Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-gvh9x Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-21T11:30:19.408Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The crisis of the Prato industrial district in the works of Edoardo Nesi: a blend of nostalgia and self-complacency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2016

Stefano Adamo
Stefano Adamo*
Affiliation:
Department of Italian Studies, Banja Luka University, Bosnia and Herzegovina
*
*Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In 2011, Edoardo Nesi – a former industrialist in the Prato textile district – won the most prestigious Italian literary prize for his autobiographical novel Storia della mia gente, a book centered on the contrast between Prato’s past industrial success and present decline. Nesi has since become a regular contributor to Corriere della Sera, among other newspapers, and with his following book, Le nostre vite senza ieri, he has further emphasised his role as a public intellectual. In Nesi’s view, Italy’s participation in the global economy has exposed Italian manufacturers to a level of competition that they were not ready to meet. This disadvantage, Nesi contends, was exacerbated by the adoption of the euro, which put an end to the former practice of using monetary policy to offset trade deficits. As a result, many firms lost market shares, and the Prato textile district ended up being largely taken over by Chinese businesses. This paper criticises Nesi’s account of the Italian industrial decline. In particular, it argues that his sympathetic view of the former political-industrial system is mostly an expression of self-complacency and does not positively contribute to the current debates on the Italian economic crisis.

Italian summary

Nel 2011, Edoardo Nesi, un ex industriale del distretto tessile pratese, ha conseguito il più prestigioso premio letterario italiano con il suo romanzo autobiografico Storia della mia gente, un libro incentrato sul contrasto tra il passato successo industriale di Prato e il presente declino. Da allora Nesi è diventato un editorialista del Corriere della sera e altri giornali, e con il suo libro seguente, Le nostre vite senza ieri, ha ulteriormente sottolineato il suo ruolo di intellettuale pubblico. Nella visione di Nesi, la partecipazione dell’Italia all’economia globale ha esposto i produttori italiani a un livello di concorrenza che questi non erano pronti ad affrontare. Tale svantaggio, sostiene Nesi, sarebbe stato aggravato dall’adozione dell’euro, che ha messo fine alla pratica di usare la politica monetaria per compensare i deficit commerciali. Ne è risultato che molte aziende hanno perso quote di mercato e il distretto tessile pratese, in particolare, ha finito per essere in gran parte rilevato da imprese cinesi. Questo saggio critica la versione di Nesi del declino industriale italiano. In particolare, il saggio sostiene che la simpatia di Nesi per il precedente sistema politico-industriale è in gran parte espressione di una compiaciuta autoassoluzione e non contribuisce positivamente agli attuali dibattiti sulla crisi economica italiana.

Keywords

Literature and economicsindustrial crisiseuro (currency)Prato textile districtChinese immigration in Italy
Type
Research Article
Information
Modern Italy , Volume 21 , Issue 3 , August 2016 , pp. 245 - 259
Copyright
© 2016 Association for the Study of Modern Italy 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Antonello, P. and Mussgnug, F.. 2009. Postmodern impegno: Ethics and Commitment in Contemporary Italian Culture. Oxford: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Bagnai, A. 2012. Il tramonto dell’euro: come e perché la fine della moneta unica salverebbe democrazia e benessere in Europa. Reggio Emilia: Imprimatur.Google Scholar
Battista, P. 2011. ‘Operai Onore alle armi: La rivincita letteraria sui ceti medi trionfanti’. Corriere della Sera, 22 May. Accessed 12 March, 2014. http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2011/maggio/22/Operai_Onore_alle_armi_rivincita_co_9_110522062.shtml.Google Scholar
Becattini, G. 1990. “The Marshallian industrial district as a socioeconomic notion”. In Industrial Districts and Inter-firm Co-operation in Italy, edited by F. Pyke, G. Becattaini and W. Sengenberger, 37–51. Geneva: International Institute for Labour Studies.Google Scholar
Becattini, G. 1997. “Il distretto industriale”. In Prato, storia di una città Vol. 4, edited by F. Braudel. Florence: Le Monnier.Google Scholar
Becattini, G. 1998. Distretti industriali e made in Italy: Le basi socioculturali del nostro sviluppo economico. Turin: Bollati Boringhieri.Google Scholar
Bertoni, F. 2007. Realismo e letteratura: Una storia possibile. Turin: G. Einaudi.Google Scholar
Bisin, A. 2013. Favole & numeri: l’economia nel paese di santi, poeti e navigatori. Milan: EGEA.Google Scholar
Borghi, C. 2014. ‘Basta euro: Come uscire dall’incubo’. Accessed 19 June 2016. http://www.bastaeuro.org/docs/BastaEuro_comeusciredaincubo.pdf. con postfazione di Matteo Salvini.Google Scholar
Bricco, P. 2010. ‘L’autogol della globalizzazione’. Il Sole 24 Ore, 8 April. Accessed 13 February 2014. http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/SoleOnLine4/Tempo%20libero%20e%20Cultura/2010/04/storia-della-mia-gente-nesi-libro.shtml.Google Scholar
Brusco, S. and Paba, S.. 1997. “Per una storia dei distretti industriali italiani dal secondo dopoguerra agli anni novanta”. In Storia del capitalismo italiano dal dopoguerra a oggi, edited by F. Barca, 265–333. Rome: Donzelli.Google Scholar
Bugamelli, M., Schivardi, F. and Zizza, R.. 2010. ‘The Euro and Firm Restructuring’. In Europe and the Euro, edited by A. Alesina and F. Giavazzi, 99–138. National Bureau of Economic Research conference report. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bugamelli, M., Cannari, L., Lotti, F. and Magri, S.. 2012. ‘Il gap innovativo del sistema produttivo italiano: Radici e possibili rimedi’. Working Paper 121. Questioni di economia e finanza. Rome: Banca d’Italia. http://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/econo/quest_ecofin_2/QF_121/QEF_121.pdf.Google Scholar
Buono, I. 2014. “Low-wage Competition, Credit Constraints and Innovation Strategies of Italian Firms”. In L’innovazione in Italia, edited by L. Cannari, 1–38. Rome: Banca d’Italia. http://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/altri-atti-convegni/2014-innovazione-italia/Buono.pdf.Google Scholar
Ceccagno, A. 2003. “New Chinese Migrants in Italy”. International Migration 41 (3): 187–213. doi:10.1111/1468-2435.00246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Cecco, M. 2013. “The Italian Economy Seen from Abroad”. In The Oxford Handbook of the Italian Economy since Unification , edited by Gianni Toniolo, 134–154 Oxford handbooks series New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dei Ottati, G. 2009. “Italian Industrial Districts and the Dual Chinese Challenge”. In Living Outside the Walls: The Chinese in Prato, edited by G. Johanson, R. Smythe, and R. French, 26–41. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Donnarumma, R., Policastro, G. and Taviani, G., eds. 2008. ‘Ritorno alla realtà? Narrativa e cinema alla fine del postmoderno’. Special issue, Allegoria XIX, no. 5i7.Google Scholar
Ehler, F. 2006. ‘The New Wave of Globalization: Made in Italy at Chinese Prices’ Spiegel Online, 7 September. http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/the-new-wave-of-globalization-made-in-italy-at-chinese-prices-a-435703.html.Google Scholar
European Parliament. 2015. ‘EU-US Trade Deal: 14 EP Committees Have Their Say’. News release. 14 April. Accessed 18 June 2016. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20150220STO24366/EU-US-trade-deal-14-EP-committees-have-their-say.Google Scholar
Eurostat. 2013. Fatal Accidents at Work by Economic Activity. NACE R2, 2008–2010. Data Tables (hsw_n2_02). Health and Safety at Work. Brussels: European Commission. http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=hsw_n2_02&lang=en.Google Scholar
(F.Q.) Redazione Fatto Quotidiano. 2014. ‘Referendum M5S sull’uscita dall’Euro: presentata la richiesta in Cassazione’. Accessed 19 June 2016. http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2014/11/14/m5s-presentata-in-cassazione-richiesta-referendum-euro/1212079/.Google Scholar
Fladrich, A. M. 2009. “The Chinese Labour Market and Job Mobility in Prato”. In Living Outside the Walls: The Chinese in Prato, edited by G. Johanson, R. Smythe, and R. French, 96–128. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Fladrich, A. M. 2012. “Chinese SMEs in Prato, Italy”. In Chinese International Investments, edited by I. Alon, M. Fetscherin, and P.e Gugler, 234–256. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Ginsborg, P. 1990. A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics, 1943–1988. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
Il blog delle stelle. 2016. ‘Il MoVimento 5 Stelle presenta il TTIP in italiano’. Accessed 18 June 2016. http://www.ilblogdellestelle.it/il_movimento_5_stelle_presenta_il_ttip_in_italiano.html.Google Scholar
Johanson, G., Smythe, R., and French, R., eds. 2009. Living Outside the Walls: The Chinese in Prato. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Kohl, J. 1981. “Trends and Problems in Postwar Public Expenditure Development in Western Europe and North America”. In The Development of Welfare States in Europe and America, edited by P. Flora, and A. J. Heidenheimer, 307–344. New Brunswick: Transaction Books.Google Scholar
Kwong, R. and Sanderson, R. 2014. ‘Chinese Translate the European Work Ethic’. Financial Times online. Accessed 8 October 2014. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1d5f3c78-4729-11e4-ba74-00144feab7de.html?siteedition=uk#axzz3FX22jawF.Google Scholar
La Malfa, U. 1962. ‘Problemi e prospettive dello sviluppo economico italiano’. Note to Parliament by the Minister for the Budget, Rome, Ministero del Bilancio, 22 May.Google Scholar
Morganti, F. 2016. ‘TTIP: il trattato segreto, che poi tanto segreto non è’. Accessed 15 June 2016. http://stradeonline.it/innovazione-e-mercato/2077-ttip-il-trattato-segreto-che-poi-tanto-segreto-non-e.Google Scholar
Nesi, E. (2010) 2013. Story of My People. Translated by Antony Shugaar. New York: Other Press.Google Scholar
Nesi, E. 2004. L’età dell’oro. Milan: Bompiani.Google Scholar
Nesi, E. 2012. Le nostre vite senza ieri. Milan: Bompiani.Google Scholar
Palumbo Mosca, R. 2014. L’invenzione del vero: Romanzi ibridi e discorso etico nell’Italia contemporanea. Rome: Gaffi.Google Scholar
Palumbo Mosca, R. 2011. “Narrazioni spurie: letteratura della realtà nell’Italia contemporanea”. Modern Language Notes 126 (1): 200–223.Google Scholar
Povoledo, E. 2009. ‘As Workers Die at Work in Italy, a Call for Change’. The New York Times, 11 June. Accessed August 8 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/business/global/11trial.html.Google Scholar
Quintieri, B., ed. 2006. I distretti industriali dal locale al globale. Soveria Mannelli: Rubbettino.Google Scholar
Rossi, N. and Toniolo, G.. 1996. “Italy”. In Economic Growth in Europe since 1945, edited by G. Toniolo and N. F. R. Crafts, 427–454. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Salvini, M. 2015. ‘I pilastri di un accordo con il Cav’. Accessed 13 June 2016. http://www.ilfoglio.it/articoli/2015/02/11/matteo-salvini-i-pilastri-di-un-accordo-tra-berlusconi-e-lega-nord___1-v-125493-rubriche_c367.htm.Google Scholar
Sengenberger, W. and Pyke, F.. 1992. “Introduction: Research and Policy Issues”. In Industrial Districts and Local Economic Regeneration, edited by F. Pyke and W. Sengenberger, 3–29. Geneva: International Institute for Labour Studies. http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/ilo-bookstore/order-online/books/WCMS_PUBL_9290144718_EN/lang--en/index.htm.Google Scholar
Sforzi, F. 1990. “The Quantitative Importance of Marshallian Industrial Districts in the Italian Economy”. In Industrial Districts and Inter-firm Co-operation in Italy, edited by F. Pyke, G. Becattaini, and W. Sengenberger. Geneva: International Institute for Labour Studies.Google Scholar
Trigilia, C. 1992. “Italian Industrial Districts: Neither Myth nor Interlude”. In Industrial Districts and Local Economic Regeneration, edited by F. Pyke, and W. Sengenberger, 33–47. Geneva: International Institute for Labour Studies. http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/ilo-bookstore/order-online/books/WCMS_PUBL_9290144718_EN/lang--en/index.htm Google Scholar
Wu, Ming. 2009. New Italian epic: Letteratura, sguardo obliquo, ritorno al futuro. Turin: Einaudi.Google Scholar