Social Europe articles on politics

In a forthcoming book, Branko Milanović identifies four ‘troublesome features’ in ‘meritocratic liberal capitalism’ (while retaining full responsibility for these very tentative remarks, I would like to thank Branko Milanović for his feedback on them). These are the rising share of capital income in total income, which undermines meritocracy; the very high concentration of capital income, which […]

If you’ve ever ordered a taxi through an app, taken a pizza delivery from a guy on a bike or searched a website for a plumber to unblock your drain, you’ve probably witnessed platform work first hand. The ability to order a service online is quickly becoming a commonplace and platform work is clearly filling a […]

Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) suffered another poor state election result on Sunday October 28 with 27 per cent, down 11.3 percentage points from the 2013 election in Hesse. Her grand coalition partner the Social Democratic Party (SPD) slumped to 19.8 per cent of votes, down 10.9 percentage points, its worst showing since 1946. […]

Italy has become a leading example of a perilous western trend encompassing authoritarian, racist, and demagogic movements and attitudes. Developments are showing us what the anti-immigrant interior minister and deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini ideologically hates most –the European Union, solidarity, anti-racism and anti-fascism. His aim is to dismantle any successful form of integration of […]

The progressive discourse on Europe is full of taboos and myths. Entering these debates requires caution. It’s a challenge to clearly articulate the social consequences of European integration and, in so doing, come into conflict with the myth of ‘Social Europe’. It does not take much to be inadvertently painted as a Eurosceptic. As such, […]

The recent anti-Brexit march in London represented an exciting burst of democratic participation. As a young person, it was incredible to be part of a demo that proved that we are not apathetic, but care deeply about the cosmopolitan, liberal values that can best be achieved through cooperation with our European neighbours via the EU. […]

Perhaps one of the most ambitious – and controversial proposals – floated at Labour’s conference  was the plan to give workers a small ownership stake in the companies they work for. The proposal – which would entitle workers to a dividend payment up to a maximum payment of some £500 a year – has, perhaps unsurprisingly, been […]