What are the great challenges that will shape the future of Italy and the world? Can we still grow in a global system marked by inequality, climate crisis, and political instability? How can we face the future without falling into facile optimism or illusory solutions? These are just some of the questions Carlo Cottarelli asks—and asks us—in his new book, "Senza giri di parole" (Mondadori, 2025, €19.00, 264 pages, also available as an e-book).
This book by the famous economist was born from the urgent need to shed light on a time of profound uncertainty and instability.
Cottarelli, in fact, takes stock of seven major global challenges that are shaping our present and will shape our social and economic future. These include the realignment of international power between China and the United States—particularly since the inauguration of the new Trump administration—with the rise of new global powers, the growing economic and political role of multinational technology companies, the threats of global warming, the challenges posed by migration flows, the increasingly intense internal tensions within the European Union, the progressive decline in the birth rate, and the situation in Italy and the future of its economy.
These are open fronts, daunting challenges, but they must be addressed promptly, without delay, concretely, realistically, rolling up our sleeves with courage and a critical spirit. As Cottarelli writes in the book's introduction: "The topics addressed in this book are so important that I don't hesitate to call them fundamental for the future of humanity and, more specifically, for you, your children, and your grandchildren." This is why this is no time for hesitation, for burying our heads in the sand like an ostrich. There are certainly many unknowns, and if we want to avoid being caught unprepared and try to overcome the obstacles ahead, the first, urgent step is to fully acknowledge the situation, to tell ourselves how things are, without mincing words, without giving in to pessimism or lulled into blind optimism, and, above all, without resorting to shortcuts. Cottarelli continues: "This book tells you about the problems, illustrates their possible solutions, but concludes that these are unresolved issues, for which the key to the problem has not yet been found. It's not that that key can't necessarily be found. But at the moment it's not clear what it might be, and if it's not clear, it can't be ruled out that it won't be found. Of course, one cannot lose hope (spes ultima dea, right?). But, as Schopenhauer wrote, an appropriate degree of pessimism (or at least honesty in not believing one always has the answer to every problem) can be healthy for moving forward and finding a solution.
Cottarelli thus offers us a lucid and necessary reflection, one that does not ignore the most complicated and controversial aspects of individual issues and represents an essential starting point. Because only with honesty and awareness can we face an uncertain future with steady nerves and a critical eye. In short, we are faced with an even "hard-to-digest" book, so much so that the author himself initially indicates not so much why it should be read, but who should avoid it: "It should not be read by the faint of heart, the anxious, or, at least, those who plan to leaf through these pages before going to sleep and have peaceful dreams. It takes courage to read it. It requires strong hearts. […] To read it, you need strong nerves and an adequate supply of optimism to shield yourself with. […] Secondly, it should not be read by those who have reached ataraxia, by those with dull hearts, by skeptics who think that talking about the future is useless because nothing can be said about it. Ultimately, Cottarelli's book is for those accustomed to throwing their heart, both concretely and metaphorically, beyond obstacles...but with common sense."