Social Europe

politics, economy and employment & labour

  • Themes
    • Global cities
    • Strategic autonomy
    • War in Ukraine
    • European digital sphere
    • Recovery and resilience
  • Publications
    • Books
    • Dossiers
    • Occasional Papers
    • Research Essays
    • Brexit Paper Series
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

Reconstruction: time for transformative ideas

Kalina Arabadjieva, Nicola Countouris, Bianca Luna Fabris and Wouter Zwysen 12th May 2022

Genuine recovery from the pandemic requires tackling the deep structural crises it has highighted.

reconstruction,recovery,crises,crisis,pandemic
William Beveridge in 1943: ‘a time for revolutions, not for patching’

The Covid-19 pandemic may not be over but a feeling of normality has settled and a return to prior times—if ‘seasonally adjusted’—seems to inch closer. This is however time to step back and reflect on some of the lessons learnt and plan for a better future.

It is now clear that the pandemic has itself become ‘symptomatic’ of underlying, structural crises: inequality rising steadily between the few beneficiaries of rentier capitalism and workers (as well as among workers), eroding societal and institutional resilience; a looming climate catastrophe requiring radical steps to mitigate and reverse deep-seated dependence on fossil fuels, carbon emissions and unsustainable consumption; and growing social polarisation and political fragmentation, epitomised by the long, exhausting debates on vaccine mandates, recently replaced by equally disheartening discussions of war, conflict and nuclear escalation.

It is also clear that, to the extent that it is possible to claim success in dealing with the effects of the pandemic, these successes have stemmed from important changes. These have ranged over labour markets (the emergence of a ‘remote workforce’ with all that that entails, including for work-life balance), public services (overstretched and underfunded), concepts of the state and its interventions and even shopping patterns. The pandemic has highlighted several dependencies—on unsustainably overstretched supply chains through to unpaid care performed by women—which can no longer be taken for granted.

Macroeconomic models, fiscal and labour-protection systems and society itself will need to respond to these changes. Welfare systems will be expected to come up with innovative solutions, capable of addressing the redistributive conundrums posed by these challenges.


Become part of our Community of Thought Leaders


Get fresh perspectives delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter to receive thought-provoking opinion articles and expert analysis on the most pressing political, economic and social issues of our time. Join our community of engaged readers and be a part of the conversation.

Sign up here

The last two and a half years have served as a lens, magnifying structural issues already plaguing societies—yet also proving that change on a massive scale is possible. This should not be squandered: we can and should do better.

Sharp focus

Over recent decades, inequalities in wealth and income have risen. The decline in the labour share—the failure of productivity growth to pass through to wages—has put the disparities between capital and labour in sharp focus. In the world of work, there has been a long-term push towards fragmentation, which has made life more precarious for many: those in more ‘flexible’ and temporary positions, those working fewer hours than they would like and those working ‘gigs’ as technologically enabled modern-day labourers, rather than on proper contracts.

The pandemic deepened this divide, as it became visible that some workers were well-protected, in stable jobs and working from home, while others were on the frontline and faced high health risks with few rewards. These inequalities have pervasive effects on society as a whole, undermining its cohesion.

The disproportionate effects of the pandemic on women, on people with disabilities, on those with a migrant or ethnic-minority background, those on lower incomes and other vulnerable individuals and communities—particularly those subject to multiple drivers of inequality—have exacerbated systemic injustices. These unequal impacts, compounded by unequal access to life-saving vaccines across different global regions, underscore that those most exposed to the adverse effects of social, economic and environmental crises are often the least well equipped to deal with them. Colonial legacies and other historical and geographical contingencies continue to create disparities in power and quality of life which fuel social conflict.

Essential to survival

Many of these points are extremely relevant to a second looming systemic crisis, namely climate change. This crisis—increasingly worsened by the delays in acting—will again have highly unequal impacts, with the biggest costs borne by those least responsible for emissions and environmental harm, globally and within countries.

It is now widely recognised, in Europe and beyond, that a transition to a zero-carbon economy and efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change are essential to the survival of humanity. Nevertheless, climate action is lagging behind what is necessary to avoid dangerous levels of global heating and policy platforms which promise to ensure that this transition will be ‘just’ often lack a concrete and comprehensive set of measures. Government plans fall short, by far, of the ambitious reimagining of social and economic models necessary for a sustainable future and the wellbeing of people and planet.

The main lessons we can draw from the pandemic here are that, if there is sufficient urgency and political will, what were once firm limits no longer seem quite so rigid, and there is scope for great intervention and systemic overhaul. It is tragic that this should require a crisis. Unfortunately, the terrible Russian invasion of Ukraine renewed the urgency of the green transition in light of Europe’s dependence on Russian oil and gas: whereas the prospect of global disaster seemed too distant, geopolitical weakness was immediate.

Longstanding deficiencies

The policy responses to the Covid-19 crisis should thus no longer be seen as temporary and contingent but reinterpreted as structural solutions to longstanding deficiencies of the neoliberal model of economic and financial governance. Structural problems require nothing less.


Support Progressive Ideas: Become a Social Europe Member!


Support independent publishing and progressive ideas by becoming a Social Europe member for less than 5 Euro per month. You can help us create more high-quality articles, podcasts and videos that challenge conventional thinking and foster a more informed and democratic society. Join us in our mission - your support makes all the difference!

Become a Social Europe Member

The pandemic has demonstrated it is not futile to rethink how we organise the human condition on planet Earth. It can become an inflection point for harnessing progressive thinking and reimagining an alternative society, thriving on sustainability, equality and democratic participation.

Rather than revert to the pre-pandemic situation, with widening gaps between those that have and those that have not, with growth in some parts of the world outstripping natural resources at the exclusion of others and with widening rifts along political lines, it is time to look for new and comprehensive solutions. A new social-ecological contract is required for the future—one that respects planetary boundaries and focuses on wellbeing rather than economic growth.

The solutions have to be comprehensive and ambitious. As the great reformist William Beveridge put it in his landmark 1942 report, ‘A revolutionary moment in the world’s history is a time for revolutions, not for patching.’ They will have to encompass a more sustainable economic model, providing an equitable share of the fruits of progress to everyone, and new and stronger democratic institutions allowing the genuine participation of citizens and workers.

These solutions may not be immediately ready to be implemented, but it is precisely now that we must consider new and radical ways to improve society and tackle the challenges facing us. Old recipes may no longer suffice.

This is not a time for slogans. But it is a time to build for change.

Reconstruction after the Pandemic visual

This piece is linked to a wider project elaborated by the European Trade Union Institute, on reconstruction beyond the pandemic, which will culminate in an edited volume in early 2023

Kalina Arabadjieva
Kalina Arabadjieva

Kalina Arabadjieva is a researcher at the European Trade Union Institute, with a PhD in labour law. She is working on gender equality and the just transition.

Pics1 1
Nicola Countouris

Nicola Countouris is director of the Research Department at the European Trade Union Institute and a professor in labour and European law at University College London.

Bianca Luna Fabris
Bianca Luna Fabris

Bianca Luna Fabris is a researcher and communications officer at the European Trade Union Institute and a part-time doctoral candidate in social policy at the University of Edinburgh.

Wouter Zwysen
Wouter Zwysen

Wouter Zwysen is a senior researcher at the European Trade Union Institute, working  on labour-market inequality and wages, and ethnic and migrant disadvantage.

You are here: Home / Politics / Reconstruction: time for transformative ideas

Most Popular Posts

Russia,information war Russia is winning the information warAiste Merfeldaite
Nanterre,police Nanterre and the suburbs: the lid comes offJoseph Downing
Russia,nuclear Russia’s dangerous nuclear consensusAna Palacio
Belarus,Lithuania A tale of two countries: Belarus and LithuaniaThorvaldur Gylfason and Eduard Hochreiter
retirement,Finland,ageing,pension,reform Late retirement: possible for many, not for allKati Kuitto

Most Recent Posts

Ukraine,fatigue Ukraine’s cause: momentum is diminishingStefan Wolff and Tetyana Malyarenko
Vienna,social housing Vienna social-housing model: celebrated but misusedGabu Heindl
social democracy,nation-state Social democracy versus the nativist rightJan Zielonka
chemical,European Union Which comes first—Big Toxics’ profits or health?Vicky Cann
Russia,journalists,Ukraine,target Ukraine: journalists in Russia’s sightsKelly Bjorkland and Simon Smith

Other Social Europe Publications

strategic autonomy Strategic autonomy
Bildschirmfoto 2023 05 08 um 21.36.25 scaled 1 RE No. 13: Failed Market Approaches to Long-Term Care
front cover Towards a social-democratic century?
Cover e1655225066994 National recovery and resilience plans
Untitled design The transatlantic relationship

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI European Collective Bargaining Report 2022 / 2023

With real wages falling by 4 per cent in 2022, workers in the European Union suffered an unprecedented loss in purchasing power. The reason for this was the rapid increase in consumer prices, behind which nominal wage growth fell significantly. Meanwhile, inflation is no longer driven by energy import prices, but by domestic factors. The increased profit margins of companies are a major reason for persistent inflation. In this difficult environment, trade unions are faced with the challenge of securing real wages—and companies have the responsibility of making their contribution to returning to the path of political stability by reducing excess profits.


DOWNLOAD HERE

ETUI advertisement

The future of remote work

The 12 chapters collected in this volume provide a multidisciplinary perspective on the impact and the future trajectories of remote work, from the nexus between the location from where work is performed and how it is performed to how remote locations may affect the way work is managed and organised, as well as the applicability of existing legislation. Additional questions concern remote work’s environmental and social impact and the rapidly changing nature of the relationship between work and life.


AVAILABLE HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Eurofound Talks: does Europe have the skills it needs for a changing economy?

In this episode of the Eurofound Talks podcast, Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound’s research manager, Tina Weber, its senior research manager, Gijs van Houten, and Giovanni Russo, senior expert at CEDEFOP (The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training), about Europe’s skills challenges and what can be done to help workers and businesses adapt to future skills demands.

Listen where you get your podcasts, or for free, by clicking on the link below


LISTEN HERE

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

The summer issue of the Progressive Post magazine by FEPS is out!

The Special Coverage of this new edition is dedicated to the importance of biodiversity, not only as a good in itself but also for the very existence of humankind. We need a paradigm change in the mostly utilitarian relation humans have with nature.

In this issue, we also look at the hazards of unregulated artificial intelligence, explore the shortcomings of the EU's approach to migration and asylum management, and analyse the social downside of the EU's current ethnically-focused Roma policy.


DOWNLOAD HERE

About Social Europe

Our Mission

Article Submission

Membership

Advertisements

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

Social Europe Archives

Search Social Europe

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Follow us

RSS Feed

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on LinkedIn

Follow us on YouTube