Major new publication on how Europe’s centre-left parties can return as forces of social and economic progress<\/p>\n
A decade into the new century, Europe is beset by a striking mood of social pessimism. The post-war baby boomer generation harbours real fears about the future, as it looks like life will not be as good for their children as it was for them.<\/p>\n
Such anxiety presents a particularly de-habilitating political problem for social democracy for whom the promise of social progress has always been a powerful electoral rallying call, with education, aspiration and social mobility occupying centre-stage.<\/p>\n
But in the minds of many across Europe, this contract no longer holds. Rather, a populist scepticism toward established politics, the aftermath of the near collapse of the financial capitalist system, and a centre-right which seeks to capitalise on the successes of the social democratic legacy while playing the card of \u2018economic competence\u2019 now sets the boundaries of debate.<\/p>\n
Coming back as the parties of social and economic progress requires new ideas and political narratives for our times, but it first requires solid building blocks on which to situate a 21st century vision of social progress. It is here that this volume contributes with papers on social investment and the European welfare state; the workplace and labour market; and social protection and intergenerational inequality.<\/p>\n