Quale Stato? Cambiamento demografico, fiducia nelle istituzioni e political economy oltre il welfare state

This article discusses Massimo Florio’s Il Capitale contro lo Stato from a political economy perspective, focusing on two conditions underlying the transition beyond the traditional welfare state. First, demographic change affects not only the demand for public expenditure but also its composition by altering the structure of the electorate and the political balance between generations. Second, an expansion of the State’s role beyond redistribution and social insurance requires citizens’ trust in public institutions and effective forms of participation. Bringing these dimensions together, we argue that the future of the State depends not only on the resources available to meet emerging collective needs, but also on the political and institutional conditions through which competing interests are reconciled and public action is legitimised. Florio’s alliance between the State and “social intelligence” is therefore not only a possible outcome of this transformation, but one of its necessary conditions.