Why is Italy lagging behind other large European countries (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain) in overall development and management? What exactly does the Italian society lack today, especially compared to other European countries?
I will skip the classic issues like mafia, corruption, high taxes, etc. I’ll go for something more psychological.
The three points below might in some cases be interconnected.
1. Lack of patriotism. Italians don’t love Italy. They like Italy, they love their town, region, but they don’t feel love for their country. This also applies to politicians. Italian politicians don’t defend their country, they let other EU countries rip Italy off. They don’t back Italian business either.
2. Lack of self-confidence as Italians. Some other EU countries depict the Italian as a lazy, not serious, not reliable person, probably a heritage of the Berlusconi era. Italians are told others do things better, are more efficient, that things always work better abroad etc. truth is, Italians are the best at many many things. When an Italian goes after something, the result will very likely be exceptional, because he puts passion. However because of the lack of self-confidence, Italians are not able to sell themselves correctly. Also things often do not work better abroad.
3. No faith in the future. Italians are constantly bombarded by negative news, media constantly tell people there’s no jobs, that college graduates are unemployed and underpaid, there’s economic crisis, etc.
As a young guy, this is totally devastating, and kills any hope and project.