The "politics of sacrifice" of the Andreotti government and the "austerity" policy advanced by Berlinguer were the main target of the protest movement of 1977. Severe criticism was addressed against the Pci: for the first time the party clashed with a social movement, who condemned it for its resistance to social change. It was not only a political and ideological clash, but also a conflict between different cultures, systems of values and ways of interpreting the transformations of Italian society.
Keywords: Social movements, Pci, 1977, Italian society, consumption, austerity