We live in a large global condominium. New communication technologies, in the short space of a few years, have thrown the world wide open to us. Thanks first to television and then, above all, to the internet, we can see any corner of the world, even in real time. There are no museums, beaches, mountains that we cannot see on a computer screen or smartphone. On the contrary, we ourselves contribute with photos and videos posted on social networks to increase the possibilities of approaching - at least virtually - territories and realities. If we add to this the development of means of transport that now allow us to reach, in a relatively short space of time, even places that were once very distant, we can understand how space and time are two dimensions that have shrunk, shortened. To the point that, paradoxically, we no longer need 80 days to travel around the world, but could do it in a day and from the comfort of our own homes.
Among the consequences of such phenomena is an exponential increase in our possibilities for comparison, more or less rationally based. More than ever before, thanks to an experience we have lived directly or indirectly thanks to new technologies or what is reported by relatives and acquaintances, we are able to compare our way of life with that of others. We can compare our life context with those who live in different realities. And construct a representation, an idea, make a comparison. The result is a kind of ranking of our sense of belonging and 'good living', where we place our country in relation to others. Often in private discussions and public debate there is a critical feeling towards Italy, we look elsewhere as models of life, of state organisation. Lacking a strong sense of national identity, we believe that things work and live better in other countries. Not only are we afflicted by superficial forms of 'benaltrism', whereby there is always something else better and more urgent to do, and in this way nothing changes. But we could coin the neologism of 'altrovism': in the public vulgate and in the media, it seems to prevail that there is somewhere else where things go better, where one is more satisfying. The brain drain, pensioners going to live abroad, companies relocating: all phenomena highlighted as indicators of an Italy in decline. Without wishing to detract from the problematic nature of such events, does the image of a country that is worse off than others actually prevail?
The research carried out explored the sentiment of the population on these topics. We proposed a list of countries by asking respondents to express their opinion as to whether, compared to Italy, life there was better, worse or the same. Out of 8 countries, as many as 4 obtain a more flattering evaluation than living in Italy: Switzerland prevails over all of them (81.7%), followed by Australia (72.1%), Germany (69.2%) and Great Britain (51.0%). As can be seen, these are nations that, for various reasons, have a reputation for being efficient and functional. Of being governed. It should be pointed out that Great Britain (15.8%) is, in this group, the nation with the highest score among those considered to have a worse standard of living than Italy. This is joined by a second group of countries where general conditions are more similar to Italy, such as France (58.0%) and Spain (57.7%). The USA is the country that polarises opinion most, almost equally, between those who think life is better (33.4%) or, conversely, worse (29.7%) than in our country. In this case, Latin origins make themselves felt and bring us together, while the United States is more divisive in perception. At the tail end is Tunisia, a safe destination for tourism, but definitely not comparable to our standard of living (87.9%).
Summing up the different options surveyed, we can identify a membership indicator from which three profiles emerge. The prevailing group is made up of 'cosmopolitans' (52.2%), i.e. those who believe that people live in other countries as they do in Italy, that the differences are not as radical as they think: the whole world is a country. This sentiment is felt more by the male component, as age increases, and by those living in the Centre-North. The second group is represented by 'foreigners' (43.6%), those who believe that it is better abroad than in Italy. It should be emphasised here that women, the younger generations, students and those living in the South are more likely to share this opinion. The third group is quantitatively marginal and is represented by 'DOC Italians' (4.2%), those who believe that life in Italy is definitely better than in the rest of all other countries.
What emerges is a representation of Italy that is perhaps less ramshackle than usually emerges from the daily news and the collective imagination. The possibility (whether real or virtual) of comparing other realities makes it possible to better weigh up the pros and cons of life in other countries. And to give a fair value to where we live. At the same time, however, the conspicuous existence of 'altrovism', of the idea and experience that one lives better in other countries than in Italy, must be underlined. And what cannot but be worrying is that this opinion is widespread, especially among the younger generations, women and those living in the most disadvantaged areas. Because to do nothing to limit this 'altrovism' is to squander our wealth, to cloud Italy's future.
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.
