The crisis of social democracy in Europe

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of tables and figures -- About the contributors -- Preface -- 1. The crisis of social democracy -- 2. The Long Depression, the Great Crash and socialism in Western Europe -- 3. Social democracy in crisis: outlining the trends in Western Europe -- 4. The positions and fortunes of social democratic parties in East Central Europe -- 5. Rethinking public expenditure from a social democratic perspective -- 6. Social democracy in crisis? What crisis? -- 7. Can the Swedish social model survive the decline of the social democrats? -- 8. Multiculturalism, right-wing populism and the crisis of social democracy -- 9. Labour markets, welfare states and the dilemmas of European social democracy -- 10. Class politics and the social investment welfare state -- 11. Labour, skills and education in modern socio-economic development: can there be a social democratic economic and industrial policy in a globalised economy? -- 12. From single market to social market economy: is there room for solidarity? -- 13. Social democracy and security -- 14. Multilevel social democracy: centralisation and decentralisation -- 15. Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index

Is social democracy in a terminal condition in Europe? It's in office almost nowhere and appears bereft of ideas in the face of the economic crisis that might have given it a historic opportunity. While accepting the truth of this, the contributors to this volume take a stand again those who claim that social democracy is dead. By arguing that social democracy is not a single set of ideas or practices but a way of reconciling market capitalism with social inclusion and equality, they show that it has actually been remarkably successful during the 20th century. Its key principles are still rele