Today's Wall Street Journal (Jan. 19) carries an interesting article by Tim Parks called "Now That's Italian" (op-ed page A12). Tim Parks lives in Verona, I think, and he is the author of "Italian Neighbors", "Italian Education" and other excellent books about Italy. While corporate fraud is similar everywhere in the world (human nature being what it is), he gives the Parmalat scandal a uniquely Italian spin; he compares the elevation of Tanzi, Agnelli, Berlusconi and others to "city/state" superstars to their Medici prototype. I know politics is a no-no on this site, but this article is by an author many of us are familiar with, and I think Parks' insights are just another way of better understanding this part of the world that we all love. Unfortunately I subscribe to the printed WSJ, not the on-line version, so I can't attach a link to the article. Is there another Slow Traveler who can post the link from the WSJ website?
Posts: 196 | Location: Connecticut, USA | Registered: 02 March 2003
I've read quite a few op-eds focusing on the Parmalet scandal from the cultural and political angel. For what it's worth, here's a link for one of these articles:
This is supposed to work for 7 days for non-subscribers. Steve emailed it to me on a computer that has not logged into the WSJ and it worked. I am not positive it will work here - but give it a try.
wow what an article and let me say I adore the other with the definition of Italy being the tumor within europe [why not the world?]
How to fly miles over the surface of a Country. "The collective psyche is hungry for them." tha Man is profound. A sequence of common places, although written in a elegant form is still a sequence of common places.
Is that Italy? feel free to believe it.
Posts: 876 | Location: italy | Registered: 18 July 2002
For anyone who has followed the revelations at Parmelat on a daily basis since the scandal broke, this article seems both superficial in its understanding of the essential elements, and, in my opinion, an attempt to force all the sad developments of corporate malfeasance into some overweaning concept and fit it into some kind of "Italian" collective psyche. Parks, who should know better, should not do such a service to the Italians, who do not, as far as I can see, have a collective psyche, nor do they want to perpetuate corrupt schemes for the purposes of "continuity." The participants in this scandal seem to have been global (read the newspapers), and, so far, most of the success in unraveling the threads of the story have come from efforts of investigators within Italy.
Posts: 2054 | Location: Suburban Philadelphia | Registered: 08 July 2002
I'd be very hard put to cleave corporate fraud into nations, or even between corporate fat-cats and the rest of us. The perpetration of fraud is a disease that can attack any of us; the perpetration of big fraud, of course, is a disease of the rich (as Tom Lehrer would say), because only the rich have the means to pull it off!
Thank You Pualine for the site and Thank You Joseph for bringing the article to my attention. I am printing the 3 pages now and will read it later. I too really enjoyed Tim Park's books. Now reading 'Extra Virgin', written by Annie Hawes. Love all these books available about living or visiting Italy. Who can't love all the different perspectives. Again Thanks Wendy
Posts: 2992 | Location: Monterey Peninsula, California, USA | Registered: 07 September 2003
I found Tim Park’s analysis of Tanzi as a modern barone quite discreto, and his inclusion of him with Berlusconi and Angnelli very valido, and certainly, it is rendered relativo by a public focused on his soccer successes for little Parma. Thanks for the link.
posted 20 January 04 01:06 AM "I found Tim Park’s analysis of Tanzi as a modern barone quite discreto, and his inclusion of him with Berlusconi and Angnelli very valido, and certainly, it is rendered relativo by a public focused on his soccer successes for little Parma."
Howard, I remember this being passed around some time ago and wondering, but not asking, about the person who created it. Is this person an Italian with this perspective on his own national psyche? Or is he a European with this perspective. OR is he an Italian, making fun of the European perspective on the Italian psyche? At any rate, thanks for re-posting this. It is very entertaining.
Deborah Horn
In a previous life I was an Umbrian sunflower farmer. I'd like to do a past life regression and stay there. ----------------------------------- www.petsburg.com
Posts: 4993 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: 04 September 2001
Very funny and driving in Italy I can relate to. When I was driving in Tuscany last year I found that the speed limit signs was the recommend minimum speed limit one should be driving at. I found myself going over 10 km of the posted speed limit and I was still to slow for many Italian drivers. I felt if one see the a speed limit times it by two or threes times the speed limit then you will be ok.
Bill
Posts: 460 | Location: East Elmhurst, NYC, USA | Registered: 12 September 2003
Deobrah, you tingled my curiosity about Bruno Bozzetto, the creator of the cartoon. I found his web site, definitely Italian. One of those places on the net that looks so good, it could consume way too much time. From the looks of it, he is not so much “making fun of the European perspective on the Italian psyche,” as just plain having fun with his own country’s psyche. Here it is, but be careful, you'll get lost for a few hours: Bruno Bozzetto
Topic Closed
Spoken like a true Tim Parks fan!
