Today, the true devil is approximation.
By devil, I mean that kind of irredeemable negativity, from which no good can arise.
We encounter it in vague speeches, in generalisations, in the imprecision of thought and language, especially when accompanied by arrogance and petulance.
Here, the devil reveals itself as the enemy of clarity, both in one’s inner reflections and in communication with others. It is the personification of deception and self-deception.
On the contrary, the only truly honest and useful attitude is to strive to think and express oneself with the utmost precision, especially when faced with the most complex matters.
(Italo Calvino, A Stone Above, Notes on Political Language, 1980)
In politics, the true devil is not lies — it is approximation.
Not in the mathematical sense, but as a moral and intellectual failure — the habit of speaking in broad strokes, of avoiding specificity, of resorting to clichés, slogans, and evasive formulas.
Vague words, blurred meanings, lazy generalisations: these are not harmless.
They are how confusion spreads, how power hides, how responsibility fades.
It is, in essence, the language of those who do not wish to be understood too well — lest they be held to their words.
Against this, Calvino proposes a radically different ethic: precision.
Not pedantry, nor cold technocratic jargon, but an honest effort to say what one means, and to mean what one says.
Especially when it matters most, especially in political language, where words can build or destroy realities, clarity becomes a duty.
Italo Calvino (1923–1985), was an Italian writer, novelist, short story writer, and essayist whose work combined imagination, intelligence, and experimentation with narrative form.