Social Justice

While an excellent book, we need to look further than simply saying ‘social movements are the only answer’ if we are to develop effective movements that create change. The need for social movement mobilisation too easily becomes a slogan rather than a nuanced solution. We can both praise and look deeper than Klein’s ‘This Changes Everything’.

Negotiations over the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are being conducted as if they were private business deals. Trade policies, however, affect all of us and have implications for the global economy.

The welfare state is no longer affordable, we are told from all sides – neither in the Netherlands, nor in Europe as a whole. Cuts must be made in the social services, the argument runs, to rescue the economy. But it doesn’t have to be like that. Here is a green vision.

Using examples from her own home, Corfu, Vera Koronaki describes the reasons why we need solidarity, both in Europe as well as beyond, and the steps that we can take to achieve it.

Reflecting on contemporary and historical debates on the concept of ‘solidarity’ in Sweden, Per Gahrton finds conflicting views on what many take to be a simple concept.

Inequality helped set in motion a downward spiral that resulted in the global financial crisis. Today, that inequality has finally been acknowledged as a central problem, and addressing it successfully can help us to not only overcome the crisis but to move to a more sustainable society.

An interview with Fintan Farrell, Director of the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN).

Belgian philosopher Philippe Van Parijs analysis the issue of inequality from a European and international perspective. Comparing the contrasting the economic systems of the US and Europe, he outlines a series of measures to reduce inequalities that exists across Europe today.

The UK has been a leader among EU member states in the promotion of equality of opportunity, with far-reaching duties in place in some regions since 1998. In practice, the jury is still out on whether the equal opportunities legislation has a real impact on the protected groups or simply creates one more administrative hurdle for policymakers.