When a colleague mentioned the phenomenon of early graduates during a dinner, we all thought he was referring to young prodigies who had managed to finish their studies in record time. In reality, early graduates are not prodigies, but rather individuals who, thanks to agreements stipulated by the institutions where they work or the professional associations to which they belong, were able to enrol directly in the second or third year of their degree programme. (p. 187)

But what is stopping meritocracy in Italy? Why has respect for ability and talent, which seems to have developed in the Anglo-Saxon world, not developed here? Giuseppe De Rita blames the education system, particularly state schools, which have levelled everything down, while economist Diorella Kostoris points out that in Italy the dominant idea is to protect those who do not deserve it. Thus, the system guarantees everything to everyone, and the result is that it causes adverse selection, i.e. it penalises the best instead of rewarding them. (p. 169)

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Che cosa è il populismo? In politica è la tendenza di un soggetto a rivolgersi direttamente a un non meglio identificato «popolo», da lui considerato portatore di valori positivi in contrasto a una non meglio identificata «élite» (da noi diremmo «la casta», o «i poteri forti», «le sinistre», talvolta «le destre», spesso «i politici»...) portatrice di valori negativi. Dal punto di vista del populista il popolo è ovviamente quello che è d'accordo con le sue idee, che le acclama, che non le discute. Fuori dal popolo, e mosso da intenti perniciosi, è chi alle idee del leader non si accoda, o che comunque in qualche modo le contrasta o falsifica, o delle quali semplicemente dubita.

It is difficult to propose a reform of the university system that guarantees results. The idea that competitive examinations ensure excellent professors for all universities certainly does not seem to work. The reality is that if a department wants to hire an incompetent candidate, it will always manage to do so, regardless of the complex rules of public competitions. (p. 163)

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