Why is social democracy failing in Europe?

[Loppan Torkel]

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/57602/decline-social-democracy-europe.html

Spoiler :

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In 2002, the social democrats were in power in 15 countries of the EU. Today, despite the fact that the financial crisis has proved the social, moral, and ecological bankruptcy of ultraliberalism, social democrats rule in only five countries.

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European social democracy lacks the vision of a new social utopia. Times have changed. In the minds of many constituents, even the least well off, consumerism has triumphed, along with the desire to get rich, have fun, luxuriate in abundance, and be happy without feeling guilty.

In the face of this dominant hedonism, permanently stamped into people’s minds by relentless advertising and manipulation by the media, the leaders of the social-democrats do not dare go against the current.

They have even managed to convince themselves that it isn’t certain that capitalists get rich by exploiting workers but that, to the contrary, the poor are taking advantage of the taxes paid by the wealthy. They think, in the words of Italian philosopher Raffaele Simone, that “socialism is possible only when misfortune outstrips happiness, when suffering far exceeds pleasure, and chaos triumphs over structure”.
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Social Democrats in Sweden - wiki - which are in a terrible state at the moment. They still have their support after being dominant in Sweden for a century.

Spoiler :

The Swedish Social Democratic Party got between 40%-55% of the votes in all elections between 1940 and 1988 making it the most successful political party in the history of the liberal democratic world.[6] The voter base consists of a diverse swathe of people throughout Swedish society, although it is particularly strong amongst organised blue-collar workers.[7]

In the 2006 general election, the Social Democratic Party received the smallest share of votes (34.99 %) ever in a general election with universal suffrage, resulting in the loss of office to the opposition, the centre-right coalition Alliance for Sweden.[8] Among the support that the Social Democratic Party lost in the 2006 election was the vote of pensioners (down 10% from the 2002 election), and blue-collar trade unionists (down 5%). The combined Social Democratic Party and Left Party vote of citizens with non-Nordic foreign backgrounds sank from 73% in 2002 down to 48% in 2006. Stockholm County typically votes for center-right parties. Only 23% of Stockholm City residents voted for the Social Democratic Party in 2006

The US have made a slight turn to the left. At the same time Europe have gone in the opposite direction the last few years.

The Social Democrats keep repeating their usual mantra but they don't have any confidence left. All they seem to have is their tradition and some admirable ideologies they don't know how to make use of any more and might not fully believe in any more.

What's your take on all this?

 

[Tahuti]

In the Netherlands, the Socialist Party is dominating the polls, though Right-Wing parties control parlement ATM. But yes, there is a general trend against Social Democracy in European.

The major problem of Social Democracy is that it doesn't seem that Social Democrats have something new to tell. They are in favor of the welfare state, but since Europe is aging, increasingly more people will only care whether their pensions are paid or not, and no longer on things such as student benefits, welfare, unions and unemployment benefits, since these do not affect them personally anymore. Most pension-age hikes do not affect people who are already receiving pensions anyway.
So as long Right-wing parties support the status-quo on pensions - and they do, naturally - Left-wing parties simply lack any unique selling points on the economy.

Most West-European Right-wing parties are Libertarian on gay rights and abortion, so no much to be had here for the Left either. Being Left-wing on minority issues is political suicide since minorities are associated with crime and few people care whether you are Libertarian on drugs or not.

As long as Europe ages, the Left will see progressively less support in Europe. The Left can try to simply be different from the Right, but that may cost as much votes as it may gain.

 

[MantaRevan]

It's fine here in Sweden. I mean, yes, I would have preferred the election gone differently, but it's not the end of the world whatsoever.

 

[Racsoviale]

Here in Denmark there is next to no difference between the Social Democrats and Venstre, they are supposedly slightly to the left and right on the political spectrum but their actual policies are very much alike.

In the last decade Venstre managed to move closer to the middle and have gotten a lot of votes from that move, while keeping their right-wing voters satisfied through their alliances with more right-wing parties.

Although the social democrats won last election, they did on behalf of their usual leftish policies which they have handed to their respective alliance partners.

so now we are at a point where the two biggest parties are pretty much identical and have left most of what made them different to the more extreme left/right-wing parties.

Danish politics is boring, is what I'm trying to say

 

[MantaRevan]

He's right. Losing to a conservative in Sweden is not the same mess that it was back in America.

 

[Agent327]

The question should rather be: Why is social democracy failing in Europe again? Thisd isn+t the first time the political pendulum has swung to the right. That said, there is some truth in that older people tend to be more conservative.

 

[Kozmos]

The social democrats just won here big. It is simply the standard oscillation between right and left.

 

[rollo1066]

Isn't the left very likely to win elections in France later this year? I'm an American but everything I see about polls seems to point to a probable victory for the Socialist presidential candidate. Also in Germany polls seem to show a SDP-Green alliance with close to half of the vote if elections were being held now (I know it's some time till the next German election not sure exactly when).

What is generally called the right in most of Europe would be very moderate Republican or "blue dog" Democrat in the USA probably mostly the latter.

 

[Cutlass]

They think, in the words of Italian philosopher Raffaele Simone, that “socialism is possible only when misfortune outstrips happiness, when suffering far exceeds pleasure, and chaos triumphs over structure”.

I've been trying to articulate something like this for years. Without any success.

The social democrats just won here big. It is simply the standard oscillation between right and left.

But what's the trend? Even an oscillation can have a drift in one direction or the other.

 

[wilycoyote]

Isn't the left very likely to win elections in France later this year? I'm an American but everything I see about polls seems to point to a probable victory for the Socialist presidential candidate. Also in Germany polls seem to show a SDP-Green alliance with close to half of the vote if elections were being held now (I know it's some time till the next German election not sure exactly when).

What is generally called the right in most of Europe would be very moderate Republican or "blue dog" Democrat in the USA probably mostly the latter.

I thought the right in Europe was more or less an equivalent of a Democrat here. Is that not the case? And the crazy guy yelling about the coming apocalypse on European streets was like a Republican.

 

[kronic]

Social democrats are failing because much of what they were doing over the past few decades has little to do with social democratic ideas and the interests of their voters. There are not too many parties out there where the gulf between what they say and what they do is comparably large.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

I wouldn't say Social Democracy is failing, I think people have just started to take things like universal healtchcare and education for granted and don't associate it with political parties. Germany has a right-wing government, but Merkel is more and mroe trying to emulate the SPD and has already adopted typical German left-wing positions on nuclear power and Lybia and it looks like she's about to buckle on taxes and the minimum wage too.

 

[innonimatu]

I wouldn't say Social Democracy is failing, I think people have just started to take things like universal healtchcare and education for granted and don't associate it with political parties. Germany has a right-wing government, but Merkel is more and mroe trying to emulate the SPD and has already adopted typical German left-wing positions on nuclear power and Lybia and it looks like she's about to buckle on taxes and the minimum wage too.

But that's only part of the explanation. The other part is that "social democratic" parties changed in the 1980s: they embraced neoclassical economics, gave free reins to banking, enshrined the ideas of inflation control and free trade over employment and labour laws, started relaxing the old progressive taxes on the accumulation of personal wealth, privatized many formerly public services...

In other words, they have abandoned the ideas of socialism, all that remains is what is too popular to simply kill as a public service for the sake of private profit. Instead those are being driven to bankruptcy as their support is pulled by the abandonment of all the other leftist policies which guaranteed their sustainability...
This has not happened evenly, to the same degree, across Europe, of course, but the general movement has been this everywhere. It wasn't the right that became more socialist (the mainstream right in Europe had already been supportive of welfare since WW2), it was the social-democrat parties that abandoned their distinguishing leftist ideals. Now they wonder why people don't distinguish them from the others? The communist parties, where they remain, are the only social democratic parliamentarian parties left in Western Europe.

 

[Ayn Rand]

There are sooooo many reasons why social democracy fails, it wouldn't be possible to list them all. It's essential problem is that it is a form of socialism - and although it is mild by the standards of other "socialisms" such as Hitler's National Socialism, Stalin's USSR socialism etc, it remains a doctrine of mixed premises and unworldly thinking.

The only thing it is good for is winning elections by promising free bread and circuses to the masses who vote. But ultimately it has saddled Europe with mind-limiting political correctness, destructive mass immigration, intrusive government, high taxes, high debts and unsustainable welfare.

 

[Tahuti]

But that's only part of the explanation. The other part is that "social democratic" parties changed in the 1980s: they embraced neoclassical economics, gave free reins to banking, enshrined the ideas of inflation control and free trade over employment and labour laws, started relaxing the old progressive taxes on the accumulation of personal wealth, privatized many formerly public services...

In other words, they have abandoned the ideas of socialism, all that remains is what is too popular to simply kill as a public service for the sake of private profit. Instead those are being driven to bankruptcy as their support is pulled by the abandonment of all the other leftist policies which guaranteed their sustainability...
This has not happened evenly, to the same degree, across Europe, of course, but the general movement has been this everywhere. It wasn't the right that became more socialist (the mainstream right in Europe had already been supportive of welfare since WW2), it was the social-democrat parties that abandoned their distinguishing leftist ideals. Now they wonder why people don't distinguish them from the others?

The Left moves to the Right because the electorate does so. Many people are politically inactive and many others only care about nostalgia and their pensions. So traditional USP's of the Left simply do not attract any people.

 

[Aroddo]

I think the OP is under the misapprehension that a european right wing party is comparable to the US right wing party.

If so, then let me tell you this: The most rightwing party (not counting various neo-nazi parties) in Germany is the CSU (Christian Social Union) which always comes bundled with the CDU (Christian Democratic Union).
Politically speaking both parties are to the far left of the US democratic party. And germany as a whole is considered a rather conservative country.

Other (functioning) countries in europe are similiar. The only country where "social democracy" is really failing right now is Greece ... and the cause for that isn't social democracy but plain old corruption.

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

They think, in the words of Italian philosopher Raffaele Simone, that “socialism is possible only when misfortune outstrips happiness, when suffering far exceeds pleasure, and chaos triumphs over structure”.

The quote is about fascism but it if some socialist think like that then no wonder they are becoming helplessly hopeless.

The socialists has to start solving the problems of Europe or their respective countries ( or in other words: work realy hard) thats the only vision they need otherwise they can have milions of visions but it will be only impotent dreams....

 

[Winner]

In the Netherlands, the Socialist Party is dominating the polls, though Right-Wing parties control parlement ATM. But yes, there is a general trend against Social Democracy in European.

The major problem of Social Democracy is that it doesn't seem that Social Democrats have something new to tell. They are in favor of the welfare state, but since Europe is aging, increasingly more people will only care whether their pensions are paid or not, and no longer on things such as student benefits, welfare, unions and unemployment benefits, since these do not affect them personally anymore. Most pension-age hikes do not affect people who are already receiving pensions anyway.
So as long Right-wing parties support the status-quo on pensions - and they do, naturally - Left-wing parties simply lack any unique selling points on the economy.

Most West-European Right-wing parties are Libertarian on gay rights and abortion, so no much to be had here for the Left either. Being Left-wing on minority issues is political suicide since minorities are associated with crime and few people care whether you are Libertarian on drugs or not.

As long as Europe ages, the Left will see progressively less support in Europe. The Left can try to simply be different from the Right, but that may cost as much votes as it may gain.

This, basically. Plus, people don't trust the Social Democrats to be able to keep public spending in check. Their ideas and programmes are stale and they don't really offer anything new and attractive.

 

[Mark Havel]

But that's only part of the explanation. The other part is that "social democratic" parties changed in the 1980s: they embraced neoclassical economics, gave free reins to banking, enshrined the ideas of inflation control and free trade over employment and labour laws, started relaxing the old progressive taxes on the accumulation of personal wealth, privatized many formerly public services...

In other words, they have abandoned the ideas of socialism, all that remains is what is too popular to simply kill as a public service for the sake of private profit. Instead those are being driven to bankruptcy as their support is pulled by the abandonment of all the other leftist policies which guaranteed their sustainability...
This has not happened evenly, to the same degree, across Europe, of course, but the general movement has been this everywhere. It wasn't the right that became more socialist (the mainstream right in Europe had already been supportive of welfare since WW2), it was the social-democrat parties that abandoned their distinguishing leftist ideals. Now they wonder why people don't distinguish them from the others? The communist parties, where they remain, are the only social democratic parliamentarian parties left in Western Europe.

I think you've nailed it right. In France, the Socialist government between 1997 and 2002 managed to privatize more companies than the right between 1993-1997 (with a great deal of hypocrisy about enabling competition in some sectors by the way). Most of the economic liberalisation reforms such as the Eurozone tight budget disciplines, strictly free-market and free-enterprise laws passed in the EU were so with complete approval from social-democrat governments. In Germany, it was Schröder's SPD who put in motion the most socially destructive reforms of the welfare state.

Isn't the left very likely to win elections in France later this year? I'm an American but everything I see about polls seems to point to a probable victory for the Socialist presidential candidate. Also in Germany polls seem to show a SDP-Green alliance with close to half of the vote if elections were being held now (I know it's some time till the next German election not sure exactly when).

What is generally called the right in most of Europe would be very moderate Republican or "blue dog" Democrat in the USA probably mostly the latter.

Indeed, the socialists seem poised to win the next elections here in France. However, the writing's not on the wall yet, that would be grievously underestimating Sarkozy's sheer talent as a campaigner, though I quite think Obama is far more likely to win a second term than Sarkozy. Notably because Sarkozy is facing an actual, credible opponent. He might not be fundamentally different from Sarkozy, but he's quite the antithesis and seem to have a rather realist and credible platform. If he can show he's able to muster enough political will, he might even be able to silently fulfil some of Sarkozy's promises such as "working more to earn more".

One main difference between Europe and the US, is, I think (and at least for the France), that no one ever thinks about repealing welfare laws. You might try it if you want to forfeit 99% of the electorate, but there is no debate about this. All the debate about the welfare-state reforms revolve around how to keep it funded, alive and sustainable in the coming years. Most of the people don't harbour any illusions about it either, I quite very much know that I won't go into retirement before 65 if not 70 at least.

To sum it up, social-democracy have globally failed because leaders who were supposed to be social-democrat happily participated in the dismantlement of social-democracy, caving in to the Reaganian and Thatcherian "There Is No Alternative" mantra.

 

[Samez]

Don't think the social democracy is failing in Europe esp in Germany. It's just true that many traditional parties have shifted their programs away from their traditional values. In Germany the conservative CDU party has shifted left while traditional left wing SPD has shifted to the right (I.E. there is only little difference in their programs now). Both CDU and SPD have lost a significant amount of voters to other parties like the green Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and the socialist Die Linke. The liberal FDP party dropped from 14,6% in 2009 to about 3% today. For the next elections the pirate party will probably join the Bundestag with about 6%.