Thursday, December 4, 2014

Neal Lawson — "Surfers Without Waves – Is Social Democracy Dead In The Water?"

…The 20th century underpinnings of social democracy have not just evaporated, but have been replaced by other hostile forces. Globalisation and individualisation act as pincers to further restrict the possibilities of any social democratic renewal. Globalisation – the flight of capital and the downward pressure on taxes and regulation it engenders – signals the death knell of socialism in one county. Meanwhile, individualism and the culture of turbo-consumption make social solidarity difficult to say the least. 
In such a world, not only have we thankfully lost the sense of deference that made much of the paternalistic social democracy of the last century possible, but the good life has become something to be purchased by the lone consumer and not collectively created by the citizen. The endless formation and reformation of our identities through competitive consumption destroys the very social fabric that social democracy needs to take root. Today, it would seem, there is no alternative.…
This existential crisis of social democracy finds its ultimate expression in the continuing crisis of capitalism. If the historic goal of social democracy is to humanise capitalism, then the way in which public finances have been used to bail out the banks at the expense of the people who are capitalism’s victims, proves the paucity of the social democrat position.… 
So what is to be done? Social democrats are going to have to be brave – really brave – or face irrelevance at best, extinction at worse. There are three key challenges. 
The first challenge is to redefine the meaning of the good society. Social democracy has focussed for too long on the material. Yes we want greater equality, but does that mean just more and more consumption in a race that can never be won?… 
The second challenge is a radical shift in terms of internationalism. If capitalism has gone beyond the nation, then social democracy has no option but to follow. It needs to regulate and control markets wherever they do damage to people or the planet. Yes this is difficult, and yes it means surrendering sovereignty. But power is empty if wielded at the national level when economic decisions are being made in other countries and on other continents.…
The third challenge is cultural. Social democrats are going to have to let go. There is no place for elected vanguards, who do things to people and for them. Social democrats are going to have to know their new place as just one source of empowerment for citizens. Instead of pulling policy levers, the job is to create the platforms so that people can collectively change things for themselves. This is a more humble role, but essential and entirely possible in a networked society in which the internet has become the main nexus for human culture. Parties need to open up and out. They need to see themselves as simply part of much wider alliances for change, and not the sole repository of all wisdom and action. Parties are going to have to become really democratic, localising power and building platforms for collaboration around things like energy, loans and new media.…
Social Europe Journal
"Surfers Without Waves – Is Social Democracy Dead In The Water?"
Neal Lawson

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very interesting and hard to define cultural shifts seem to be going on.

Calgacus said...

Globalisation and individualisation act as pincers to further restrict the possibilities of any social democratic renewal. Globalisation – the flight of capital and the downward pressure on taxes and regulation it engenders – signals the death knell of socialism in one county.

"Individualization" is so amorphous it is hard to respond to. But as for globalization, the answer is:

No, globalization doesn't "restrict the possibilities of any social democratic renewal". Bad accounting, bad economics that lead to the belief that the globalization fairy has these magical powers does this. It convinces even the best of Social Democrats who don't understand economics - like Olof Palme - to deliver a coup de grace to Social Democracy (and then conveniently get assassinated before he could reverse his own folly.) (See The Swedish Model Betrayed)

If capitalism has gone beyond the nation, then social democracy has no option but to follow.
Bullshit. A normal state, with its own currency, overseeing its own finances, cannot even see "beyond the nation" in some magical way. If it decides to have full employment - a very easy task to set itself - there is basically no way it can be magically hurt by the foreign trade / globalization fairy. Asserting that for democracy "to regulate and control markets" - "means surrendering sovereignty", rather than meaning exercising sovereignty - is yet another piece of sloppy thinking.

NeilW said...

"But power is empty if wielded at the national level when economic decisions are being made in other countries and on other continents.…"

More one world centralisation nonsense.

Along with the rigidity and inflexibility that comes with it.

As usual the politics of the left is about thirty years out of date. Those on the capitalist side left globalisation alone years ago. The key now is global reach in very niche markets - provided by the Internet.

In other words the very opposite of centralisation - almost complete decentralisation. Even to the point of inventing new exchange and earning mechanisms - bit coin for example.

The way to deal with capitalism is actually smaller states with more power, buffering themselves against the rest of the world with their own currencies.

Matt Franko said...

Calg I saw that "surrendering sovereignty" too.... I thought the same thing...

Good points Neil...

I still think there are maybe only about 1,000 of us out there ...

rsp,

Peter Pan said...

The third challenge should be the first challenge. That way the world can move on without ever hearing from these people again.