Social commons: the social protection we want
Universal basic income would offer a deadweight subsidy to low-paying employers. The route to security for all lies in the concept of ‘social commons’.
Politics
Social Europe is an award-winning digital media publisher driven by the core values of freedom, sustainability, and equality. These principles guide our exploration of society’s most pressing challenges. This archive page curates Social Europe articles focused on political issues, offering a rich resource for innovative thinking and informed debate.
A basic-income floor should be part of a recovery programme
With the UK’s social safety net full of holes, support has grown for a basic income to underpin a mean and means-tested benefits system.
Why recovery needs to have children at its centre
The pandemic and the lockdown have had serious effects on children’s wellbeing. The EU recovery plan must ensure their specific needs are addressed.
Sweden, the pandemic and precarious working conditions
Most commentary on the Covid-19 death toll in Sweden has been on the absence of lockdown, yet privatisation and precarity in eldercare should really be in the spotlight.
Sweden must be ready to support an ambitious recovery fund
Rather than locate itself in the ‘frugal four’, Sweden should support a progressive recovery plan at the coming European Council.
Science and politics: a new alliance?
The pandemic has brought science and expertise to the fore in the public sphere, as an anchor of trust—and put the populists on the back foot.
American traumas
Karin Pettersson explores the deep faultlines of unexpurgated racism tearing the United States apart.
Artificial intelligence, healthcare and the pandemic
The coronavirus crisis demands a regulatory framework for the application of AI to protect public health without jeopardising human rights.
A citizens’ conference on the future of Europe
With agreement lacking on the future of Europe—even about the conference on that theme—it’s time to look to a European Citizens’ Assembly.
Relaunching Europe by transparency
Myriad lobbyists in Brussels advocate for private interests, especially big corporations. European citizens need a less patchy framework for transparency.
There is no recovery without migration
The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the essential role of migration in a globalised economy. The recovery must not be jeopardised by self-harming xenophobia.
Lessons from the pandemic for the conservative welfare state
The economic crisis induced by Covid-19 has revealed the breaking points of the conservative welfare state. It is time for a reorientation.
America’s unhappy middle
Branko Milanovic unpacks the malaise of the US middle class and its implications for Democratic strategy towards the presidential election.
History repeating itself? The impact of the Covid-19 crisis on youth
Young people are anxious about the effects of the crisis yet also more trusting in the European Union—an asset which should not be squandered.
Machine learning should increase human possibilities
Sociologist Elena Esposito suggests shifting the focus of artificial intelligence to machines as communication partners. Interview by Florian Butollo.
Digital welfare states: boundaries and opportunities
A Dutch court case has set out a framework within which the emergent digital welfare state can respect the right to privacy.
A federal budget for European citzens
The proposal by the French president and the German chancellor for a €500 billion recovery fund refocuses attention on the EU budget—but that raises wider issues.