Although no comparison is drawn strictu sensu between the Brazilian and Italian social protection systems, the article underlines the similarities and differ-ences between these two nations as far as their handling of the crisis of the Welfare State and, especially, as far as the perspectives that have been opened up in current discussion of this topic. The most well-known types of Welfare States are first discussed, and it is seen that Brazil and Italy display the same social protection model. Important differences in the arguments and proposals now on the agendas of both nations are then identified. Inclusiveness and the representativity of the political system are taken as explicative variables in an analysis of the main roadblocks to a deeper transformation of the institutional mechanisms of social pulic_y iu Brazil. The specialized literature recently produced in Italy is used to show that criticisms of the National Sanitation and Social Security System raised of iate in that nation are not very far removed from those most often heard in Brazil. Dissimilarities in perspectives are underscored, however, particularly as regards the weight of the concept of citizenship. Because of the weight of this concept in Italy, more is to be gained there than in Brazil from the controversies surrounding questions such as universalization, selectivity, and privatization. In conclusion, it is suggested that between the radicainess of the market and the power of the State lie innovative strategies that may aid in solving at least some of the contemporary problems of social justice.