Social Structure of Italy

Although the increasing social mobility—from village to city, from south to north, as well as the more complex movement up and down the social ladder—is steadily changing the Italian nation, class differences remain sharp. In Italy social classes are rooted not so much in economic activity as in education and family traditions. Class prejudices pose serious problems for a country that is trying to become modern and democratized, but expanded opportunities for education and the acquisition of new skills should help to lay the basis for a more open society.

 

Of Italy's 15 million families, about a million belong to the "governing class." Within this category the largest, most dynamic group is the intelligentsia: the middle-class intellectuals, lawyers, doctors, scientists, and clergy. Alongside them stand two smaller groups: an upper middle class of successful businesspeople, and an aristocracy of wealthy landowners, descendants of those who formerly made up the oligarchies of the independent regional states.

 

Although the overall size of the lower middle class (petty bourgeoisie) has been relatively stable, it has undergone an internal evolution. In particular, there has been shift away from the so-called "old" middle class toward the "new." The former includes categories such as artisans, shopkeepers, and independent, small farmers; the latter comprises white-collar employees in the bureaucracy and state-owned industry and highly paid skilled workers, especially in unionized sectors of the economy.

 

The urban proletariat is almost as large as the lower middle class. Though handicapped by limited education, workers have bettered their economic position through the rival labor organizations traditionally linked to Communist, Socialist, and Roman Catholic political parties.

 

Only one-twentieth of the labor force still makes its living from farming. (Before World War II half of the labor force did so.) The problem of rural overpopulation is rapidly declining as urban employment opportunities increase. Most farmers own the land they cultivate, but holdings are often small. A minority are tenants in the north, sharecroppers in the mid-region, and day laborers in the south.

 

A remarkable redistribution of the working population among the three economic sectors (agricultural, industrial, and service) occurred after the 1950s as Italy developed first into a modern industrial economy, which was recognized in the 1970s as one of the "Group of Seven" industrial powers, then evolved toward a "postindustrial," service-oriented economy. Thus in 1954 agriculture accounted for 39.9% of those actively employed, but by 2000 that figure had declined to 5.3%. By contrast, industrial sector employment rose from 32.8% in 1954 to a peak of 44% in 1973, but then slipped back to 32% by 2000. The service sector, meanwhile, accounted for a steadily growing portion of employment, climbing from 27.3% in 1954 to 62.8% in 2000. The south, however, still lagged considerably behind the north in economic development, and unemployment remained a persistent problem, accounting for about 10% of the total labor force in 2000.

Emancipation of Italian women occurred rapidly after World War II, especially in the north and in the cities. In 1946, women gained the right to vote, and in the 1970s both divorce and abortion (under certain circumstances) were legalized. In institutions of higher learning in the 1990s, women made up 50% of the students, and they outnumbered men as teachers in elementary schools. Many were employed in shops and industry. Thus far, Italian women have displayed slight interest in either club activities or volunteer social work, perhaps because of insufficient leisure time.