Down with capitalism! (sort of)
Friday, June 19, 2009 at 3:42AM WORLD NEWS: "Across Europe, Left-Leaning Parties See Clout Faltering," by David Gauthier-Villars and Marcus Walker, Wall Street Journal, 6-7 June 2009.
Yet again we find evidence that the current global economic crisis hasn't resulted in political swings against markets.
The economic recession should have meant easy votes for Europe's left-wing movements, longtime critics of unchecked capitalism.
Yet as Europe goes to the polls, left-leaning parties across the continent are looking likely to falter. That's true both for those in government, such as in the U.K. and Spain, and in the opposition--such as France, Germany and Italy.
Part of it is shrewd politicking by the Right, which swiftly moved leftward when the crisis struck (like Germany's Angela Merkel).
But here's the better, broader explanation:
In the past, there was a clear fault line between Europe's left-wind and right-wing parties. The left called for more social welfare programs and public spending. The right wanted the state not to interfere in market forces.
Globalization helped change that. With nations and companies vying on a global scale, it has become difficult for a country to separate the effects of public spending and budget deficits from its labor costs and capacity to compete in export markets. The key moment came as far back as 1994, some political analysts say, when the World Trade Organization was created and much of the world began shifting to a more free-market economy.
"The WTO marked the triumph of the market economy," says Dominique Reynie, head of Paris-based Foundation for Political Innovation. "Since then, the left has been unable to propose another route."
And it's still unable.
The danger?
If the left can't propose and lead a progressive agenda and the right's equally unable, then today's populism may shift into regressive nationalism.
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