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Nations without wealth, wealth without nations

    • Rome
    • 16 May 2012

          At this talk-debate event held in Rome, it was noted that although twenty years have passed since the publication of the book “Nazioni senza ricchezza, ricchezze senza Nazione” written by Giulio Tremonti, Sabino Cassese, Tiziano Treu and Francesco Galgano, the work remains extraordinarily relevant today, as by the time of its release a rift had already emerged between nations and reality, with the latter – and the problems and opportunities it presented – eluding the material constraints under which the former were forced to operate.

          The book observes that the attempt to create “cooperative forums” where states meet to iron out issues grown too big for them to handle alone has, over time, led to a proliferation of supranational conglomerations that have come to far exceed states themselves in number. Indeed, though there is no shortage of such “engines” at work in the world, it is suggested that a central steering body which could facilitate their functioning in a coordinated manner is lacking. This is compounded by the fact that often, even within these very forums, there is an inability to reach decisions. Concepts such as consensus, reverse consensus, and comitology – just to name a few – are difficult to understand for citizens who are, however, able to take in their end result, namely: stalled decisionmaking.

          Yet whilst the authors’ analysis has proved prophetic, it was felt that this is perhaps not the case with the sense of optimism some participants detected in the book, which was released a year after the signing of the Treaty of Maastricht and at a time when globalization was seen as the means by which to raise the standard of living in some areas of the developing world. Hence, it was a Europe that carried economic weight, which had been successful in maintaining its pledge to prevent the outbreak of any new devastating continent-wide conflicts, and where a future single currency and a European legislative approach over which social partners held great sway were seen as assuring economic progress.

          In a stark and ominous vision which sees post-industrial society as dominated not so much by technological innovation and automation as by finance, what matters is not how things are produced – with the advent of new robotic production processes – but what is produced, with the term “product” increasingly losing its tangible sense until it comes to be squarely identified with intangible financial products.

          All of which entails a new form of capitalism, no longer mono-product focused or heavily tied to the creation of material goods, but one ready and quick to engage in investment (or speculation) without any territorial or ethical limits, giving rise to a need to put in place buffers capable of stemming the spread of economic contagion, as some have dubbed the present crisis.

          It was felt, however, that this scenario nevertheless leaves room for optimism, for if people are coming together in cooperative forums to pursue a common interest, then there is hope that the operation of some mechanisms can be corrected, providing that the out-of-kilter pace so pervasive in society today can be brought to rein. If a book of twenty years ago can still have resonance today, then perhaps a longer-term approach should be taken to dealing with certain phenomena.

          In conclusion, it was stressed that today’s Europe – lambasted for not living up to its promise of prosperity – needs to recapture the spirit of the founding fathers. Only in this way will it succeed in filling the gaps in the wording of the founding Treaties as regards the handling of crises like the one currently being experienced. Besides, when all is said and done, even Greece was a signatory to the 1953 agreement granting Germany debt relief.

          • Tiziano Treu, Sabino Cassese, Giulio Tremonti, Lucia Annunziata and Marco Fortis
          • Sabino Cassese, Giulio Tremonti and Lucia Annunziata
          • Tiziano Treu and Sabino Cassese
          • Carlo Scognamiglio, Giorgio Beni and Angelo Maria Petroni
          • Cesare Trevisani, Paola Garonna and Giovanni Puglisi
          • Giulio Tremonti and Lucia Annunziata
          • Sabino Cassese, Giulio Tremonti and Lucia Annunziata