Exit or voice? a European strategy of rupture
Abstract
The course of the economic crisis that erupted in late 2007 can be simply summarized as follows: during the two decades preceding the crisis, capitalism has been reproducing itself by accumulating a mountain of debt. To avoid the collapse of the system, states have taken over some of these debts, in transferring from the private to the public sector. The project of the ruling classes is now to present the bill to citizens through budget cuts, increases of the most unfair taxes and frozen wages. In a nutshell, the majority of the population – as workers and pensioners – must sacrifice through austerity to ensure the realization of the fictitious profits accumulated over many years.
European governments and the European Commission have had one overriding goal: to return as quickly as possible to ‘business as usual’. This goal is, however, out of reach, precisely because everything that had helped manage the contradictions of the flawed form of European integration, such as peripheral Europe indebtedness and internal European trade imbalances, has been rendered unusable by the crisis. These elements of the analysis of the current European economic conjuncture are now quite widely shared. However, they lead to quite opposite predictions and orientations, particularly on the Left: the bursting of the euro area, or overhaul of the pan-European political project.
Underlying these divisions lies the real debate: what is the degree of radicalism in the strategy of rupture that is most capable of mobilizing workers and the political movements? It is clearly not for economists to decide. That is why, rather than proposing a complete set of economic measures and plans, the emphasis here will be to ask questions of method and highlight three essential ingredients for a radical Left response to the crisis: (1) a radical change in the distribution of income; (2) a massive reduction of working time; and (3) a rupture with the capitalist world order, starting with ‘really existing’ Europe.
European governments and the European Commission have had one overriding goal: to return as quickly as possible to ‘business as usual’. This goal is, however, out of reach, precisely because everything that had helped manage the contradictions of the flawed form of European integration, such as peripheral Europe indebtedness and internal European trade imbalances, has been rendered unusable by the crisis. These elements of the analysis of the current European economic conjuncture are now quite widely shared. However, they lead to quite opposite predictions and orientations, particularly on the Left: the bursting of the euro area, or overhaul of the pan-European political project.
Underlying these divisions lies the real debate: what is the degree of radicalism in the strategy of rupture that is most capable of mobilizing workers and the political movements? It is clearly not for economists to decide. That is why, rather than proposing a complete set of economic measures and plans, the emphasis here will be to ask questions of method and highlight three essential ingredients for a radical Left response to the crisis: (1) a radical change in the distribution of income; (2) a massive reduction of working time; and (3) a rupture with the capitalist world order, starting with ‘really existing’ Europe.