that lens - shaped glasses had long been familiar to optical craftsmen and used by them to correct sight defects, but until galileo all the representatives i. visco ( 2014 ), investire in conoscenza, il mulino, bologna. j. mokyr ( 2009 ), the enlightened economy. an economic history of britain, 1700 – 1850, new haven, yale university press, p. 107. ibid., p. 116. bis central bankers ’ speeches of high science had always looked down on them with contempt. galileo had the courage and the intelligence to make use of these lenses for his astronomical research, artfully combining them to achieve a power of magnification that was truly exceptional for the time. 19 the place where scientific knowledge and the set of competences of the most highly skilled workers are “ produced ” is the university 20 italy differs from the most advanced countries by the much smaller amount of resources allocated to universities by families and by the public sector : 21 annual spending per student is less than 20 per cent of per capita gdp, compared with a european average of nearly 30 per cent. 22 despite the institution of the three - year university degree course, we still lack a clear distinction between “ light ” higher education – suitable for the blue and white collar tasks that are at the base of the production apparatus – and education designed to supply the economy with a steady flow of specialists and professionals who, in today ’ s globalized world, can keep up with their peers from insead, mit or london business school. a vicious circle of supply and demand has set in. the italian universities do not supply adequate human capital for a modern, advanced economy, while the firms that should demand it are often not equipped to recognize different degrees of quality and put the right price on them, often because they are too small. salary levels, even in individual contracts, almost never distinguish between graduates from a low - ranking italian university and a harvard ph. d. judging by the standards of american, british and german graduate schools or the french grandes ecoles, it is almost as if italy had given up the idea of training its professional elite at home and delegated the task to universities abroad. the average american university student invests nearly $ 15, 000 a year ( at 2011 prices ) in post - secondary education. the public sector adds another $ 8, 000, bringing the total to $ 23, 000. in italy, converting euros into dollars at purchasing power parity

capitalism generated the central bank and capitalism will come to it again, even if the current infatuation with the financial markets ’ self - regulating capacity were to endure. [ … ] the central bank produces an intangible but essential good – trust – of which capitalism has an immense need. we must not forget that trust, or its synonym “ confidence ”, derives from the latin fide, meaning faith, which cannot be produced simply by contract. in fact the legitimacy of central banks does not lie in their policy activism, or the ability to generate income, or even, save in a highly indirect sense, their efficiency. rather, [ … ] it derives from competence, moderation, the long - term approach, and the refusal to take any tasks beyond their primary role. ” in the end this, perhaps, is what society should expect, if not from the financial sector, from those who are called to look after financial stability.