AND NO AMERICAN BOY WILL EVER DIE FIGHTING THEM AGAIN:

A national epidemic that hurts the young (Luke Johnson, 9/13/11, Financial Times)

I wonder if Italy is suffering aspects of the same disease that afflicts Japan. Both have staged extraordinary recoveries from the devastation of the second world war, but have stagnated for the past decade - or more. Each suffers from disastrously low fertility rates, negligible economic expansion, huge public debts, incestuous ties between politicians and industry, and each is dominated by cadres of elderly men, content to manage decline. Yet both Japan and Italy are manufacturing and export powerhouses, inventive places that have formed many of the best-known brands in the world. Why are they not growing?

Neither country has renewed itself because vested interests have failed to take the tough decisions. Their traditional cultures have not caught up with modern lifestyles. The male bureaucrats, policymakers and bankers who run all the important institutions must be forced to take radical steps to unleash the energy and imagination of their young, because in both countries they are very pessimistic. Many cannot obtain the job security and standards of living their parents took for granted. Traditional employees enjoy cast-iron protections, so companies are reluctant to create such positions. So, only temporary or part-time work is available for most newcomers to the workplace. Consequently, young Japanese and Italians pursue increasingly cautious lifestyles. Nearly 80 per cent of unmarried Japanese between the ages of 18 and 35 live with their parents. The ratio is nearly as high in Italy.

Such unadventurous living means people do not grow up, and do not take risks - such as having children or starting a business. Meanwhile, their parents bask in comfortable retirement, busy consuming their considerable savings.

Looked at objectively, the manner in which we "helped" the vanquished after WWII appears far more punitive than Versailles.

Posted by oj at September 17, 2011 6:06 AM
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