They have developed a model that tries to depict what the social structure of Italy actually is. They say there are two parts to this. There is the horizontal structure and the vertical structure. Horizontal structures are general divisions of society in to different strata, identified primarily in terms of their relationship to the means of production and certain other factors. Basically that means it is determined by what you do for a living.
Vertical structures lead to imbalances in distribution of income.
Which obviously is what cause people to be upset and makes this a crisis. But they state that Italian society was split in two from the outset and was never able to free itself from this dualism. It seems that this society no longer shows any interest in its own future. There are no more concerns for values, work, or social life. You have the workers and the people that have the workers do the work for them.