Publisher's Synopsis
This volume, written by some of the most well-respected scholars in the field, assesses the legacies of social democracy and maps out its future prospects in view of the challenges of affluence, postmodernity, the decline or retrenchment of organised labour movements and the claimed ideological hegemony of neo-liberalism. The book has been conceived in the belief that it is only on an international scale, and by making use of comparative methodologies, that the past achievements and limitations of European social democracy can properly be evaluated and its future world prospects clearly understood. Starting from a European perspective, but mindful of the US experience, the essays examine developments throughout the twentieth century, particularly the golden age and those current challenges to social democracy (consumerism, indifference to politics, class decay, voter de-alignment, affluence and privatisation) which can be traced to that period. The book is accessible not only to students and scholars but also to the general reader interested in contemporary European history and politics.
