One of Luigino Bruni’s latest books links the economic with the sacred, and opens up new perspectives to help us to understand what is happening today

Economy and religion, business and the church, divine inspiration and the spirit of enterprise. There are many elements that interweave with one another, and these are, at least for the most part, little known. And yet – today above all – discovering more about the links between the economy and religion is fundamental to improving our understanding of a host of phenomena. Both inside and outside companies.

As such, reading Il capitalismo e il sacro (‘Capitalism and the sacred’) by Luigino Bruni – a collection of articles originally published in the newspaper Avvenire and reworked for this book – is certainly not something to be approached lightly. However, it is nonetheless something that should be done, particularly by anyone who – be they a business person or simply someone with an interest in the various facets of today’s economy – wants to take a closer look at one of the most important and yet scarcely known sides of the current economic system.

Bruni structures his arguments around the concept that there has always been a profound link between the economy and religion, between the market and the spiritual, and this still exists, even if, as he emphasises, we have lost the ability to see the religious dimension within economic and social life. The author thus notes that the idea of homo oeconomicus – or in other words, the view of the world and of the social relationships typical of economics – is much older than economic science, and if homo oeconomicus in modern times has been able to affirm itself as an universal ideology, it is because the logic upon which it is based is ancient and rooted in human experience. After all, it was in fact religion that invented the homo oeconomicus, long before the economy. Bruni’s thesis is fascinating. Sacrificial logic is at the root of religious experience. In its essence, sacrifice is nothing more than a currency, a form of commercial exchange that mankind has applied to its relationship with the divine. The very first trader was primitive man, and the first creditor was God. If we fail to take this ancient truth as our starting point, states Bruni, we also fail to understand either capitalism or Western humanism.

And indeed, more than that. The author argues that the religious – or rather, idolatrous – dimension of capitalism informs contemporary economic life in its entirety, and is evident and relevant above all in the culture of major globalised companies which, with their rites, liturgies and dogmas, increasingly resemble churches.

Bruni’s book is divided into five clear chapters. First and foremost, he addresses the theme of the religious roots of homo oeconomicus , before outlining the traits of a ‘neo-managerial religion’, and then the concepts of gratuitousness and sacrifice; the work is brought to a close with a story of the relationship between the economy and the Bible.

Readers are by no means required to agree with everything Bruni has written, but equally, it is clear that Bruni’s writings may have a major impact on an attentive reader, leading him or her to reflect and providing new elements that can help us to understand the reality of the modern economy and production.

Ever provocative, Bruni writes near the beginning of his book: ‘Only God and capitalist finance claim to be able to create something from nothing. … The interweaving of the economy and the sacred is thus both archaic and post-modern at the same time.’

Il capitalismo e il sacro

Luigino Bruni

Vie e Pensiero, 2019

We find ourselves rereading the classics in times of fragility and uncertainty, scouring their pages for useful words to guide us through the confusing events that dominate the controversial current affairs of today. The works of Gaetano Salvemini, for example. Below are a few particularly enlightening lines: ‘The right to vote does not render a citizen any wiser, or more intelligent. And neither is universal suffrage the cure for all evil… An election is a homoeopathic revolution, or a revolution that we are spared. Universal suffrage is simply a mirror, in which the reality of the moment in which it is used is reflected. If voters do not know their rights or how to exercise them, universal suffrage will result in the end of universal suffrage itself. When reality is uncivilised, the mirror will reflect an uncivilised image.’

It was 1952 when Salvemini, an intellectual and liberal politician who had recently returned to Italy after a long period of exile as an anti-fascist in the USA, made these musings to the magazine Il Ponte, run by Piero Calamandrei, in an essay entitled ‘Was pre-fascist Italy a democracy?’), which took its cue from the ideas of Giolitti and the Risorgimento. Here, Salvemini addressed the tangled relationship between the crisis of liberal institutions in the early twentieth century, the advent of Fascism and the enormous popularity of Mussolini as a ‘man of providence’, before highlighting the questions that the new route taken by democracy, under the Italian constitution, posed for an uncertain political class, torn between radical renewal and a rather tepid form of preservation.

This lucid and forward-thinking essay is now once again in bookshops, thanks to Bollati Boringhieri publishers (following the commendable publication of Sulla democrazia, a collection of American writings and lectures from 1934 to 1940). The title of the work is La rivoluzione del ricco (‘The revolution of the rich’), edited by Francesco Torchiani, who also contributes a brilliant afterword. The essay discusses the fragility of the institutions that represent us, and their lack of a strong sense of democracy and civility, and the writer insists that it is the responsibility of good politics to attempt to provide answers the popular demands for reform, for improvements in quality of life and work, and for mending the holes of economic and social imbalance that lead to rifts and resentments. As such, the lesson it provides us with is extremely topical.

In the essay, Salvemini (and by his friend Piero Gobetti) repeatedly criticise Giolitti and his excessively moderate approach to reformism (up to and including the lack of understanding of the positive nature of the social protests in the South of Italy). There are also echoes of the debates with Benedetto Croce and Palmiro Togliatti, who were, conversely, fascinated by the links between Giolitti and socialist reformism; the idea of a democracy that could succeed in overcoming the temptations of oligarchy (the ‘revolution of the rich’, to be precise), and which is capable of giving voice and space to authentic, widespread demands for participation and engagement, is also revisited. And above all, Torchiani notes, there is ‘an explicit invitation to remember the role played by the organised minorities who, in difficult times, have shown courage and foresight. We must look at these points of reference when the horizon begins to darken.’

And this is a key point: the role of minorities, one of the driving forces of a democracy that is not as efficient as it is effective, and in their capacity and power to embody and represent the real substance of the problems, as well as in their aptitude for providing good responses to those problems in terms of governance.

Back in the 1950s, Salvemini was one of the leading names behind Il Mondo, the weekly magazine run by Mario Pannunzio, which hovered on the banks of liberal critical thought, and which was worlds away from the conservatism of the party led by Giovanni Malagodi. Instead, the figures behind this magazine were open to discussions with the more reformist elements of the Catholic world and the Socialist Party (the magazine was, by its very nature, ‘anti-fascist in the name of intelligence, anti-communist in the name of freedom, and anti-clerical in the name of reason’).

Il Mondo was clearly a minority magazine (it sold a few tens of thousands of copies, while other influential weeklies like L’Europeo, Epoca and later L’Espresso flew off the news stands, trumpeting their success). And yet it was highly influential – in the quality of its analysis and comment, in the accuracy of its investigations, and in the solid culture of the reviews and literary articles it published – as well as, significantly, in the broad and clear overview it gave of the transformations of Italian society, from the economic boom to the radical and often overwhelming social changes.

Politics and institutions were hobbling forwards, unable to provide comprehensive answers to the innovations taking place. And indeed, in the course of recent history, we have seen similar scenes. Reformism has never been at home on the Italian political scene.

The institutional and political lesson imparted by Salvemini lies right here, in the need to avoid reducing representative democracy to the (nonetheless indispensable) system of universal suffrage but rather, to experience and explore each and every one of its complexities: institutions, the system of weights and counterweights, autonomy and the responsibilities that come with this (beginning with the judiciary), freedom of the press, the formation of public opinion, schools, the fundamental role played by social forces and finally, the links between rights and duties in the dynamics of industrial relations and the welfare state. Democracy is presented here as the governance of complexities, participation and engagement, awareness.

These are the exact same issues that we are still grappling with today, albeit in a profoundly different context. There are questions to answer. Without the ineffective and authoritarian short-cuts of populism and nationalism, without the controversy over a parliament ‘to be opened like a can of tuna’, or drawing lots for parliamentarians to replace informed voting, and without the ‘uncivilised image’ – as Salvemini would have it – that is reflected in the mirror of democracy, of the vote. If anything, with the concrete support provided by knowledge, competence and engagement, and with a powerful sense of the value of the general interests of a community.

Rereading ‘the classics’ truly is a worthwhile enterprise.

A recent speech by Ignazio Visco focused on the close links between development, productivity and knowledge

The close links between economic growth, productivity and knowledge are nothing new, yet they continue to be important to everyone, not least because they play a key role in economic development, and Italy is no exception.

This was once again the subject of the speech deliverd by Governor of the Bank of Italy Ignazio Visco at the EuroScience Open Forum 2020 at the beginning of September.

‘Economic Growth and Productivity: Italy and the Role of Knowledge’ offered not only an overview of the theoretical state of the art on relationships between growth and knowledge, but also an overview of the situation in our country, all, of course, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects.

Visco began by outlining the effects of Covid-19 and immediately related them to the structural situation in Italy, in doing so effectively summarising some of the objectives and crucial steps in the economic and social life of the country and explaining that when a country finds itself approaching the cutting-edge of technology, its income and salary no longer allow for “a development strategy based solely on cost and price competition”. In other words, there is always a moment when “economic growth depends on the ability to incorporate and promote innovation, which requires adequate spending on new technologies, and on the quantity and quality of investment in education, from primary school through to university”. The latter is a crucial point that Governor Visco then tackled by looking at Italy more closely and taking into account fundamental  issues such as innovation, human capital and production facilities, all in order to focus on what Visco himself refers to as “Italy’s old delays” in relation to its recent (poor) economic results and the changes that have taken place in the world in the meantime.

The key issue for Visco, then, is being able to return to a path of development that boils down to an increase in GDP — a factor that is closely linked to the level of knowledge within the country and a goal that we need to achieve as a matter of urgency. Indeed, as the Governor himself explains, “Returning to the pathway to increased GDP that Italy veered away from some 30 years ago is a matter that has certain implications that go beyond the economic sphere alone”. This indicator, in fact, also touches on aspects such as the health of the population, quality of leisure time and general standard of living. Nevertheless, what is needed, Visco claims, is not only a technological transformation but also (and perhaps more importantly) a cultural one.

Economic growth and productivity: Italy and the role of knowledge

Ignazio Visco

EuroScience Open Forum 2020, 4 September 2020

The story of the global world, its current state and potential future developments condensed into a single book

Accurate and reliable guides to navigating the complexities of today’s world, aimed not only at managers and entrepreneurs but at all of us. It is important to have access to useful information about what is happening and indeed what has happened in the past when it comes to attempting to shape what will happen in the future, which is why reading the latest literary work by economist and professor emeritus in economic policy at the Sapienza University of Rome Nicola Acocella could prove extremely worthwhile. Published in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the book appears to seek to give readers a better understanding of what is happening.

La globalizzazione e l’equilibrio economico mondiale is a good handbook for navigating the many and varied aspects of globalisation based on the fundamental notion that we need to rethink not only the basics of globalisation and of the institutions, both private (especially multinational companies) and public (state-owned or international), that govern it, but also the effects of the current international order and potential future trends.

Acocella notably demonstrates how managing globalisation has significant implications of a purely political nature (localism and sovereignty to the point of the potential for political conflicts and wars) and where economic policy is concerned. With regard to the latter, the author compares the “well-tempered liberalism” conceived by John Maynard Keynes with what has been defined as the “savage” liberalism of recent decades, namely the economic policy that has led to financial crises and has, in recent years, been leading to various protectionist manifestations (notably including the conflict between the United States and China). There is also a useful glossary of terms and vocabulary explaining globalisation at the end of the book.

Acocella’s book is well worth a read, not least for its simple structure, whereby the first part looks at the various forms of globalisation, its causes and its effects, before the second part addresses the issue of the institutions responsible for managing globalisation and finally considers a third stage of globalisation understood as a series of changes caused by the prevalence of various players on the global stage.

What Nicola Acocella has written certainly achieves its aim of outlining a trajectory that has no end in sight. Undoubtedly well worth a read.

La globalizzazione e l’equilibrio economico mondiale

Nicola Acocella

Carocci Editore, 2020

Development or decline. Italy has no other option, faced with the resurgence in the Covid-19 and the recession still biting at our heels, overwhelming the worlds of business, work and welfare, not to mention future opportunities for new generations.

Hopes for development lie in the prudent use of the over 200 billion allocated from the EU’s Recovery Fund for the two major objectives of the green economy and the digital economy (81 billion in non-repayable grants and 128 billion in loans; it will soon become clear exactly what we are talking about), with reforms and investments aimed at sustainable growth within a European framework. The risks of decline, on the other hand, are linked to a profound distortion of Italian public debate (even in political and government circles, which should be well informed and responsible) in these crucial weeks; we’re talking as if we had a very generous deluge of European funds to be used as we saw fit.

It is important, however, to get one thing clear: the Recovery Plan funds will be released only on the basis of clear, effective projects that have been examined by a task force in Brussels and then approved by both the EU Commission and the European Council; otherwise, we will not be getting anything, meaning that we would find ourselves faced with a lack of resources to restart growth and therefore crippled by huge public debt, which already stands at 160% of GDP, to help cope with the health emergency, although it was abnormally high even before the pandemic as we happily funded a string of disastrous government choices such as the citizenship income scheme (which has not resulted in significant job creation) and the Quota 100 scheme for early retirement.

It is therefore vital that we focus clearly and decisively on projects that will promote economic growth, as determined by the Recovery Plan, with a development strategy whose very name — Next Generation — leaves no room for any doubt as to its aims. But how? First and foremost by avoiding what we saw in the early days of the Italian Government and public administrations’ response to the demands of Brussels — the presentation of over 500 different projects, brought to light by emptying the drawers of various ministries, regions and municipalities and that cover all aspects, from the umpteenth resurrection of the Strait of Messina Bridge plan to countless plans to ‘digitise’ justice and public administration, schools and taxation, without any sort of feasibility framework and using the ‘digital’ label as a cunning passe-partout. “There are too many words and too few numbers in the government’s recovery plan”, Carlo Cottarell effectively criticised in La Repubblica on 20th September.

The action we need to take is clearly outlined in the guidelines released by the EU on 17th September, along with a time frame for action spanning from 15th October, when Brussels will be notified of the national plans, which will then be examined by a task force for each country, in agreement with the EU’s Directorate-General of Economic Affairs, to the submission of the plans in early 2021, together with the relevant approvals and initial allocations (10% of the amount allocated to each country — 20 billion for Italy) and gradually continuing with other funding being invested and implemented. A clear mechanism, then, and one that is quite the opposite of the dependency culture of ‘money growing on trees’.

Investments in what? The recommendations outlined by Brussels in the document of 17th September are clear on environmental sustainability, productivity, equity and macro-economic stability, i.e. innovation and quality of development, with emphasis on young people (training, research, schools, etc.), including everything from clean technology, renewable energy (focusing on hydrogen) and sustainable transport to broadband and easy Internet access, the digitisation of public administration, incentives for the dissemination of digital skills and training.

Last but not least, there are a number of reforms that must be implemented, as the EU had already indicated to us prior to the Covid crisis, where the issues of justice, taxation, pensions, work (fighting undeclared work and with a cut in the tax wedge) and health (for which a further 36 billion has been allocated to Italy via the ESM, in addition to the Recovery Fund) are concerned. An appropriate working method must also be adopted, with projects that are well targeted, clear, accountable and subject to a strict performance review mechanism.

The EU has told all member countries that we have reached a real turning point in industrial and fiscal policy choices, outlined a pathway to sustainable development, decided to raise funds on the market as a united Europe rather than as the guarantor of individual states (this is another innovation of great political significance) and started to determine a common process for achieving balanced growth. Countries have to comply with this strategy without, of course, forgetting the rules of law (democracies, human rights, etc.). You either agree or you find yourself on the fringes of the EU itself.

It is certainly a sizeable challenge, and in the case of Italy, one that must be overcome soon and overcome well, requiring every ounce of effort the country can muster, as well as the vital skills required to bring about change and reform, collaboration between public authorities and private companies (which are already firmly committed to innovation) and the involvement of social players and local institutions. National newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore has, as of today, launched a debate on the subject, emphasising the slogan ‘Sviluppo o declino’ (‘Development or decline’) and involving personalities from the economic and cultural spheres (starting with Francesco Profumo, president of the Compagnia di San Paolo, former Minister of Education and former Chancellor of the Politecnico di Torino, with other contributors to follow). “Priorities and courses of action for the use of EU funds need to be established. The time will then come to coordinate these by moving from words to actions”, explains director of Il Sole 24 Ore Fabio Tamburini. The world of business and economics is, in short, being more careful than ever not to waste opportunities for reform and development. Politicians and the government are being asked, now more than ever, to look at the bigger picture and to be responsible in these very controversial and difficult times that have also brought with them a great deal of opportunity.

It is not only a political and economic challenge but also a great cultural one, as our attentions turn to sustainable recovery and long-term development and we rewrite a new and improved social and generational pact. The Next Generation EU will focus on precisely that — the future of our young people, in the context of a stronger and more socially responsible Europe. After all, if not now, when?

A recently published book outlines a different approach to the future and the present

Good business must adopt a global perspective. Any production-based organisation, made up of men and women, that does not have profit as its sole (and very limited) leitmotiv inevitably needs a goal to strive for. But there’s more to it than that, because to know where you’re going, you have to know where you are right now. La Rinascita dell’Italia. Una visione per il futuro tra etica ed estetica aumentate,makes a valuable contribution in this respect. Written by Francesco Morace just before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, its content is so much affected by the outbreak that it has now been prefaced by ten observations that take their cue from the book’s central thesis, updating what was written before recent events took hold.

As far as the author is concerned, 2020 marks a symbolic threshold, an arrival and a departure, both a double and a leap year that, as if in a game of mirrors, amplified both problems and solutions, right up to the culmination of the coronavirus emergency. What happened before can be summarised in a series of snapshots corresponding to as many new paradigms (by no means limited to Italy) in which big data, the sharing economy, fake news and influencers all played a central role. As a result, the world transformed, in a short space of time, from how it was before to take on an increasingly digital and therefore subjective, contagious, innovative and instantaneous but also ignorant, evanescent, pervasive dimension; a world that, according to the author, is powerfully and non-transparently steered by artificial intelligence that is itself controlled by a few, by political thought that is as impoverished as it is unscrupulous, and by the aggression of so much communication.

The book explains that what happened nevertheless created new possibilities and vital connections, as well as highlighting ‘a poorly distributed future’ that, for better or worse, is accommodating of individual, civil and social forms of action and reaction.

All of this presents us with a new challenge, and one that is also facing companies and those who run them. The time has come, Francesco Morace argues, to reassert our ability to influence the future and to accept the responsibility that this implies, suggesting a pathway to growth that would lead to a more balanced world, made up of activism and a desire to matter, to take centre stage with our own authentic presence, one that complements our digital presence, all in the name of ‘greater’ ethics and aesthetics with the ability to look out for citizenship rights, to protect the physical world through health and the environment, to nurture actual people, along with their dignity, and to use the power of big data without excess.

The book follows a simple structure, starting with an outline of the context on which the reasoning is based (‘The challenge of greater ethics and aesthetics’), followed by a description of the paradigms on which this new and different horizon could be based. The focus ultimately returns to the Italian situation with the outlining of an ‘8-step pathway to regeneration’ that considers a number of major strengths such as the prospect not only of Italy being a laboratory, an aesthetic haven and a ‘complex place of recognition’ but also of ‘inter-generational exchange’, an ‘outpost of the Mediterranean’ and even, eventually, an Italy that ‘plays a leading role in the third Renaissance’.

Francesca Morace’s book is certainly a visionary one. Not everyone will agree with it, but nevertheless it should be taken for what it is: an important opportunity to reflect, perhaps from an unusual perspective, upon our present and especially our future – something that any good company in any field must do.

La Rinascita dell’Italia. Una visione per il futuro tra etica ed estetica aumentate

Francesco Morace

EGEA, 2020

The story of Marcello Boldrini at the top of Eni

Companies are made up of men and women who, through their day-to-day activities, impart not only their technical skills but also their respective cultures and different views of the world that then successfully interpermeate, and it is on this combination of technique and culture, professionalism and perspective, that the culture of production that every company fosters is based. Learning about these individual human experiences can be useful to achieving a deeper understanding of the very nature of production-based organisations,

and that is precisely what happens when you read The Originator of Eni’s Ideas. Marcello Boldrini at the top of Agip/Eni (1948-1967), written by Maurizio Romano and recently published in the Journal of Business History.

Romano’s contribution is inspired by a reflection on how Italy was one of the most important players in the ‘heyday’ of state-owned enterprises in post-World War II Europe. The world needed rebuilding, and economy and production required special attention. What was needed were sharp, honest minds, including in the public administration. With this in mind, Romano explains how senior public sector managers, in turn, were among the key players in shaping the rise, performance and cultural models of the Italian mixed economy.

It was in this context that the figure and consequently the efforts of Marcello Boldrini emerged and took shape, initially as a statistician and academic before being ‘loaned’ to the state oil industry – the Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (Eni) that Enrico Mattei created in the immediate post-war period and developed into a world leader.

Romano’s research highlights Boldrini’s contribution to the development of Eni’s cultural strategy, paying particular attention to the role that large state-owned enterprises played in the economic development process. Boldrini was therefore a key mind working behind and often alongside Mattei, not only culturally, but also operationally. Indeed, Maurizio Romano also highlights Boldrini’s international profile as a public official, notably with regard to relations between Eni and emerging oil-producing countries. Boldrini is one of the most authoritative fathers of an innovative system of international relations that has contributed greatly to the growth and success of Eni,

with Boldrini and Eni demonstrating the highest levels of corporate culture, albeit in a rather unique context. This culture warrants further examination, based not on the results achieved but on those who, like Boldrini, devised, designed and created it.

“The originator of Eni’s ideas”. Marcello Boldrini at the top of Agip/Eni (1948–1967)

Maurizio Romano

Journal of Business History, 2020

Some people do a lot of their best business during times of crisis, and organised crime is a prime example of this, with some outfits profiting from public funds to help cope with the damage caused by the Covid epidemic and investing in companies that have found themselves in financial difficulty over the past few harsh months, thus widening their grip on the economic fabric through money laundering, contracts, services, waste disposal and the like.

With this in mind, it is vital that we listen very carefully to Minister of the Interior Luciana Lamorgese when she emphasises the links that exist between the mafia and entrepreneurial activities (La Stampa, 9 September) and expresses her concern that the expansion of criminal operations is overwhelming the healthy economy, that is those companies operating legitimately on the markets —

a warning that was echoed at European level just today, in fact, by head of Europol (the chiefs of police of the EU countries) Catherine De Bolle during a meeting in Rome, during which she declared that, “we are witnessing an increase in the infiltration of the economy in Europe”, insisting that “this increase in infiltration is the reason why Europol has asked that funding [relating to the Recovery Fund] be closely monitored” because “the funds set up by the Member States are already being targeted by criminal organisations and we expect this to become increasingly the case”. “Highly sought-after products, such as disinfectants, face masks, thermometers, mechanical ventilators and elusive coronavirus treatments, continue to be the objects of some pretty far-reaching online scams. A more sophisticated modus operandi sees criminals seizing businesses’ identities and offering to sell victims pandemic-related products, only to then disappear into thin air. The victims of such scams have included member state health authorities and private companies”, De Bolle added.

Italy is particularly exposed, and at greater risk than other EU countries.

“It would be reductive, at this point, to speak of mafia infiltration”; what we are faced with is a structural presence of the ‘Ndrangheta, Camorra and Cosa Nostra gangs within the economies of the northern regions, with the magistrates responsible for investigating mafia affairs in Milan, in fact, reminding us that the ‘Ndrangheta alone generates a turnover of 55 billion a year, 44 billion of which is made in the north. Indeed, Francesco Messina, head of the Police Anti-Crime Division, reported as early as last June that “the gangs’ interests now lie in the Veneto region, with the mafia lending money to companies in crisis” (La Stampa, June 15). A growing phenomenon, then, that has followed the strong roots that the Calabrian clans have put down in Lombardy and efforts to expand their operations in Piedmont, Liguria, Emilia, Val d’Aosta, Trentino and Alto Adige, all of which have been well documented by thorough journalistic investigations (L’Espresso, 12 January: “The Calabrian gang network is infiltrating places of power and continues to expand throughout the country, from the Strait of Messina to the Alps”) and some excellent reportage books (including Crimini a Nord-Est by Luana de Francisco and Ugo Dinello, Laterza).

Another voice that we should be listening to is that of Milan-based Colonel of the Carabinieri and Commander Luca De Marchis, who explains that “the clans have money to lend to business people; the soil is fertile here, and it’s important that a damn be put in place. What we need is a great cultural battle” (La Repubblica, 9 September).

What it all boils down to is the risk of a depraved combination of an economy that is struggling in the midst of a recession that has turned everything upside down, and the significant financial resources that criminal groups have at their disposal. The Ndrangheta, Camorra and Sicilian mafia have been active, especially in Lombardy, since the 1980s, with Apulian bosses also making their presence felt in more recent times. The clans put down roots in provincial areas before expanding into the cities, getting their hands on businesses operating mainly in the construction, commercial, services and even certain healthcare sectors and establishing close relationships with public administration spheres. Furthermore, thanks to a network of collaborators (so-called ‘grey area’ professionals – accountants, lawyers, financial figures, politicians, etc.), they have managed to extend their operations to all fields in which financial weight and unscrupulousness in doing business are major levers of success.

The investigations undertaken by investigators and various judicial operations, which come with some rather harsh sentences, indicate an extensive, wealthy, threatening network with a significant ‘share capital’ of conspiracy and complicity,

a network that must be fought with great determination. Efforts to investigate and repress such activity are vital, though it is important, at the same time, not to ‘lower one’s guard’. But initiatives on the parts of civil society, employers’ organisations and workers’ unions are also vital, precisely because of this ‘cultural battle’ of which Colonel De Marchis speaks.

The Assolombarda association has been on the frontline against the mafias in the battle for legality for years now, unearthing documents and staging investigations, conferences, debates with magistrates and investigators and meetings with students in Milan and at schools in Monza and Brianza, its aim being to build and strengthen public opinion on protecting the healthy economy and businesses that ensure the economy runs smoothly.

This involves, first and foremost, a commitment to working with the companies belonging to the Association on bringing the true face of the mafia to light and preventing infiltration.

The mafia, it explains, is not a service agency that can be relied upon to solve a credit problem, obtain a favour from the public administration, win a tender, dispose of waste or beat the competition. A relationship with a mafia clan (even when you start dealing with apparently innocent brokers or business professionals) is a form of pollution that will do permanent damage, and establishing contact with a boss means not saving but rather losing the company for good, with the business person in question often left alone and disorientated. Consultation initiatives (such as the ‘helpdesk’ that Assolombarda has set up for small and medium businesses) are an important step in providing reassurance, clarification and help.

Consultation initiatives among business people have proven successful and had a wide-reaching effect, including some rather alarmed responses with the realisation that the mafia is truly cancerous where the economy is concerned.

It is important, however, that such initiatives continue, especially in these difficult times of crisis in which many companies, finding themselves in difficulty, may be tempted by mafia short-cuts, notably where credit issues are concerned. ‘Credit consortia’, over which business associations have some say, can provide advice and support.

The fight against the mafia, as viewed from the perspective of business associations, is a widespread fight for legality and for fair and transparent competitiveness; cultural initiatives designed to prevent the penetration of criminal bosses, then. But there is also a demand for good policies, both local and national, to simplify public administrative procedures, make procurement and service practices transparent and effective and avoid lengthy and difficult procedures (such as slow payments on the part of the public administration, which can suffocate businesses and jeopardise their regular cash flows). Economic legality and freedom. Legality and space for the market economy to grow based on a culture marked by freedom, competitiveness, responsibility and sustainability are the cornerstones for spreading a good business culture.

The general ethos behind this commitment was summed up by Piero Calamandrei, one of the ‘fathers’ of our Constitution, who claimed that, “Even with legality there is still no freedom, but without legality there can never be freedom, because only legality guarantees, in the least imperfect world possible, that legal certainty without which there can essentially be no political freedom”.

Advertising with a Capital P, the editorial project curated by the Pirelli Foundation, with graphic design by LeftLoft, and published by Corraini Edizioni, is a candidate for the 26th Compasso d’Oro, the top award for Italian design set up in 1954 and organised by the Italian Industrial Design Association (ADI). Devoted to Pirelli visual communication from the 1970s to the 2000s, the book examines the evolution of advertising strategies, techniques and languages in the shift from analog to digital technology: from the advertisements of the 1970s and 1980s created by the in-house Agenzia Centro to the global campaigns of the 1990s with endorsers from the worlds of cinema and sport, such as Sharon Stone, Carl Lewis, and Ronaldo.

The history of the Compasso d’Oro has been intertwined with that of Pirelli ever since the award was launched: indeed, the very first prize, in 1954, was won by a Pirelli product – Zizì, the little toy monkey designed by Bruno Munari and made by the subsidiary company Pigomma. The design was hailed for its “formal essentiality” and for its “typical use of the material”, which was foam rubber, used for the first time in the production of a toy. Over the years, other products from the diversified sector of Pirelli – which, together with tyres, also produced cables, technical items, and countless articles for consumption, sport, and leisure – won the prestigious honour, combining technological and design innovation. One example is the polyethylene jerry-can designed by Roberto Menghi and made by the Azienda Monza of the Pirelli Group, which was already on display at MoMA in New York in 1961. This is but one of the items that bear witness to the history of Pirelli in the field of industrial design, now preserved in the archives of the Pirelli Foundation. And the Foundation itself became part of the history of ADI and of the Compasso d’Oro, with its projects to promote this rich company heritage. In 2012, Rubber Soul, an exhibition at Triennale Milano curated by the Foundation, which told the story of Pirelli technology in the field of rubber applied to clothing, was included in the ADI Design Index, the annual selection of the finest Italian design compiled by the ADI Permanent Design Observatory. All of which brings us to today, and to a history of communication “with a capital P”.

The 2020 edition of a collection of entrepreneurs and managers’ stories offers new opportunities for a better understanding of the value and nature of production organisations

The company as a cultural expression and also as an art form. It’s certainly unique. Of course, it’s not always so. But it’s still something to explore and to read about. For this, it’s worth reading O l’impresa o la vita. Storie organizzative ed epiche (“work-life balance: organisational and epic stories”) by Luigi Maria Sicca. A second, updated and revised edition was published a few weeks ago.

The main theme of the book is a series of successful managerial and entrepreneurial stories, along with the same amount from the artistic and musical fields. Companies that produce products or provide services, besides others which have the highest artistic expressions as their goal, from around the peninsula. The one common denominator is: a goal to strive for.

After two chapters which frame the theme and make sense of it, the author lines up a series of chapters, each dedicated to particular characters that you can find in organisations designed to achieve a goal (which may or may not be a business goal in the traditional sense). They taken in the accounts of the CEO, the chairman, the orchestra conductor, the cultural researcher, the film producer, the orchestra director, the healthcare worker, the teacher or trainer, the human resources manager, the manger and so on.

Among the names of the companies and experiences shared are those of SEA Aeroporti di Milano, Concerto Italiano, Banca Etica, Rossini Opera Festival (ROF), Mad Entertainment, Scuola Musica Fiesole, Laminazione Sottile, Fondazione Teatro di San Carlo, Strega-Alberti Benevento SpA, Società del Quartetto di Milano, Ferrarelle S.p.A., puntOorg International Research Network, SDN and Synlab International GmbH.

Everything about Sicca’s book is to be enjoyed, in the knowledge that not all the pages will be in tune with one’s own experiences, but that many others will be able to give readers a more precise understanding of doing business.

O l’impresa o la vita. Storie organizzative ed epiche

Luigi Maria Sicca

EGEA, 2020