debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
This looks like a very interesting initiative: Europe is in crisis. For some time now, the European Union develops into a direction, which is determined primarily economically. By contrast and despite all treaty revisions, the political and social dimension of the community expanded only on a low level. Constitutive asymmetries, socio-economic heterogeneity and macroeconomic imbalances have increased [...]
In most European countries there is a majority of people who could be reached by social democratic values and politics. Nevertheless social democratic parties have not been able to convince this majority over recent years. Some of the reasons for this development have been policy-decisions of social democratic parties, especially in government. But our parties [...]
Social democracy has arguably been more aware of historical change than any other political movement. Liberals tend to believe that historical change is something that cannot and should not be influenced, beyond the creation of a minimal state. Conservatives might be interested in history but the idea that mankind could consciously make its own history [...]
For those of you who speak German and happen to be in Berlin next Saturday there is an interesting conference on the future of European social democracy with a variety of interesting speakers including yours truly. This is the conference agenda: Tagungsprogramm: Samstag, 14.05.2011 9.30 Uhr: Begrüßung und Einleitung Björn Böhning, Vorsitzender Forum DL21 10.00 Uhr: Podiumsdiskussion [...]
Cultural conflicts are merely symptoms or reflections of deep-rooted socio-economic problems or injustices: this has been, and continues to be, the traditional view espoused by many European social democrats. The logic which flows from this is pretty simple: if we get the socio-economic questions right, the answers to our cultural problems will fall into place. [...]
In his article The Good Society versus the Big Society Henning Meyer addresses how the right in Britain have occupied the political terrain of society and its relationships that once belonged to social democracy. He rightly identifies that the crucial issue is an attempt by the right to reconfigure the relationship between the state, the [...]
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