There is a phrase that often recurs when talking about Italy today: we have become selfish. Yet, if you look a little closer, if you try to listen to the answers without superimposing hasty judgments on them, the image that emerges is different. More nuanced. Less comforting perhaps, but also less harsh. The Italians don’t seem to have stopped helping. Rather, they seem to have learned to do so with caution.

A decision to be made in the moment

When asked what they would do when faced with an unknown person in difficulty, almost two out of three Italians answer that they would probably stop to help them. 29% say they would do so “very probably”, 37% “quite probably”. It is a large majority, which speaks of a country still characterized by concrete, daily availability, made up of small gestures rather than great principles. Alongside this availability, widespread prudence emerges. Not everyone would stop, not always, not anyway. Help becomes a decision to be made on the spot, rather than a valid response in every situation.

It is in this hesitation that a profound change can be glimpsed. Help has not disappeared, but it is no longer automatic. It doesn’t shoot by reflex. Before stopping, you look. It is evaluated. We try to understand. It’s not coldness, it’s experience. It is a social capital that is no longer expressed as generalized trust, but as selective availability. A solidarity that exists, but which demands to be exercised in conditions perceived as safe and understandable.

The “right” principle

The same attitude emerges when solidarity moves from the individual to the collective level. The idea that the State should help those in difficulty more, even if this means higher taxes for those who earn more, gathers consensus, but without enthusiasm. 46% agree, while 29% remain in an area of ​​uncertainty and 25% are against. It is not a refusal of public help, but not even full trust. It is as if many Italians were saying: the principle is right, but the system must demonstrate that it can apply it fairly.

Weighing on this hesitation is a perception that returns forcefully when it comes to rules. When asked whether those who respect them are penalized compared to those who try to circumvent them, almost eight out of ten people answer yes, at least sometimes. 41% are convinced that it happens “almost always”, 38% that it happens “sometimes”. Only 18% believe this rarely happens. It is a fact that says a lot about the emotional climate of the country. It doesn’t just speak of mistrust, but of a widespread feeling of asymmetry, of a system that does not always reward correct behavior.

In this context, trust becomes more difficult. Not because the moral sense is lost, but because the perception of risk increases. And so trust shrinks, concentrates, shifts. From institutions to people. From rules to direct relationships. It is a selective trust, which is granted sparingly and quickly withdraws when it is disappointed.

This same fragile balance is found in the way Italians look at their future. 42% continue to think that destiny depends above all on personal choices and commitment. But an equally large share – 29% who disagree and 29% who remain in the middle – signals a profound doubt. The idea of ​​commitment has not disappeared, but it is no longer sufficient to explain what happens. Studying, working, doing your part remains important, but does not always appear decisive. As if something opaque, unpredictable had been inserted between the effort and the result.

Put together, these responses tell of an Italy that has not given up on solidarity, but has made it more prudent. A country that continues to help, but no longer blindly relies on the system. Who has not stopped believing in commitment, but who has scaled back the implicit promises that have accompanied him for years. It is a society that adapts, that reduces expectations, that concentrates its resources where it feels it has greater control.

This is not the end of social capital. It’s his transformation. From widespread trust to selective trust. From adherence to principles to attention to consequences. In this transformation there is not only disenchantment, but also a silent demand for fairness and functioning. The not-so-hidden request to be able to do the right thing without feeling a little naive every time.

Perhaps this is why, when faced with a stranger in difficulty, many Italians still stop. But they do it with a careful, measured gaze. Not because they don’t want to help, but because they have learned that, today, trust is also a resource to be used with care.

Probabilistic sample representative of the adult population resident in Italy, stratified by geographical area, sex and age. National territorial extension. Interviews carried out between 9 and 11 December 2025 with the cati – cawi method
Margin of error of estimates: + – 3.5%
Total contacts: 5,628 (100%) – respondents: 807 (14.3%) – waste/replacements: 4,821 (85.7%).
Person who carried out the survey: Tecnè srl – Client: Citynews
The complete document on the website: agcom.it