There is something mysterious about Italy in recent years. An obscure force keeps it nailed to very low growth, almost zero, which prevents it from creating employment for a number of people comparable to that of other advanced societies, but which at the same time manages to ensure a high standard of living for the majority of its population.
The idea that most politicians, journalists and intellectuals spread about our country is that we are living in a catastrophic situation made up of poverty, unemployment, undeclared or precarious work without specifying that only a minority of the population is in a disadvantaged position ( moreover made up largely of immigrants) failing to mention instead that for a large majority of Italians the situation is not at all dramatic and that indeed a high level of well-being is widespread, not unlike that of other Western economies.
This doesn't mean that we shouldn't take care of that part of the population that has been left behind, but that the analysis of Italian society is distorted or wrong and this leads to spreading fear and victimhood among the people, while political decision-makers are driven to adopt policies that do not solve any problems and, on the contrary, aggravate socio-economic stagnation and therefore increase citizens' sense of precariousness.
Luca Ricolfi, a sociologist passionate student of statistical data, offers a different and original reading of the Italian crisis where a social configuration has formed, perhaps unique in the world, which combines opulence in consumption, with the reduction of the number of citizens who work compared to those who do not work (not because they are unemployed, but also out of their own will), and the stagnation of the economy, not only in terms of the situation but as a basic structural element. Meaning what according to Ricolfi we have created a "noble society of the masses" (The ship of Theseus edition) where many people manage to live thanks to the capital accumulated from past generations, accessing high-level consumption such as cars, holidays, restaurants, and obviously owned houses, without engaging in a job and that is without entrusting the own social affirmation to the effort of dedicating oneself to study and work.
A society that gambles a lot (almost as much is spent on health care on various lotteries), that reads little, that has few graduates, where the presence of NEET is high, that is, of young people who do not study and do not work, where there are many elderly people and where births have long been lower than deaths, a society that seems to live in the illusion of being able to perpetuate over time the characteristics of the noble societies of the past, while in reality could soon lead to a crisis that would lead to a sharp decline in the standard of living of the whole population.
A deep crisis not only economic, but which has changed the psychology of the masses. A crisis that Ricolfi has summarized as "noble mass" intending to represent the aspiration of a large part of the population to live as the privileged classes lived in the past, but they were a small minority: to live well, afford opulent consumption, without engaging in work. This leads to an immobile society, where there is no desire to face change, where the risk of the new is avoided, where community ties are loosened and a hedonistic individualism based on the frantic search for games and distractions is affirmed.
It comes out an idea of Italy totally different from the current narrative. Scrolling through the pages of the book you will find data and international comparisons that demonstrate the author's thesis. Many clichés are also demolished, starting with that of the increase in inequality which the narratives of politicians are full of, up to that of the downgrading of the middle class.
Inequalities, says Ricolfi, they have not increased in the last twenty years, while the middle class is not backward from the point of view of income and assets, even if economic stagnation and the non-functioning of the social elevator have led many of that class to fear for their own future and, even more, for that of their own children and grandchildren. Which, for their part, defend themselves by being content to set themselves more limited objectives, to make maximum use of family and state "facilities".
No one fights to seek their own affirmation in innovating, in taking risks, in proposing something new. We are satisfied with what we have and at the same time one feels like a victim of the system, one complains against the collapse of public services starting with school, even though it is often precisely due to an exaggerated individualism that such a degradation has occurred.
There are no precise recipe books on how to get out of this situation which makesItaly a world unicum. Ricolfi clearly states that such a social order is unstable, that it is illusory to think of going back to the good old days of the post-war period (which weren't so good after all), that there is a concrete risk that the balance will break and real recession. In the opulent societies of the West, which continues to grow, the percentage of the working population is much higher than in Italy and even growing.
Productivity is constantly increasing while it is stagnant here, and the gap with other countries has now become an abyss. Public debt, which in part is the other side of the coin of private wealth, has reached such a level that it not only prevents GDP growth, but threatens the very stability of the system.
To resume a path of growth and therefore to overcome the fears that paralyze our ability to operate, first of all it is necessary to carry out a truth operation. Truly understanding how we are, becoming aware of the real weaknesses which, however, serve to support the "lordly" habits of the majority, namely illegal work and the exploited mass of migrants.
Ricolfi argues that one of the reasons, perhaps the main one, for our stagnation is the excess of legislation and political decision-making centres which produce, in a confused way, rules that are often conflicting and in any case such as to discourage those who want to do something honestly. I would add thethe need to recover "merit" as a measure of social advancement and element to build a reputation.
We must start fighting again as our grandparents did after the war. And to encourage young people to do so, it would not be useless, together with other measures to streamline bureaucracy and improve the functioning of justice, to restore a fair inheritance tax. Only in this way will the "young gentleman" be able to understand that one cannot live on income.
