Anger, not just inequality, drives white working-class voters—progressives must face uncomfortable truths to push back.
Totalitarian Democracy: How Populist Leaders Are Undermining Democracy
Populist leaders exploit democracy to consolidate power, dismantle institutions and sideline expertise.
Nobel Prize in Economics: Do Democracy and Prosperity Really Go Hand in Hand?
This year’s Nobel laureates link democracy to economic success, but their theory ignores autocratic growth and rehashes old ideas.
What is the ‘free’ in ‘Palestine should be free’?
The left has often been embarrassed by association with ‘liberation’ movements which became custodians of authoritarian states.
What works for the left? Liberal socialism
As the European Parliament elections loom, with the populists rising, progressives need a liberal-left narrative.
The idea of a liberal socialism
Liberalism and socialism have been wrongly counterposed. Connected, they represent a hegemonic alternative.
Israel-Palestine: a comparative perspective
An enduring refugee crisis, the conflict is unlike any similar episode from World War II and its aftermath.
Europe and the future of US democracy
Europe needs to address the risk come 2024 of facing not only a non-democratic superpower to its east—but to its west too.
When capital relinquishes ownership
As the ownership of firms becomes transferred to algorithmically-controlled index funds, why not put their human employees in charge instead?
What saved American democracy?
Democracy in the United States survived the assault by Donald Trump and his supporting mob. But why it survived raises questions awkward for some.
What to do about economic inequality?
Economic inequality has burgeoned as income from capital has risen faster than growth. Time to change the owners of capital.
Politics Of Fear Versus Politics Of Hope
There are many different ways to understand the dimensions of politics. The classic right-left scale has dominated most European politics for over a hundred years and is mainly about redistribution. Another dimension that has recently gained attention is about the difference between those who are geared toward environmentalism, internationalism and the extension of civil liberties […]
Strange Bedfellows Undermining Liberalism: Trump And Academia
For people like myself, working as a social science researcher, these are very strange times. Almost any colleague, in whatever discipline you talk with, will quickly turn the conversation onto one and only one question – the election and politics of Donald Trump. Since his election as US President, the academic community appears to have […]
UBI: A Bad Idea For The Welfare State
In its admittedly noble striving for increased social justice, the political left has historically had several ideas that, one might dare claim, were not particularly well thought out. For example, the idea of the centrally planned economy, the nationalization of all the means of production, forced collectivization of agriculture and, I can add, the Swedish […]
Reinventing Social Democracy: An updated Swedish model
Well, Bo, thank you very much for joining us today to do a SWOT analysis of the Swedish Social Democratic party SAP. What is the historic position of the SAP in the Swedish political system and where does it stand currently? Well, the Swedish Social Democrats have I think forever, at least since back in […]
Immigration And Economic Growth: Is Keynes Back?
There is something very strange going on in the current debate on refugee immigration. There is a lot of alarmist talk about youth gang criminality, problems related to labor market integration, falling results in school, honor-related violence and oppression, increased social tensions, housing segregation, recruitment to various terrorist groups, ethnic discrimination and lack of respect […]
Macron And The Nordic Model
Emmanuel Macron’s political success has surprised many political commentators. The fact that in a large country like France with long-standing political traditions and within a very brief period he has succeeded in building a whole new political movement outside the traditional parties and then getting two thirds of the votes cast in a presidential election […]
The Long Affair Between The Working Class And The Intellectual Cultural Left Is Over
Sometimes love comes to an end. The glow fades, the couple has grown “apart” or suffered what used to be called “irreconcilable differences”. This occurs not only between individuals but also in politics. The Brexit referendum in the UK, Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States and the success of all sorts of nationalist-populist […]
Why Has The White Working Class Abandoned The Left?
Maybe the most surprising political development during this decade is why increased inequality in almost all capitalist market societies has not resulted in more votes for left parties. Especially telling is the political success of Donald Trump and why such a large part of the American working class voted for him. In a country with […]