debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
Current debates within the European socialist movement on the way forward for the Centre-Left, often seem to be centred on the unnecessarily narrow field of “state versus market”. Much of the debate revolves around questions of the “correct ratio” of state-to-market in the provision of public goods and services, with scant attention given to the [...]
Recent elections in France have given the Socialist Party control of both the executive and legislative branches. Good news? For those of us on the Left, definitely. A major step towards bringing about a socialist economic order in Europe? Hardly. In France we have a Socialist Party that does not advocate socialism. But it’s not [...]
Thanks very much for inviting me here this evening; not least because it allows me to talk about philosophy, society and socialism. Believe me as a Labour MP this does not happen very often. I have been a MP for ten years. I went with Tony Blair into Downing St in 1997 and spent three [...]
The crisis of the eurozone seems to be going from bad to worse. Not only have the key players not yet found convincing solutions for the fiscal problems in Greece, Ireland and Portugal but we are already witnessing the beginning of a political backlash that could undermine the achievements of decades of European integration. There [...]
Socialism is what Labour governments do. So famously spoke Herbert Morrison, senior Labour cabinet member and deputy leader of the Labour Party in 1945. On one level, 65 years later, Morrison’s words look paternalistic at best and plain arrogant at worst. It was socialism done to the people. But it was a sound bite that [...]
In 1995, I published a book called The World After Communism. Today, I wonder whether there will be a world after capitalism. That question is not prompted by the worst economic slump since the 1930’s. Capitalism has always had crises, and will go on having them. Rather, it comes from the feeling that Western civilization is [...]
After its defeat in May, Labour moved to elect a new leader. It was just the beginning of the overhaul that centre-left politics needs if Britain is to build the good society. Just seven months ago, Labour suffered a defeat of epic proportions. It was its worst performance since 1918, barring the loss it suffered [...]
The Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party is certainly not among the best-known institutions in the west, but it gained a lot of attention recently when China’s Vice President, Xi Jinping, became its vice chairman (a position also once held by Hu Jintao before he became President in 2002). After Xi outranked his rivals [...]
It occasionally is rewarding to think of ideal solutions to current crises rather than of outcomes dictated by evident and immediate constraints. It is rewarding because it invariably teaches us humility about our current political capacities – and because, even in that lesson, we may find new ways of looking at our situation. I designate [...]
‘Building the Good Society’ contains no mention of ‘socialism’. While its analysis promotes ideals of which all socialists would approve – ‘freedom and equality for all’; ‘equitable economic development for the good of all’; ‘solidarity and social justice’; ‘taking … utilities back into public ownership’ – the overall message is one of accommodation to capitalism, [...]
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