Italian state weakness stems from an ideology that denies the public good exists.

Evidence

Since the last war this relativist view has survived mutatis mutandis in the peculiar mixture of cynicism and Catholicism which represents the quintessence of Italy’s political structure: since no individual or institution can identify the public good (only God can know it), the role of the state cannot be to defend and promote something unknowable. The only achievable “public good” emanates from a ceaseless process of mediation between the various organized interests present in society. This ideological stance is epitomized by the style of government of the Christian Democratic party and has provided support for its subservience to the church’s interests, its propensity for endless compromise, and its egregious lack of moral energy, consistently low even by the usual standards of politics. — Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Business of…, 23

Categorization

• XREF: Causal account of the demand side of Gambetta’s protection market: a state that cannot define and promote the public good leaves protection vacuums.
• QUESTION: Could the correlation between Catholic theological relativism about the public good and weak state enforcement be causal, or merely concurrent? Worth chasing quantitatively across European states.