At Least In Italy, Capital ♥s Labor

John Allen attempts to explain what Benedict's curial appointments signify, and reports on the new English translation of the Mass. Most interesting, however, is his summary of an article making the rounds in Italy that purports to document an Italian political realignment. Specifically, it pronounces cattocommunismo (the allegiance between Catholics and radical Leftists) dead, for many of the same reasons ethnic Catholics have fled the Democratic party in the States. The author asks how many of Italy's most pressing problems can be classified as struggles between Capital & Labor and comes up with zero. Moreover:

Galli della Loggia says that the traditional social base of the radical left -- industrial workers, farmers, and rural craftsmen -- are today on the verge of disappearing, and have been replaced by civil servants, teachers, employees of large corporations, university professors, and other members of the middle and upper-middle classes. These groups are economically interested in the protection of a strong public sector, but no longer conserve anything of the antique leftist hostility to individualism, hedonism, materialism, and in general for the middle class. Today, the ethic of the left tends to be "to each his or her own," requiring the state to remain neutral in the face of various lifestyle choices.
All this means, according to Galli della Loggia, that the magnetic appeal of cattocommunismo in the early 20th century, that of a meeting between "two peoples" in defense of social solidarity and the "humble Italy," against the Italy of the signori and the bourgeoisie, is largely finished. Instead, the radical left and Catholics find themselves on opposite sides of the culture wars