The transformation of social classes in Italy since the 1970s

The transformation of social classes in Italy since the 1970s

This essay traces the changes in the Italian social class structure since the 1970s. The decade chosen here as starting point was itself the outcome of the major social transformations that had occurred since the Second World War: the drastic contraction of the peasant and farm labourer classes, the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Review of the economic conditions in Italy 2008-09, Vol.3 (3), p.343-368
Main Author: Pugliese, Enrico
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Area studies
Business studies
Class
Economic activity
Economic development
Entrepreneurs
Historical analysis
Industrial workers
Italy
Long-term analysis
Middle class
Organizational structure
Peasantry
Peasants
Self employment
Social change
Social structure
Studies
Western Europe
White collar workers
Working class
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Summary:This essay traces the changes in the Italian social class structure since the 1970s. The decade chosen here as starting point was itself the outcome of the major social transformations that had occurred since the Second World War: the drastic contraction of the peasant and farm labourer classes, the demise of the landowning bourgeoisie and its disappearance from the dominant social bloc, and the rise of the State bourgeoisie. In the decades under study here, some of these trends continued, notably the "disappearance" of the peasantry. Other processes that had been under way until then were actually reversed, as the expansion of the large factory working class up until the 1970s was followed by a sharp decline in numbers and political influence. Finally, the middle classes underwent a radical alteration. Their strengthening thanks to the growth of the white-collar lower middle class through the 1970s was followed, especially in the North-East of Italy, by renewed growth of the strata of self-employed workers and small businessmen. The outcome has been a great increase in the overall complexity of the Italian social structure. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0034-6799