Neoliberalism

The changes to agriculture in post-war France have had a devastating impact on the environment and on public health. Such changes were the product of international trade agreements and big agri-business, meaning solutions are unlikely to come from the top down. It must be local and small produces that come to the rescue.

Symbol of absolute power corrupting, the ring imagined by J.R.R Tolkien clearly fascinates many citizens. If caution obliges us to distinguish between fiction and reality, nevertheless imagination allows us to draw certain perceptive parallels.

The Eurozone crisis is driving further integration and exposing weaknesses in the Union’s structure. However, the need for reform shouldn’t be used as a cloak to introduce further neoliberal measures.

Na grofweg twee decennia van oppositie kwamen de sociaaldemocraten begin jaren negentig in Europa weer aan de macht.

‘Agenda 2010’ was presented by German Premier Gerard Schröder as a set of reforms that were a ‘third way’ between Social Democracy and neoliberalism.

Are the neoliberal policies being pursued by the European Commission are feeding that populist forces that may tear the Union apart?

The EU cannot be conceived of as a democracy in the traditional sense and its methods of making decisions to date has been ineffective and brought about a crisis of confidence. As the EU’s powers have grown, this problem has become more acute. What is needed is a more transparent form of democracy, with European Citizens given a means of deciding between competing visions and policies.

While Poland presents itself to the outside world as a country untouched by the economic crisis, the reality is far different for an entire generation of Polish people. Rather than face up to the structural difficulties in the job market, the Government ignores the problem and remains committed to the doctrines of the neoliberal model.

We need a new social contract based on the ideals of the American and French Revolutions, says Pierre Rosanvallon, whose recent book La société des égaux has attracted much attention in France and beyond. Rosanvallon, professor at the College de France, delivered the Jan Pato?ka Memorial Lecture at the iwm in November 2011. This article was originally published in the Institut für die Humane Wissenschaften.

The world view of GroenLinks is founded on three deeply-held convictions: Green, leftist and progressive. These ideals are still alive but each of them in turn points to the need for a sharper critique of capitalism and the neoliberal culture.