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"Standing still is the fastest way of moving backwards in a world that is changing at an ever more rapid pace". This is an accurate summary of the impact of innovation on contemporary society, for countries, firms and individuals. The ability to innovate – and renew oneself – is at once a yardstick of competitiveness, a factor of success and a guarantee of survival. Research underlies any innovative process, but the path that leads from the intuition to the discovery, and from this to applications, is never entirely predictable. In fact, innovation is only possible in a society that rewards creativity and risk-taking and ensures the uninhibited flow of information and ideas. And which understands the fact that innovation is power – thanks to its ability to change the world, life and things, and the social impact of its consequences – and as such should be shared by all the citizens of the world. |
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Technological Innovation and Labour Policies
Milan, 3 December 1998 The most pressing problem facing Europe is the enormous disaster of unemployment, which has reached an average level of 11-12%, with peaks of more than 20% in Spain and Southern Italy. These are levels that do not exist in any other advanced country and, in theory, should not exceed 3%. The major cause of the shortage of jobs is the steady decline in private investment, which is currently at least one third less than required to reduce inflation to a more natural level. In the countries of the European Union, restrictive monetary policies and the race to bring budgets into balance have brought about this decline because the Maastricht Treaty forced governments to consider productive investment as part of current expenditure. New and real opportunities can only be created by reformulating the concepts of government expenditure and deficits. Europeans must therefore understand that unemployment has nothing to do with so-called external forces, such as allegedly job-destroying technological progress or competition from low-wage countries. |
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