The contradiction you’ve identified is a phenomenon that’s pervasive in the West and I think it’s caused mainly by the ageing population. It is more evident in

The contradiction you’ve identified is a phenomenon that’s pervasive in the West and I think it’s caused mainly by the ageing population. It is more evident in Italy because the population tends to be older, its employment rate lower and because of the prevalence, compared to other developed countries, of low added value jobs and economic activities. The latter 2 tend to produce a badly educated population (see the PIAAC or PISA results), which tends to have dumber ideas than a better educated one. You can see similar developments in the UK (triple lock, Brexit, NI increases, ecc…), even though not as pathological, probably because its economic system is healthier than the Italian. Italy would need millions of immigrants not much to pay pensions, but to reinvigorate the national debate and economy. Maybe if there were enough under-40s, pensions could be reduced and that money could be spent in more productive endeavours.