In an age of crises, social democrats need to rethink their approach

What are the challenges for European social democracy? And what are the keys to social democratic renewal and victory? Before posing those questions, we need to step back and ask ourselves: what is social democracy and what is it for? What kind of society does it seek to create? Because society is changing – and so must social democracy.

Multiple crises: the pandemic, climate crisis and war

The Covid crisis has been a wake-up call. The pandemic has exposed the underinvestment in key public services, especially in health and research. Today, GDP-led policies and fiscal consolidation are no longer the only option on the table – austerity is a failed political choice and EU leaders are working towards change. Covid has affected our lives in major and unprecedented ways, socially, economically and culturally. Existing inequalities in almost all sectors of society have worsened.

What is more, society is experiencing the effects of the climate crisis more than ever. Not only in the regions of the Global South, but in the heart of Europe. It is increasingly recognised that the climate and ecological crisis will unleash a whole new source of social injustice. If this growing injustice is not addressed, more inequalities will arise and deepen our social crisis. Additionally, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is destabilising the whole continent and the whole world.

These multiple crises call for a common progressive response; our answer cannot be found on a ‘business-as-usual’ approach, but rather requires a radical rethinking of our society and economy. Citizens expect politicians to provide new and concrete answers. So what kind of alternative paths can social democracy offer to manage the multiple crises and gain people’s trust?

Welfare instead of destructive competition

Growth means nothing if it does not make people’s lives better. People and their problems need to be at the heart of public policies. European economic policy must focus on the wellbeing of all. Its objectives must be based on quality of life, employment, distributive justice, sustainability, public goods and innovation.

Harsh and short-sighted austerity policies must be scrapped. Instead, we need public investment and initiatives for employment. Imagine a society that puts people and their wellbeing first. Imagine a society where economic growth is not the only measure of success. This form of progressive society must not be utopia.

More people are aware that capitalism has become an unfair and inhumane economic paradigm; we are taking our planet to its limits, creating bigger gaps between the rich and the poor and undermining our social models. Across Europe, counter movements are forming themselves. Recent success stories could be seen in Germany, Portugal, Spain, Malta and Italy. Traditional progressive values are in demand again.

Working together across Europe

Europe, however, is not only made up of the European continent and it is vital to also look at the UK, even more so in the wake of Brexit.

The Brexit debate in the UK has often been treated as a purely British concern but taking a closer look at its origins one can see that instead of proving the case for national isolation, it instead proves the necessity of progressive collaboration across Europe. The anger that led to Brexit started with social cuts, populist lies and a Conservative obsession with power. The tragedy is that Brexit will solve none of these problems for people living in the UK – and will even create new problems.

It is important that the British learn these lessons, and quickly, if further social and economic damage is to be averted. Yet the lesson learning goes both ways. On this side of the Channel, we in the EU must take the UK as a cautionary tale and ensure that populist lies are also defeated here, so that our continent is not set back on its journey to prosperity and security.

As social democrats, our political family has always fought for a fairer, more egalitarian and more sustainable society. And given the current crisis, we are more determined than ever to deliver a society that works for all.

But we not only need to find new ways to ensure that knowledge sharing and working together continues across Europe – even though I am convinced that we could all profit, particularly from more cooperation on more technical issues, such as campaigning or data management. More importantly, we all also have to review the answers to many policy questions we so long took for granted, as they obviously have not passed the test of time.

So, what are the most pressing policy areas that we have to rethink? What will it require to establish society’s wellbeing, manage the economy and be fit to govern?

Taming globalisation and ending poverty

“15% of the EU workforce live on wages that are below the national poverty line, despite working full time. More than 90 million citizens, almost 21% of the EU population, are considered to be at risk of poverty and social exclusion.”The Great Shift: from a broken world to sustainable well-being

We have to find a solution to tame globalisation. That means shaping it in such a way that workers’ rights are strengthened, exploitation and slave-like working conditions are reduced, and fair wages are made possible around the globe. Achieving sustainable wellbeing for all will require reforms in the financial sector and the digital economy, the two sectors in which the paradigm of limitless and extractive growth continues to ravage most forcefully, and which continue to shape the entire economy along these lines. We need tax fairness, a fight against the climate crisis and at the same time we must tame globalisation and consign poverty to history.

But our response to these serious problems cannot only be to appeal to consumer consciousness and to regularly take part in solidarity actions. The climate crisis and the social crisis force us to redefine our trade policy from scratch. Social and climate issues have to be at the core of a newly defined trading system. We have to create a framework where trade relations are conditional on the compliance with certain rules and regulations that ensure sustainable and fair working conditions on both sides of the agreement. Only then will it be possible to ensure rising living standards and sustainable production around the world.

Tax fairness: needed more than ever

“The world’s richest 1%, those with more than $1m, own 44% of the world’s wealth.” The Great Shift: from a broken world to sustainable well-being

From the north of Scotland to Italy, from Poland to the French provinces, the people experience how the wealth in the glass palaces of the corporations, in the metropoles, always rises to ever more dizzying heights. And at the same time, the same people see how schools are closing, local suppliers and local shops are closing, bus services are being discontinued and jobs are being cut. Out of this injustice grows an anger that threatens to break the EU.

Inequality threatens social cohesion

The richest 5% of Europeans own almost half of all private wealth. The rich benefit from deregulated financial markets, tax competition, tax swamps and waves of privatisation. Multinational corporations, but also wealthy private individuals, take advantage of European welfare states, but abdicate their social responsibility.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a sausage stand or an online corporation – everyone has to make their fair tax contribution. In Europe, we are missing out on up to €1,000bn a year in tax revenue through tax fraud and aggressive tax tricks by corporations. This money could be used to answer crucial questions about the future of the EU and at the same time nation states would have sufficient resources to solve national challenges in housing, education and care.

Digitalisation that works for the people

The EU needs an updated social contract for the digital age. Its citizens need a digital economy based on rules and principles that are necessary for a free, inclusive and just digital society and which will also address the existing gender and territorial digital gaps.

A proper digital charter outlining these rights would guide the EU’s legislative work as the digital transformation progresses, including working towards the recognition of access to the internet as a human right. Fundamental rights must be safeguarded in the digital sphere also. Fair digitalisation must go hand in hand with strong labour and trade union rights, by improving working conditions, collective bargaining, data protection and privacy, and prohibiting discriminatory treatments based on biased algorithms.

Enabling peace and fighting the climate crisis

In order to achieve sustainable wellbeing, we need to address the social-ecological nexus. The green deal needs a red heart. The fight against climate change will only be successful if every single measure taken is accompanied with a just transition for workers: stricter environmental standards must go hand in hand with fair working conditions along the whole production chain. Climate justice is social justice. For too long now, global corporate profits have been internalised while environmental and social costs have been shifted to society. But the EU as a whole has a direct interest in promoting wellbeing, because wellbeing is a vector of peace worldwide.

In order to make sustainable transition work, we need to ensure social fairness and territorial cohesion. Irrespective of where people live, no one should be left behind – when dealing with climate change, the content, and also the process, of transformation are both essential, with a narrative addressing all needed elements in a more systematic way. Democracy at work, social dialogue and collective bargaining at all levels are the right tools to achieve just transition. Social democracy must address this.

Moreover, climate goals also have a security policy aspect and that is why – in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine – we must now step up a gear. It is currently very clear that our dependence on fossil fuels is a key geopolitical weakness of the EU. So while fighting climate crisis, and ensuring that this is not funded by the average person’s income, we must also bring forward our geopolitical agenda and stabilise the European continent.

How to move forward

Socialists and democrats across Europe have to find sources of political, cultural and philosophical vitality and new ways of thinking and organising as social democratic parties EU-wide. We need to take advocacy as a strong movement, which is also able to form governments, which offers a viable political alternative.

Listening to people is the first step – and I’m very proud to emphasise also how well the whole exchange around the EU’s Conference of the Future of Europe worked. The conference, which closed in May, left us in the end with more than 300 concrete proposals, directly made by European citizens themselves. This dialogue must now be the basis for building trust in the social democratic movement that, by addressing these key demands, will be subject to the most significant systemic change since its formation.

The improvement of peoples’ lives throughout Europe will be only possible if we lead with a strong and progressive agenda. And coming back to the UK, we always have to keep in mind that the reason for Brexit was not in true anger against the EU, the reason for Brexit was that the Conservatives were able to make the EU a scapegoat for the deep social divide that runs through Britain, which they were the primary authors of.

I am deeply convinced that when we are able to find a way to intensify collaboration, to rethink major policy areas and to lead by example in countries where social democrats have come to power, Europe will not only see a major rise in peoples’ living standard, but also will become a shining example of a community that even some of the 52% of Brits who voted Leave will aspire to join once again. Let’s start that journey.

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This essay first appeared in the Fabian Society collection, Enduring values: How Progressives Across Europe Can Win.