AP Photo

What is happening in Italy? Old stereotypes have been common in recent reporting of the worsening crisis in the eurozone. These Mediterranean countries with their big state debts, "problems" with criminality and established black economies have frequently been lumped together as the "sick men of Europe": lazy, unproductive, with trade unions who go on strike and people who protest in the streets. How outdated they are! Yet this kind of analysis is almost useless in helping us understand what is happening in Italy, and why is it taking place now. It also gives us no insight into the deep human costs...