We’re living in a time-travel paradox, it looks like something is gone really wrong and there’s no solution at hand to save the day. Confused? Don’t worry, this is Italy – the land where logic doesn’t exists – we can turn reality upside down and make a living upon it.
What I’m talking about? The paradox is everywhere. People who still think about themselves and their own business like they’re stuck in a never-existed 1953, all the time connected to the latest smartphone model and always looking for the next hi-tech gadget to buy.
It’s about a country that put away the word “future” from its language, a place where innovation and research are downplayed, a 60 million strong population that became more and more detached from its own culture and history. Once again, welcome to Italy.
Only in my country you may find a family oriented version of capitalism where the only merit for business owners is to be sons or nephews of the founders – with the final result of a slow decaying for firms that were once among the best in the world. Their only target is to make money now, with no tought attached to concepts like investments, research, marketing and product evolution.
No surprise to see that we’re running down the hill of every international chart, that we get no respect at all out of our borders or that we’re slowly being colonized from foreign investors. You see, it’s the paradox at work. For those who are stuck in it, we’re in 1953. The only perceived difference is the television, no more in black-and-white and with hundreds of available stations.
Our best talents are going away with one-way tickets, corporate headhunters are picking up the few good managers we have to export their talents; that leave us in a crime-ridden swamp, the collective direction is to become another failed state. Forgive me for this rant if you can, it’s not always easy to be an optimist here.
Angelo Benuzzi 
In these respects, I always cite the case of Olivetti (but it’s not the only example, sadly); we could have had the Silicon Valley here, we could be the leaders, or at least one of the topmost players in the new economy.
Instead, what do we have? Good ideas are always beaten down, this society is based on mediocrity and can’t afford to let the talents emerge, or with their success they would highlight the nothingness of the supporters of the perpetual status-quo.
I think that it is impossible to beat the system, at least not under these circumstances. There are too many people that don’t want a change, even between those that have nothing to gain (in fact, everything to lose) from such a situation. We let TV brainwash us, we disdain culture, we think that teachers and researchers, and more broadly, everyone that has a minimum of love for culture are nothing but slackers that should, instead, better use their time to do something concrete, maybe go shoveling gravel (“sbadilare della ghiaia” sounds better, though! 😉 ).
Everyone loves to complain, but we need to start thinking that if you want to change the results, you first have to try changing your methods. It’s pure logic, a simple causes-effects relationship. But as you correctly pointed out, this is the land without logic, where paradox reign supreme.
Our society get weird and weirder every day; economy is falling down like a brick from a window, we’re losing our welfare state and our best people is running away as fast as possible. None of these problems is real for those who live in 1953, they’re still ranting about the introduction of the european occurrency, about our non-existant National sovereignity and our mithological sense of superiority over Greece and Spain. I’ve to say that the definition “mindless idiots” came to mind.