NICOS P. MOUZELIS & DIMITRI A. SOTIROPOULOS
Global Governance and Social Democracy: Between Neoliberal and Authoritarian Capitalism
εκδ. Bloomsbury Press, London, 2024
page 120
In a multipolar world, a new framework is possible, if not desirable global governance; If so, what form could it take? And in this new context, the social democracy what is it able to contribute? These are the main questions asked in the news book of Nikos P. Mouzelis, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at LSEand his Dimitris A. Sotiropoulou, Professor of Political Science at the University of Athens. In the approximately 120 pages of the book, it is obviously not possible to give complete answers to such complex questions. However, the two authors attempt to develop an interesting argument – one that holds much debate, of course – which is articulated as follows:
A) World capitalism, despite its serious crises, seems without a rival. In the absence of an alternative, interest shifts to the individual characteristics found in its various variants, as exemplified in its neoliberal version (the US), the more authoritarian (China), and the European social democratic variant. The authors do not consider that these three versions are going to converge in a common model, because the different logic of each subsystem is reinforcing the others.
B) The expansion of Chinese influence in Asia, Africa and the Pacific necessitates a new balance based on a system of tripartite global governance by the US, China and the European Union.
C) Indeed, in the era of multi-crises and the global society of risk, the challenges of humanity require from the facts (see pandemic crisis) enhanced cooperation between the three major players. In this scheme, Europe, in the absence of a common defense and security policy, can play the role of “benevolent” mediator between China and the US, leveraging its soft power. And here comes the importance of modern social democracy – as it is reflected in the European social model – which can contribute to the humanization of globalization and capitalism.
D) The transition of the social democracy of the 21st century from the national level to the post-national level (“Social Democracy 2.0”) is the necessary condition which, according to the authors, will mark the folding of its neoliberal perversion. Indeed, given the favorable conditions that arose during the pandemic crisis, the request for the “return of the State” in the formulation of economic policy developed into a common pattern on both sides of the Atlantic.
The position of the authors, that not only there is no question of “Chineseization” or complete “Americanization” of global capitalism, but that European social democracy can be a humanizing force of globalization, has a strong counterargument. Branko Milanović (Capitalism, Alone, 2019), for example, has argued that there is the possibility – unless radical measures are taken to redistribute wealth and power within the three big players – of a convergence of “political” capitalism of China’s liberal – “merit” capitalism of the USA to “plutocratic capitalism”. Its main feature will be the integration of politics with economic power.
The Draghi report is a reminder of how far Europe still has to go before it can play a regulatory role.
Regarding the assumption that the “return of the state” after the pandemic crisis will also mean the strengthening of modern social democracy, there are also strong counter-indications. For example, it has been shown elsewhere that the transformation of certain states into central economic actors through the massive investments made by sovereign wealth funds in the world economy not only does not contradict neoliberal globalization, but on the contrary is favored by it and even contributes to the deep financialization of economies (financialization).
Ultimately, as logical as the book’s central idea seems—that addressing contemporary risks requires a rebalancing of the three subsystems of global capitalism—crucial aspects of the argument need to be explored further. The Draghi report, after all, reminds us how far “social democratic” Europe still has to go in order to be able to fulfill the regulatory role attributed to it by Mouzelis and Sotiropoulos on the world stage.
*Mr. Thanasis Kolliopoulos is a Doctor of Political Science (EKPA).
2024-09-30 20:56:00