A social and do-it-yourself welfare. The protection system perceived by Italians could be defined in this way. Faced with a possible difficulty, the majority would turn to the triad consisting of family (90.0%), friends (72.3%) and voluntary associations (54.8%) for help. The services offered by one's own municipality (18.8%) and by the State (15.9%) come last in the ranking, and are not identified among the organisations one would turn to in the immediate future. On the contrary, between the first and the last we find other realities such as neighbours (28.7%), rather than parishes (23.7%) or the people of the village (22.5%) functioning - for a minority - as a lifeline. In reality, this is not just a perception, if we consider the development that the 'social street' experience has undergone in just a few years, starting with the via Fondazza experience in Bologna. To socialise with one's neighbours in one's area of residence in order to share needs and professionalism, knowledge, and implement projects of common interest. In short, building a new social interaction at '0 km' and '0 cost'. It is a reinterpretation of the traditional welfare system that brings into play the energies present in society's social capital.
Of course, our country does not lack a network of efficient and state-of-the-art public and social services, including private-social services, especially in some regions. However, these are cases that do not make it into a real system that innervates the whole of Italy. In general, public services suffer from a set of factors that make them marginal in public opinion. Already in itself the adjective 'public' or 'state' in the collective imagination suffers from a negative echo, as something shoddy and anonymous. It is equated with 'bureaucrat', which in Italy has a deterrent flavour, unlike other countries such as France and Germany where this professional figure has a much higher status. Added to this is not only the decline generated by the difficulties of the public deficit, but above all a use - in several cases unwise - of collective resources, which makes everything more complicated for both state services and those of the private social sector working in tandem. Not to mention the journalistic reportage aimed at highlighting the waste perpetrated over the years. If we add to all this that the population's demand for services tends to increase and above all diversify, we can understand why, in social representations, even more than in reality, public services occupy a marginal role in the collective imagination. They are looked to almost as a last resort, if no other option is available.
Community Media Research's research testifies once again that the family, despite the profound structural transformations that have affected it, continues to be the true great resource of our country. A wealth that is not only symbolic and valuable, the home of affection and relationships. But also an organisational reality, a concrete support network. It is the real welfare that is sustaining the younger generations today: offering them a home when they decide to live together (and then get married), using the savings and investments accumulated over time, when they were still possible. Savings, however, which today are being consumed more than they are able to set aside, thus generating consumption restraints. And again in the uncertain transit to finding a job: those who seek employment do so autonomously by sending their CVs to companies (28.7%) and through family connections, word of mouth (25.2%). Only 4.8% turn to public employment centres (CMR-Adecco research). Therefore, the family is the resource that, as economists point out, has enabled our country to bear the brunt of the economic crisis better than others: because they are less indebted and capable of saving, because they have invested more in solid assets (the home) in the past.
By summing up the networks that respondents would rely on in case of need, it is possible to identify a summary measure that helps define the intensity of the support network available to the population. This results in three typologies. The largest group is represented by those who have 'flexible networks' (59.3%). These are people who identify a relatively small and flexible range of support outside the family and friendship sphere. The second group is made up of those who report 'fragile networks' (34.1%), i.e. those who have no or very few reference networks in case of need. Even the family network appears weak. Finally, the third group is made up of those who believe they can count on 'solid networks' (6.4%), a more extensive solidarity network in case of need.
Friendship networks, voluntary worlds and families are the core element of our social capital. The issue is that on the latter falls an overload of functions. All too often they are left alone to deal with complicated situations: the scarcity of childcare services pushes young couples to have to rely on grandparents or the parental network; there are still few companies that pay attention to the problems of working mothers; not to mention the number of migrant women who care for the elderly in their homes. Thus, it is the short networks that function as support, while as we move away from the circle of direct acquaintances, this network seems to have a much thinner weave. Precisely for these reasons, not only do we need a public service capable of intercepting demands, but we must also pursue in a complementary way the avenues of a generative welfare such as 'social streets': where it is possible to build new forms of inte(g)raction and reciprocity.
Daniele Marini
Methodological note
Community Media Research, in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo for La Stampa, carried out the LaST (Laboratory on Society and Territory) survey, which was conducted nationwide from 22 March to 4 April 2016 on a representative sample of the population resident in Italy, aged over 18. The methodological aspects and the survey were taken care of by the company Quantitas. The total number of respondents was 1,997 (out of 13,287 contacts). The data analysis was reproportioned on the basis of gender, territory, age group, occupational status and educational qualification. The margin of error is +/-2.2%. The survey was carried out with a visual survey through the main social networks and with a random sample that could be reached with the CAWI and CATI systems. Full document on www.agcom.it e www.communitymediaresearch.it.
