The buzz

[fpb]

I recently spent a couple of days in Rome on business. I mostly live and work in London, but I am involved in a company in Rome and from time to time I have to make brief dashes south. On this occasion, however, I was struck by a difference in mood, in the quality of activity and even attitude, between London and Rome - or rather, Italy. Rome is not regarded as the most entrepreneurial or industrial part of Italy; that honour belongs to the legendary industrial triangle of Milan, Turin, and their deep-water harbour, Genoa. To the contrary, the joint heritage of state administration and Church institutions - by no means restricted to the Vatican; for instance, practically every religious order in the world has either its leadership or a major office in the city - have given it a somewhat sluggish and cynical self-image. In the eyes of the entrepreneurial North, Rome is an idle, immoral Great Wen sucking in tax revenue. And yet, at practically every turn, I was struck by the practically universal presence of individual enterprise. There is supposed to be an economic crisis? Well, I dare say that the difference can be felt by those who live there; but a visitor from a genuinely blighted London, where people look for "jobs" to be given by others, is struck by just how much everyone, Italian and immigrant both, have their own projects, their ideas, their little plans on the boil. Go into a bar in mid-day, and you will find that half the people drinking coffee are talking business. Walk home through a residential area in the evening, and you will see two middle-aged gentlemen sitting in a parked car; they certainly are discussing something to do with the business plans of one or both. The average company is small, but busy. You see little workshops and moderate-sized storehouses and factories everywhere. The sense of activity is pervasive. I have no doubt that a certain amount of this activity will be at the edge of legality, or perhaps beyond; I well remember, years ago, doing a translation for a Roman intermediary who wanted to purchase American arms for Libya of all places - and would not take no for an answer from his American contacts. I have no idea how that particular business went, but though the idea would disgust most Italians, it would surprise none. The point however is that, coming from England, the sense of commercial alertness, and above all of individual willingness to have ideas and back them, to take one's risks instead of expecting work to be created by large institutions above, is absolutely impressive. I do not think there is a word to describe this atmosphere; the one that came to me as I awoke to it is simply "the buzz".

Comments

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Which is a part of the ill-grounded modern worship of youth for its own sake. Start-ups by young people will necessarily suffer from relative ignorance of business conditions, necessities and finance; the basic idea may be good, but it will not be in the real world. I have started three businesses in my time, all failed because I had not clearly taken into consideration what the requirements in terms of time and equipment would be. Only experience can take you there. Considering the most successful European economy, people should make a thorough study of Germany's mittelstand, the small and middle business stratum that is universally acknowledged to keep the country going.

[mentalguy.livejournal.com]

Hm. And some degree of family ownership, if I understand correctly, is characteristic of mittelstand.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Quite. And, as I understand, more reliance on own capital and less on borrowing from financial institutions. Well, economy in general is a Darwinian affair, and the most suited will survive.