New World Rising

A few days ago I posted about the decline of left parties in France and Europe generally, along with the rise of myopic right-wing nationalisms both there and here. I want to follow up by signaling this valuable article by British left-wing activist and journalist Neal Lawson, who looks at the decline of social democracy all over Europe but then offers a much more detailed vision of how a new progressive phoenix might arise from those ashes. Some key ingredients:

• Lawson first of all embraces the new post-modern realities, including what he calls "new solidarities in a digital world," such as: cooperatives, the sharing economy, on-line activism and newly networked political parties; shared work and reduced working hours, basic income guarantees; and radically participatory decision-making;
• he rejects 'growth,' i.e. ever-expanding consumption, in favor of a new roster of social 'goods': leisure time, public space, a cleaner, carbon-reduced environment, workplace democracy, and guaranteed necessities such as basic income, health care, and housing;
• he imagines progressive governance not as the domain of a social democratic party in power, but rather an alliance of parties, movements, social change organizations, a new form of power-sharing facilitated by internet connections.

In short, rather than working through Labour or various Socialist parties or even the Sanders/Warren wing of our Democratic party, Lawson imagines a new and more radically democratic 'golden age.' That new political formation will make use of the new technologies and networks to build new forms of social solidarity more flexible and far-reaching than the older party-driven politics. And he imagines new social forms based on sustainability (he says "de-growth, not green-washed growth" but I would argue that authentic green growth, within limits is possible and indeed, essential), a reinvented workplace, and a renewed public sphere.

We are already seeing elements of this vision, often framed as private entrepreneurialism (the so-called 'gig economy') with its flexibilities and libertarian styles of governance or regulation. And we see that in that form it greatly accelerates social inequalities while seeming to enhance 'personal choice.' Lawson want to socialize the best parts of that vision, and tie them to social movements that are egalitarian, democratic, and grounded in solidarity. Though Lawson doesn't mention them, I would argue that the Occupy movement, the Indignados, and Nuit Debout are precocious versions of the solidarities he is calling for.  It's an epochal vision, and a discussion we should all be having.