Socialism in Europe. The phrase welfare state is more of a pejorative term than a clearly defined economic

Transcription

1 1 Socialism in Europe Introduction The phrase welfare state is more of a pejorative term than a clearly defined economic system. It can best be described as an extreme form of socialism, a heavy tax burden and generous redistributions. Thus, when we ask if countries are becoming more or less like a welfare state we can ask if they are moving deeper into socialism or away from it. There has been a recent trend in Europe, beginning with the economic meltdown in 2008, of countries voting out their socialist governments and electing officials further to the right than they have in years past. Some in Eastern European countries, however, are becoming disenchanted with their current political systems and fondly recalling communist regimes. A movement away from socialism, otherwise, appears to be sweeping across the European continent. Definition and Historical Context of Socialism Socialism can best be described as a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole. (oxforddictionaries.com). The type of socialism used in most European countries is technically referred to as social democracy. Interestingly, in Marxist theory this is the second step in a country s shift from capitalism to communism. Socialism is a modern reaction to poverty and was first implemented in countries that not only had excessive poverty but also major disparities in wealth such as Russia and China. Democratic socialism is difficult to define because of the various ways it has evolved. It began as an offshoot of communism, differentiating itself from traditional Marxism by holding that socialist ideals could be realized through the democratic process instead of violent

2 2 revolutions (Padgett 1). Especially after World War II, democratic socialism has weakened its ties to communism. At the 1951 socialist conference in Frankfurt, which was limited to primarily European socialists, it was recognized that changes had taken place in capitalism but held that under it workers still exercised no influence over production (Derfler ). During this time, democratic socialism also began to distance itself from ideas such as nationalization. One way to identify a socially democratic country is by its tax rate. In keeping with the theory that capital should belong to the community as a whole the most obvious form of implementation would be a heavily redistributive tax system. In 2008, tax revenue to gross domestic product (GDP) was calculated for the European Union. The average was 39.3% and reached as high as 47.1% in Sweden and 48.2% in Denmark (Ec.europa.eu). Compare that to the tax to GDP ratio of the United States of 24% for 2009 (economist.com). Socialist Governments in Western Europe Unlike the United States, many European countries have powerful socialist political parties. Although all of them have various platforms and policies, this is another relatively easy way to gage a country s socialist sympathy. By looking at recent elections and the various polls surrounding them, it is possible to discover trends in a nation s preference for political and economic systems. Some of the statistics used in the following examples come from the European Parliament elections held in the spring of Although this is neither a high profile nor particularly powerful bureaucratic body, the elections are described more as barometers of support for individual national governments than as indicators of power shifts (nytimes.com) making them ideal for tracking public opinion. The elections in the spring of 2009 showed a dramatic shift away from socialist parties. The headlines right after the election reported, The

3 3 right-wing parties will control roughly 40 percent of the European Parliament against the socialists 22 percent (independent.org). In Britain, the socialist party is formally known as the Labour Party and was in power from the time Tony Blair was elected in 1997 until David Cameron was elected in May of The history of the Labour party is more conservative than other socialist political parties in Europe. It grew out of a group known as the LRC that were meant to coordinate not initiate political actions. During their formation, less than half of the members were socialist, only 6% of funding could be attributed to Socialist groups and no socialist demands were formulated (Derfler 33). Despite Tony Blair s personal popularity, the party eventually began to lose popular support. During the elections for the European parliament, Britain s center-left Labour Party confronted disastrous results, with its vote in some regions down 9 percent (nytimes.com). During Gordon Brown s administration, polls published in the spring of 2008 showed his approval rating had dropped faster than any U.K. leader on record and support for the opposition had risen to the highest it had been in 16 years (Bloomberg.com). All of this was compounded in 2010 when a conservative was elected to succeed him. In Spain, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) has been in power since Spain is traditionally a Catholic, and somewhat conservative, country and the socialist government has had to deal with large protests over issues such as abortion (cnn.com). In addition to this, in the 2010 regional elections in Catalonia, the ruling socialist party (the Catalan Socialist Party) suffered the worst result in the 32-year history of the PSC (dw-world.de). The largest change seems to be happening in Germany. During the last election German voters elected a government still farther to the right than the one they already had. Christian Democrat Angela Merkel remains Chancellor, but will govern with the

4 4 pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) instead of the traditionally pro-labor Social Democratic Party (SPD). With 15 percent of the vote, the FDP won the biggest victory in its history. The SPD lost roughly a third of its previous electorate, dropping to a little over 23 percent, a historic low (counterpunch.org). Some attribute the loss of a third of the SPD s voters in the last ten years to having reduced its historic emphasis on social justice (counterpunch.org). It also seems to have failed to convince the public of its ability to implement its policies. About 53% of Germans concede that while socialism is a good idea it has been badly applied (counterpunch.org). There seems to also be a strong libertarian movement among German youth. Only 18% of 18 to 24 year olds voted for the SPD (interestingly, those who have already retired make up the age bracket with the largest percentage support of the SPD). A large amount of the youth who voted in the most recent election went to a private party opposed to government censorship and surveillance (counterpunch.org). The election results demonstrate that socialist parties in Western Europe have been generally decreasing in popularity. According to one source, these parties are trying to find a way to preserve the welfare state amid slower growth and rising deficits (nytimes.com) and seem to be failing. For example, in April of 2010, the socialist party lost the majority of the Parliament of Hungary (nytimes.com). In France, the socialist party has finally begun to move ahead in the polls after several years of disorganization (nytimes.com). Italian socialists are in the opposition and also appear to be struggling internally. Rome, traditionally a city that leans far to the left, has recently elected a conservative mayor (heraldextra.com). In fact, it was reported in September of 2010 that the social democrats, traditionally dominant in Nordic states, are out of office in Sweden, Denmark and Finland (reuters.com). Greece is the one exception to this trend

5 5 throughout Western Europe. The Greek socialist party received the largest margin seen in a Greek vote in decades (cnn.com). Eastern Europe Economic Sympathies Eastern Europe, however, has a somewhat different story. Made up primarily of former members of the Soviet Union, these countries have relatively young democratic governments and free economic systems. Eastern European countries are disenchanted with capitalism and some are fondly recalling fallen communist regimes. The following numbers come from surveys taken in [A] poll of 14,760 Eastern Europeans was conducted in August and September in eight countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine. According to the poll, one-half of Eastern Europeans say they re worse off today than they were under communism. Only one-third say they re better off (gowans.wordpress.com). About 60% say they lived better in the past and in the Ukraine 30% approve of the change to democracy compared to 72% in 1991 (reuters.com). These opinions may, however, be indicative of something other than the success or failure of economic models. Along with dissatisfaction with democracy, Eastern European countries appear to be rife with corruption. In Bulgaria, oligarchs who control entire sectors of the economy have emerged from the former communist party s ranks and its feared secret services (reuters.com). Such internal distrust has adversely affected the people of these countries and their opinions of the government. Only one-third of Eastern Europeans believe their country is run for the benefit of all people and only one-quarter believes that most elected officials care what ordinary people think (gowans.wordpress.com). Thus, the transition from

6 6 communism to democracy is seen by many Eastern Europeans as benefiting business owners and politicians, not ordinary people (gowans.wordpress.com). Therefore, the dissatisfaction with the current market form may not stem from a trend towards socialism, but from a distrust of the current government and the corruption associated with it. Explaining the Trends Public opinion in Europe has historically been positively disposed towards socialism but recent developments seem to be changing that disposition. Although this trend could be attributed to nations desiring to keep political parties sharp through competition, it is still unusual. According to Heather Grabbe (the director of the Open Society Institute in Brussels) At a time of crisis, people often lose faith in the established political parties, but they typically move to the left when there is the prospect of higher unemployment, in the hope that the state will look after them (nytimes.com). First, many countries seem to be blaming the parties in power (mainly socialist) for the recent economic downturn and punishing them in the polls. There has been sharp criticism of the parties who allowed this to happen on their watch, as well as an increased importance placed on economic performance. Looking at their recent record, even before the crisis, the European Union was registering the slowest rate of economic growth in the developed world (independent.org). Second, Europeans are looking for protection against an economic crisis, but in a different way than they have historically. The people s response has not been to seek protection against the fall of capitalism and the collapse of the American model in socialism, as one would have expected in Europe, but to seek reassurance among those parties perceived, rightly or wrongly, as safe stewards and guarantors of the free-market system (independent.org). It would

7 7 appear that Europeans do not trust the socialist parties to respond correctly to economic issues and prefer governments farther to the right to handle such problems. Another suggested reason is that European political parties on the right have adopted many of the platforms traditionally held by the left. Europe s center-right parties have embraced many ideas of the left: generous welfare benefits, nationalized healthcare, sharp restraints on carbon emissions, the ceding of some sovereignty to the European Union but they have won votes promising to deliver more efficiently than the left while working to lower taxes, improve financial regulation, and grapple with aging populations (nytimes.com). Although many European governments on the right are not proposing a cut in welfare, they are proposing a decrease in taxes. This is proof that the redistribution mentality in Europe is weakening. Some would say this is a result of the decrease in economic growth and wealth. There is not as much money to redistribute any more. The emphasis on social issues has also allowed many Europeans to vote for parties they would not have otherwise. With an emphasis on things like market regulation and social benefits, Europeans feel able to vote for governments who favor capitalist versus socialist economies while still having social goals addressed. Conclusion The idea of a welfare state can be described as an intensive form of socialism and can be recognized by high tax rates and generous redistributions. Europe has historically fit this description to a greater or lesser degree and been used, in American politics, as an example of the pros and cons of such a system. However, a dramatic shift away from socialism has been happening recently. Traditionally socialist (or even socialist sympathetic) countries are moving away from political parties representing these ideas in large numbers. Governments farther to the

8 8 right than people have seen in years are being voted into power, while socialist political parties are taking a beating in the polls. This trend is happening all over Europe (ignoring Eastern European dissatisfaction which can be better explained as disapproval and distrust of their leaders instead of opinions about specific policies). This shift is a result of three things. First, punishment of socialist governments, who they feel did not protect them from an economic crisis. Second, a belief that socialist parties will be unable to solve economic problems, coupled with a belief that parties farther to the right could better handle the economy. Third, a willingness to vote for those parties farther to the right because they have appropriated many of the social justice platforms traditionally held by socialist parties. Professor Sartori, an Italian political scientist, has described the situation in Europe thusly, The Socialists can t adapt to the loss of their basic electorate, and with globalism, the welfare state can no longer exist in the same way (nytimes.com). Although this trend is suprisingly strong it is also fairly recent. Only time will tell which way Europe is moving in the long run.

9 9 Works Cited Bilefsky, Dan. "Socialists in Hungary Are Ousted in Elections." Nytimes.com. 25 Apr Apr < "Brown's U.K. Support Falls Fastest on Record; Opposition Gains" Bloomberg.com. 3 Apr < ope>. Castle, Stephen. "Disaffection Dominates European Voting." Nytimes.com. 7 June Apr < "Catalan election result deals blow to embattled Spanish government Europe Deutsche Welle " Home Deutsche Welle. 03 Apr < Derfler, Leslie. Capitalism Since Marx: A Century of the European Left. New York: St. Martin's, Print. "Diana Johnstone: Is Socialism Really Dead in Europe?" CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names. 3 Apr < "Europe Goes Right: Newsroom:." The Independent Institute. 3 Apr < "Europe's political landscape is moving right." Utah News, Sports, Events - Daily Herald Newspaper. 3 Apr <

10 10 "Factbox: Socialist parties' problems around Europe Reuters." Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News Reuters.com. 20 Sept Apr < "The New York Times Log In." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 3 Apr < ropean%20elections&st=cse>. "The New York Times Log In." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 3 Apr < Padgett, Stephen, and William E. Paterson. A History of Social Democracy in Postway Europe. London: Longman, Print. "Polls show a spectre is haunting Europe?and much of the rest of the world." Whats left. 3 Apr < Reuters. "Socialist Party Decisively Wins French Elections." Nytimes.com. 27 Mar ` Apr < "Socialism." Oxforddictionaries.com. Web. 25 Aug < "Socialists win in Greece; 'hard work' ahead, Papandreou says - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. 3 Apr <

11 11 "SPECIAL REPORT: In eastern Europe, people pine for socialism Reuters." Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News Reuters.com. 3 Apr < &virtualbrandchannel=11621>. "Tax revenue The Economist." The Economist - World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance. 16 Dec Apr < "Taxation trends in the European Union." Ec.europa.eu. 28 June Eurostat Press Office. 3 Apr < "Thousands protest abortion in Spain - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. 3 Apr <