resolved, or have they merely changed form? How do psychiatric services (or we) position ourselves in a changing society, and are we once again at the beginning of a renewal of psychiatry?.