Civil economy accompanies growth and social happiness

The sixth edition of the National Civil Economy Festival (from 3 to 6 October in Florence) comes at an important and delicate time. The issues on the table (wars and conflicts at risk of escalation, the climate emergency, poverty and inequality, the crisis of the development model, and the poverty of the sense of living) are so deep and complex that they call for a paradigm shift such as the one urged by the Manifesto for Civil Economy and Economic Renaissance signed last year by 350 Italian economists. The civil economy, based on the frontier of social science findings, breaks down fences and narrow visions of the person, the enterprise, value and economic policy. The person is a seeker of meaning, in need of relationships, happy if generative. And what makes his life economically and socially productive is relational and social intelligence rather than individual intelligence. The void of relational intelligence is the root of the problems of our times. Game theory teaches us that the combination of gift exchange, reciprocity, trust, trustworthiness and cooperation is at the root of social and economic success. Life is a team sport and the ability to cooperate multiplies our strengths and opportunities (interesting economic examples from this point of view in Italy are the Grana Padano consortium, the many other successful consortia or cooperative groups and consortia such as Comieco with its leadership in circular economy and paper recycling).

This year's edition of the festival, through its guests, intends to put forward stimuli and answers on several of the hot fronts of the moment, drawing inspiration from the new paradigm of the civil economy that expands the boundaries and broadens the horizons of the traditional economic vision. In the field of welfare, for example, where the problem of non-self-sufficiency is becoming increasingly impactful, forms of compulsory insurance or in employment contracts capable of reducing risks for families will be discussed with the protagonists. The theme of wellbeing will be addressed in the publication of the annual report on the generativity of the Italian provinces, which will highlight which territories in the country are most capable of creating the conditions for the flourishing of human life for different generations (effective fight against the scourge of young people who do not work or study, active longevity, reduction of ties and barriers to the creation of entrepreneurial and social activities). This year's report will also contain the results of a survey on the territorial inequalities in our country (North versus South, large centres versus inland areas) and the strategies needed to reduce gaps and foster convergence processes. As in previous years, the festival will reward the best practices built by companies and associations, highlighting the civil society's capacity for innovation and discussing those issues on which this process is now ripe to build national laws and paths. One example among all is that of prison labour, which, through the successful experiences of pioneering female entrepreneurs, has proven to be able to reduce prison recidivism by more than 80% and can now become, also thanks to the work of connection and initiative of the country's stakeholders in the Cnel, a model that can be applied with national rules in all the country's prisons. With representatives of the government and institutions we will discuss proposals for a fair and taxpayer-friendly tax system, return to the issue of citizenship for foreigners living in our country and the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence. Another central topic addressed in the debates and in the work of the students, who will participate with workshop activities, will be that of the social and civil business cities, a movement that for some time now has been proposing to build strategies in a participatory manner that set themselves the goal of three zeros (zero poverty, zero unemployment, zero net emissions). The festival, besides being a moment of confrontation and innovation, is a relational asset and an opportunity for the community of generatives to meet, who wish to contribute and participate in the construction of answers and solutions. Its main task in these years and also in the next edition will be to accelerate the change of vision and paradigm that we need in order to rise to the challenges of our times.

Professor of Political Economy at the University of Rome Tor Vergata.