politics, economy and employment & labour
Social Europe is an award-winning digital media publisher that publishes content examining issues in politics, economy and employment & labour. This archive brings together Social Europe articles on political issues.
A big argument of neoliberal economics is that unemployment is reduced by labour-market deregulation. Lack of robust evidence doesn’t seem to get in the way. Mainstream economics has a tendency to decide on some ‘established’ conclusions, and then hold to them, notwithstanding all evidence to the contrary. This is bad enough, but what may be […]
The European Parliament elections could see the emergence of a large populist bloc thwarting progress for the next five years. A big mobilisation is needed to prevent that. The elections to the European Parliament in May 2019 will be like no previous European elections—possibly the most important since the first direct elections 40 years ago. […]
A European mechanism for pensions and unemployment insurance would protect vulnerable economies against asymmetric shocks and give life to the European Pillar of Social Rights. The debate about the future of the social dimension in Europe offers an opportunity to ground new policy directions and research. The European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) sets out, […]
For a decade there has been cross-party support in Germany for the balanced-budget rule. But in the first of a series of Social Europe columns on German economic debates, Peter Bofinger explains why the social democrats should abandon the ‘black zero’. If our children and grandchildren look back on the present day in 30 years, […]
The pluralist-left coalition—’contraption’ to its detractors—in Portugal has changed the political discourse. Change is less evident, however, on the ground. I was in a rush, running late to where I needed to be, which on 4th October 2015 was the electoral-results party of the Portuguese Bloco de Esquerda (Left Bloc), at Lisbon’s São Jorge cinema. […]
Who stands for Europe: the council of member states or the parliament of the citizens? A little-noticed coming directive will once again test that issue—with workers’ rights at stake. Critics of the European Union have long maintained that the social dimension has too often received the ‘short end of the stick‘ when conflicts between protecting […]
Italy is the only western-European government where radical-right populists are the dominant power. But now they have found the limits to it. The populist coalition in Italy, of the ‘five-stars movement’ (M5S) and the Lega, was recently the object of ironic media commentary, having produced a copy-pasted version of a decree—to rescue the Italian bank […]
The populists present themselves as the voice of the ‘little people’. For trade unions tackling populism entails standing up for a fair and sustainable globalisation. ‘The Andalusians have made history,’ said the national Vox party leader, Santiago Abascal, on election night in the Spanish region in December, claiming a ‘triumph’. This was the most recent […]
Paul Mason begins a series of columns for Social Europe on the theme of postcapitalism and society, stressing the urgency of a new economic model. What characterises the present moment in history is a pervasive sense of unrealism among elites. Official discourses are no longer used as guides to action, laws are not applied and […]
Should social democracy tack towards populists wooing its electorate with xenophobic slogans? The crisis of the left demands instead a positive alternative to social insecurity. These are grim times for the left across Europe. It has been losing votes and intellectual support almost everywhere. For social-democratic parties this decline has in many cases been catastrophic—obliterated […]
The wage share has been falling across the world as inequality has increased in recent decades. A co-ordinated rise is needed, starting in Europe, to reverse that.
Europe’s citizens stand restive at a crossroads. After the May parliamentary election, democracy in the EU can take a leap forward—or the populists can reprise a dark history. Peaceful protests are legitimate, and politicians have a duty to listen and respond to them. The recent social revolts in Europe, however, have deep roots. They are […]
