The once-dominant role and current crisis of social democracy in much of Europe in the last century can hardly be understood without analysing the shift from confrontation to compromise in the relationship between the trade union and labour movement and the employers/right-wing forces. This historical compromise between labour and capital was the result of comprehensive […]
Another Right-Wing Victory – And A Serious Labour Defeat
The centre-left failed to get rid of the so-called blue-blue government at Norway’s parliamentary elections on 11 September. The Labour Party was the main loser, while small parties on the centre-left advanced slightly. However, the parliamentary basis of the right-wing government has started to unravel and a deeper political crisis may be looming in the […]
Reactionary Working Class?
Large parts of the western working class now seem to congregate around right-wing populists, demagogues and racists. They vote for reactionary and fascistic political parties. They helped to vote the UK out of the EU, to make Trump US president, and they give such massive backing to far-right political parties that these have power in […]
After Paris: Unify Fights Against Austerity/Climate Change
The Climate Summit in Paris has once again reminded us of how vulnerable we are on planet earth. However, humanity is faced with a number of deep and challenging crises: economic, social, political, over food – and, of course, over climate change, which is threatening the very existence of millions of people. These crises have […]
Can COP 21 In Paris Prevent The Climate Catastrophe?
Today, the 21st UN Climate Change Summit (COP21) starts in Paris. All the way since the Rio Conference in 1992, the aim of these summits has been to agree on policies which can stop global warming and prevent climate catastrophe. The concrete aim has been to limit global warming to maximum 2oC (preferably 1.5oC). The emission […]
Croatia Joins An EU At War – Class War
When Croatia joined the European Union on 1 July, the country joined an EU at war. It is a class war in which capitalist forces, the Troika (the EU Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund), national governments and the new European oligarchy have gone on the offensive to dismantle the welfare […]
Austerity policies in Europe: There Is No Alternative
One of Margaret Thatcher’s infamous slogans was “There Is No Alternative”, known also through its abbreviation TINA. For Thatcher this was a normative slogan, a part of her political, ideological struggle. She wanted to convince people that her neoliberal policies were the only possible, other alternatives have been left on the scrap heap of history. […]
Building Progressive Alliances
The social conflict in Europe has intensified strongly over the past couple of years, in the wake of the financial crisis. The labour and trade union movement has been on the defensive ever since the neoliberal offensive started around 1980. The balance of power in our societies has thus shifted enormously over the past 30 […]
