Matrice, tuono, deserto. Arendt e la guerra totale

This paper is devoted to some reflections on war by Hannah Arendt. In particular, it deals with the idea of total war, synonymous with the total destruction and annihilation of one of the warring parties. For Arendt it is an experience that reaches its highest expression with the use of the atomic bomb. It nevertheless takes root in the political and cultural tradition of the West. Indeed, the first example of total war is the war and destruction of Troy. It turns out to be Heraclitus’ ‘matrix of all things’ and perfectly embodies the soul of the twentieth century, which was, as Lenin said, a century of wars and revolutions, therefore the century of violence.