For a new European social contract

A New Social Contracto for Europe 2.0, 2018

The persistence of the 2008 economic crisis and the failure of the European social model has become increasingly evident. The vicious circle between macro-systemic crisis and the absence of a uniform social model leads us to question the most important shared values of Old Europe, based on social protection, access to education, healthcare and civil and social rights (Krugman 2016). We are at a critical point and several hypothetical solutions emerge: a renewal of coexistence across the continent; the idea of a two- (or more) speed Europe; a eurozone concurrent to political Europe; disintegration toward neonationalism; surviving by simply reproposing the same economic policies. Middle-class anxieties, widespread child poverty and the precariousness of young people trying to enter the labour market across Europe have ironically undermined commitments to social solidarity; if Europeans reach for neonationalist solutions in response to the universal threats of poverty and social and economic security, this will most certainly continue to undermine and indeed perhaps lead to the collapse of continental coexistence. In this case, we must follow a path of new redistributive policies and pay attention to social dynamics. When speaking of welfare, we must address the social contract providing the basis for the operation of society as a whole. It is time for a new social contract, starting with the relaunch of public welfare and particularly the right to a guaranteed minimum income as a pillar of a new continental policy. Guaranteed income is not a panacea, but it is a strategic element to stop and reverse the growth of economic inequality, provide a sustainable basis for people’s security and redistribute key resources in society.

2007

Since the dawn of the state system in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, each state has existed at the intersection between the international order and its own domestic society. In the words of Theda Skocpol, the Harvard scholar, the state “is fundamentally Janusfaced, with an intrinsically dual anchorage in domestic society and the international system” (1979: 32). Inevitably, the role of governments has been to balance pressures from these two domains. In part, the state seeks to protect domestic society from external threats, and seeks to nudge as best it can the international system in directions consistent with domestic interests and concerns. But, in part, the state also conveys pressures emanating from the wider global context to domestic society, adapting internal policies to international conditions it cannot alter and helping domestic interests to adjust to the world beyond its borders.

Anthropology News, 2023

Sociopolitical expectations and actions continue to be shaped by normative ideas about social contracts.

Economics: The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal

This paper argues that the traditional social contract that underlies the free market economy has run its course and needs to be replaced by a new contract, based on a new conception of the "empowering economy." Whereas different social contracts are relevant to different societies, all these contracts have some features in common, addressing some basic human needs that are common to all. These are needs that every thriving society must satisfy. In the presence of current global problems-such as climate change and financial crisessatisfying these needs can also generate the popular approval for multilateral agreements to tackle these problems. The paper identifies three inconvenient truths for the existing social contract: (i) economic performance involves more than material prosperity, (ii) free markets naturally generate inequality, and (iii) human progress rests primarily on cooperation. In response, the paper proposes a new social contract that can be promoted through three policy approaches: (1) policy that focuses not just on material prosperity, but also on personal empowerment and social solidarity, (2) automatic stabilizers that reduce inequalities of economic power and (3) policy that develops the human capabilities of cooperation.

2021

In this chapter I will explain why and how the sustainability transition is humankind’s search for a new social contract: a Natural Social Contract (conceptualization by author). I will start with a brief introduction on the origins of the social contract (Sect. 3.1), followed by a debate on the question whether there can be human progress without economic growth (Sect. 3.2) and a section on redesigning economics based on ecology, including circular and regenerative economies and cultures (Sect. 3.3). This chapter includes a debate on the role and scope of the free market (Sect. 3.4), as well as an examination of how the Anglo-Saxon and Rhineland models fare in this debate (Sect. 3.5). This chapter will also describe why we need a new social contract and what it should entail (Sect. 3.6). In doing so, I will embark on a quest for a Natural Social Contract (Sect. 3.7) and its theoretical foundations with multiple dimensions and crossovers (Sect. 3.8). This section concludes with an o...

European Law Journal, 1997

The European Union is still far from having social legitimacy. The issue is indicative of a huge uncertainty about Social Europe. What is it? What are the principles of social justice behind it? In our view, a new social constitution of the European Union is needed. Political democratisation must be accompanied by the foundation of a social Europe. We argue that were the IGC to combine the Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers with the Maastricht Protocol on Social Policy, inserting both into the TEU, it would lay the legal foundations for a dynamic European social constitution; a Social Europe dedicated to the combating of social exclusion and the maintenance of solidarity.

Human Rights Law Review, 2021

The European Social Charter has recently received increased attention due to the evolution of its monitoring mechanism and the need to address a multitude of contemporary challenges to socioeconomic rights. Although the treaty's preamble has played a crucial role in the interpretation of substantive provisions and in shaping state obligations, little attention has been paid to the way in which the preamble has defined the fundamental lines of the 'jurisprudence' of the Charter's monitoring body. The European Committee of Social Rights has deduced from the Charter's preamble several important general principles for the protection of socioeconomic rights, on which it grounds its interpretation. This article analyses these principles and evaluates their effects in the relevant practice. The findings suggest that the Charter's preamble serves different purposes and performs multiple functions in international law, thus challenging the common assumption that human rights treaty preambles are empty phrases of a merely ceremonial nature.

I wanted to have a little fun with this essay on the Social Contract. Please forgive the irreverent language. The fact is that when we attempt to elaborate an actual understanding of what a Social Contract is, we are explaining what we would “like” it to be; we are directing our decision process to make invalid assumptions about our state of individuality, nature, and our point of view—we are speculating. And, when our expectations are not met—as most often they are not—do we assert the original terms and conditions of our “agreement?” Most often we just “knuckle under” and quietly accept the outrageous consequences of our child-like trust.

Brill | Nijhoff eBooks, 2014

xiv selected publications of marc maresceau (1978-may 2013) M. Maresceau, "De toepasbaarheid van Europees gemeenschapsrecht voor de nationale rechterlijke instanties", in: