Ideologia neoliberale e ristrutturazione del capitalismo italiano: alle origini della nuova università di classe

Neoliberal ideology and restructuring of Italian capitalism: the origins of the new class university. This paper aims at providing an interpretation of the massive reduction of public spending on Italian Universities, based on the idea that such a policy responds to a political demand on the part of Italian businesses. In particular, it will be stressed that the Italian economy is populated by small firms, with low propensity to innovate and located in mature productive sectors (agribusiness, tourism, luxury). They do not require high-skilled workers nor do they require basicand applied research. The question of the evaluation of scientific research is a fundamental part of these dynamics, and responds to the current restructuring of Italian capitalism.