In search of social democracy

Focusing on the social democratic heartland of Western Europe, this book gives detailed assessment of how the social democratic revisionism has fared in government. It examines case studies of how particular social democratic parties responded to this changed political terrain.

Autorentext

John Callaghan is Professor of Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Salford. Nina Fishman is Honorary Research Professor in the History Department at Swansea University. Ben Jackson is University Lecturer and Tutorial Fellow in Modern History at University College, Oxford. Martin McIvor is editor of Renewal: a journal of social democracy, and works on research and policy development for the public services trade union, UNISON

Klappentext

The search for social democracy has not been an easy one over the last three decades. The economic crisis of the 1970s, and the consequent rise of neo-liberalism, confronted social democrats with difficult new circumstances: tax-resistant electorates, the globalisation of capital and Western deindustrialisation. In response, a new bout of ideological revisionism consumed social democratic parties. But did this revisionism simply amount to a neo-liberalisation of the Left or did it propose a recognisably social democratic agenda? Were these ideological adaptations the only feasible ones or were there other forms of modernisation that might have yielded greater strategic dividends for the Left? Why did some social democratic parties feel it necessary to take their revisionism much further than others? In search of social democracy brings together prominent scholars of social democracy to address these questions. Focusing on the social democratic heartland of Western Europe (although Australia and the United States also figure in the analysis), it gives the first detailed assessment of how the new social democratic revisionism has fared in government. The book begins by considering the underlying causes of the end of social democracy's golden age and the magnitude of the challenges faced by social democratic parties after the 1970s. It then proceeds to examine detailed case studies of how particular social democratic parties responded to this changed political terrain. Finally, it contributes to a broader conversation about the future of social democracy by considering ways in which the political thought of 'third way' social democracy might be radicalised for the twenty-first century. The contributors offer a variety of perspectives - some are sceptical of social democracy's prospects, others more sanguine; some supportive of the performance of social democratic parties in government, others bitingly critical. But they are united by the conviction that the themes addressed in this book are crucial to understanding the current politics of the industrialised world and, in particular, to determining the feasibility of more egalitarian and democratic social outcomes than have been possible so far in the era of neo-liberalism.

Zusammenfassung
The first work to reflect in detail on the Leftâ™s experiences in government in the 1990s and early twenty-first century. -- .

Inhalt

List of tables List of figures Contributors Introduction - John Callaghan, Nina Fishman, Ben Jackson, Martin McIvor Part I: After the Golden Age - social democracy in crisis 1. Explanations for the neo-liberal direction of social democracy: Germany, Sweden and Australia compared - Ashley Lavelle 2. Fiscal policies, social spending and economic performance in France, Germany and the UK Since 1970 - Norman Flynn 3. From The future of socialism (1956) to a future without socialism? The crisis of British social democratic political economy - Noel Thompson Part II: Responses to the crisis - the Third Way and other revisions 4. The political economy of French social democratic economic policy autonomy, 1997-2002: credibility, dirigisme and globalisation - Ben Clift 5. The Spanish Workers' Party: continuity, innovation and renewal - Paul Kennedy 6. A mew Swedish model? Swedish social democracy at the crossroads - Dimitris Tsarouhas 7. The modernisation of German social democracy? Towards a Third Way and back - Hartwig Pautz 8. The meaning of modernisation: New Labour and public sector reform - Eric Shaw 9. Reformism in a 'conservative' system: the European Union and social democratic identity - Gerassimos Moschonas Part III: Resources for rethinking 10. 'Unlocking the talent of every citizen': debates about potential and ambition in British socialist thought - Jeremy Nuttall 11. The continuing relevance of Croslandite social democracy - Kevin Hickson 12. The rhetoric of redistribution - Ben Jackson. 13. Republicanism, socialism and the renewal of the left - Martin McIvor 14. Economic democracy instead of more capitalism: core historical concepts reconsidered - Adrian Zimmermann 15. Afterword - Nina Fishman Index