European social model
The term European social model represents an attempt to grasp commonalities of the (continental) European welfare states and at the same time to differentiate them from the economic and social systems of other states, especially the USA .
Meaning and development of the term
Empirical and normative dimension
Used descriptively, "European Social Model" describes the systematic attempt, institutionalized in the form of laws and welfare state institutions, to combine economic dynamism with social balance. This was particularly successful in the period between the Second World War and the growth crisis that began in the late 1970s. The German economic miracle , for example, as well as the comparable 'trente glorieuses', i.e. H. the golden thirty (years), in France. The “European social model” was - without being called that at the time - a successful model.
In addition to the descriptive dimension, the term "European social model" also has a normative dimension, as it is often used for a political objective or a subsystem of the economic and social order that is to be preserved and / or reformed.
The term was popularized by Jacques Delors , President of the EU Commission from 1985 to 1995, at a time when the European social model was already under severe political and economic pressure.
Components of the European social model
In principle, it is difficult to name specific social and economic policy elements as components of the European social model. Such an attempt encounters the following problems:
- the diversity of social systems within Europe,
- the problem of delimiting which states are to be taken into account when defining the European social model,
- the current dynamic of change to which social policy is subject in all European countries,
- the fact that a mere definition by delimitation, e.g. B. from the USA, is not sufficient to clearly determine by which characteristics the European social model is positively characterized,
- the heterogeneity of the economic and social orders used for a definition by delimitation (even the economic and social orders that are not part of the European social model do not form a homogeneous group or a clearly definable alternative model).
Therefore, only very general characteristics of the European social model can be named. These include in particular:
- comprehensive protection against social risks through welfare state institutions, e.g. B. through social security and / or tax-financed income transfer systems ,
- the institutionalized working relationships, which are characterized by an extensive body of codified labor law, strong interest groups and regulated negotiation processes for the settlement of social conflicts.
In the course of the development of EU social policy , a "European dimension" is also mentioned as a distinguishing feature of the European social model. Since 1992, there has also been an increased commitment to the welfare state within the European Union . The EU, which previously saw itself mainly as a single market project, included the term in its self-image. Individual measures were z. For example, the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers (1989), the Preamble to the Social Protocol (1992) and the incorporation of the Protocol into the Amsterdam Treaty (1997).
European social model crisis
Due to the crisis of the European welfare states and the increasing pressure from globalization , the social systems came under increasing criticism, especially from liberal politicians and scientists as well as representatives of the economy.
Since the conservative governments in the 1980s and 1990s at the latest, Great Britain has oriented itself more towards the US economic and social model than the European one. If the term "European social model" is to retain its empirical meaning, it can hardly be used for Great Britain.
Future of the European Social Model
The development of the “European social model” will depend very much on whether the political will to maintain the welfare states in the member states of the European Union can prevail over other interests. In the course of the euro crisis, the pressure to reduce it has increased more and more. At the beginning of 2012, the President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi expressed the opinion that the European social model was a thing of the past. For example, the social democratic Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung warns that in the euro crisis the claim to shape the market will be given up instead of being "used as a means of pressure to establish a veritable social dimension."
A possible Europeanization of social policy will be a decisive factor, since the national states have little room for maneuver under the pressure of globalization. The status quo on social policy is retained in the 2004 draft EU constitution . In order to make joint decisions, the approval of all member governments is required, which is an indication that the Europeanization of social policy is not a common goal of the member states.
From a globalization-critical perspective, the status quo updated in the draft EU constitution is increasingly leading to a fundamental change in the meaning of the term "European social model". Accordingly, the specifically EU-European social model is seen in the fact that the neoliberal -oriented economic policy of the EU deliberately omits sustainable measures against social cuts and location competition (in particular through Europe-wide minimum standards at a high level) and precisely through this omission, it structurally accelerates the social cuts in the EU states . In this changed understanding, the term "European social model" expresses the serious socio-political deficit of the EU, which is inextricably linked with the current, neoliberal economic policy of the EU. This is seen as a major cause of the EU's crisis of acceptance, which became evident with the negative referendums on the draft EU constitution.
literature
- Aust, Andreas / Leitner, Sigrid / Lessenich, Stephan (eds.) (2000): Social model Europe. Contours of a Phenomenon , Opladen: Leske + Budrich (= Yearbook for European and North American Studies, 4).
- Thalacker, Patrick (2006): A Social Model for Europe? EU social policy and the European social model in the context of EU enlargement ; Berlin: Logos.
- Hacker, Björn (2010): The Liberal European Social Model. Pension reforms in the EU and the open method of coordination; Baden-Baden. Nomos. ISBN 978-3-8329-5904-3
- Hacker, Björn (2013): predetermined breaking point crisis course: Effects of the new economic governance on the European social model (PDF; 1568 kB), published by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Internationale Politikanalyse, Berlin.
- Heise, Arne; Lierse, Hanna (2011): Budget consolidation and the European social model (PDF; 325 kB), published by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Internationale Politikanalyse, Berlin.
Web links
- Employee interests and participation in a European social model . Doctoral college of the Hans Böckler Foundation, www.sozialmodell.eu
- Andrej Stuchlík, Christian Kellermann, Europe on the way to social union ?: The EU's social agenda in the context of European welfare state, (PDF; 1.1 MB) Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Internationale Politikanalyse, September 2008.
- Project "The European Economic and Social Model" of the think tank "Das Progressive Zentrum" (2008–2010), [1]