Tag archive for ‘EU’
New Social Europe Journal Out Now!
The latest Issue of Social Europe Journal is out now and includes contributions by:
Phillipe Pochet (European Trade Union Institute), Mercedes Bresso (Socialist Group in the Committee of the Regions), David Held (London School of Economics and Political Science), Gero Maass et. al. (Friedrich Ebert Foundation), Karin Roth (German MP), Sebastian Dullien et. al. (Friedrich [...]
Taking on the Social Liberals
Social democrats – you can’t do anything with them and you can’t do anything without them.
At the turn of the millennium the bases of social democracy were visibly crumbling. Not only had George Bush won the election against Al Gore in 2000, not only did the socialists in welfare state par excellence Denmark lose to [...]
Social Democracy without a Future?
The new generation of social democrats will need a better strategy than third-wayism.
The financial crisis is also the crisis of social democracy. Paradoxically, it is the right that has come out of crisis more strongly, generally by being better social democrats than social democrats themselves. Or, at least, so they would have us believe. The [...]
Lisbon: A Chance for Social Democracy
The Lisbon treaty opens up a new era for the EU, with new opportunities for social democrats.
November 2009 was the twentieth anniversary of an event that has exerted an historic influence over the image and integration of the ‘old continent’ – an event which was itself a product of major European and world political trends. [...]
Facing Up To Our Mistakes
Social democrats must be promoters of progressive change, not technocrats.
It is remarkable how social democrats are discovering the European debate. After their disastrous election results, it seems that social-democratic party leaders, in their desperate search for explanation and orientation, have noticed for the first time that they are part of an already existing European network. [...]
Poverty and Social Exclusion: A Question of Democracy
We must make the most of the opportunities that are presented by the European Year of Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.
European institutions nominate each year as the ‘European Year of …’. The most recent examples are the ‘European Year of Intercultural Dialogue’ (2008) and the ‘European Year of Creativity and Innovation’ (2009). The extent to [...]
Politics before Economy and Ideology before Reality?
Grand visions can run the of risk of overlooking important facts on the ground.
Jon Cruddas and Andrea Nahles raise many challenges in their Good Society manifesto. I will not insist on the background values of this document, but rather on the policies proposed by the authors. I notice the document is rich in promoting big [...]
For a European Left open to the World
It is time for the EU to move away from its inegalitarian policies towards the countries of the South.
A revived European left cannot limit itself to the merely national or even European sphere, but must be open to the world and come up with a plan for restructuring a profoundly unjust global economic system.
We are [...]
The Social Democracy of Fear
We need to be bolder in attacking the ideology of the right.
In a brilliant piece entitled ‘What is Living and What is Dead in Social Democracy?’, published in the New York Review of Books this month, the British historian Tony Judt of New York University argues that the main shortcoming of the democratic left [...]
Overcoming the Economic Recession with Green Policies: An Opportunity we cannot afford to miss!
There is no need to choose between environmental protection, economic development and social justice.
A socially just and environmentally sustainable future where markets serve the people and economic growth respects the planet is possible. I hope that the Conference of the parties in Copenhagen will lead the world forward along the path to a true [...]
The Next Left: Lessons from the Past, Challenges for the Future
New thinking is needed to enable social democrats to overcome their divisions and begin to work together.
The Treaty of Maastricht of 1992 marks an historical moment: a Community based on economic principles transformed itself into a politically and socially aware European Union. Following on from this, the leading political families established europarties, and during the [...]
In Pursuit Of Utopia
In these conservative times we must look to the past for our utopian values.
If politics is about making life better, then the power of politics lies in utopia. Utopia in politics is a promise that becomes a goal, even though it is unreachable in the foreseeable future.
The power of utopia is also in the words [...]
