Re: AUT: Neo-Keynsian Globalism?

[pmargin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Profit Margin)]

Following on from the comments of Paul, Mauro and Massimo:

At the beginning of the nineties, the French syndicalist Alain Bihr was
speculating on the rise of what he called a "neo-social democratic"
politics, in which part of the mainstream left attempted to promote the
development of third sector, "non-profit" economic activity. You can see
such policies being developed by the likes of Alain Lipietz, for example,
in his 1992 book _Towards a New Economic Order_. - for example, the idea of
a self-managed sector of social services, restricted to no more than 10% of
the labour market so as not to threaten the stability of the wage relation.
Since these are economic activities that have a certain confluence with the
class composition underpinning some social movements, I guess there could
be an overtly political thrust to such policies on top of their emphasis
upon social stability.

The real question is whether these are just daydreams from the more
marginal fringes of the mainstream left, or whether there could be the
impetus - and resources - to implement them. I can't see Blair or Jospin
doing it; on a parallel track, some within the German government are
muttering about a guaranteed income, but as a means to replace existing
social services with poorer ones (I've heard this from the German Wildcat
group) - but is it more than muttering?

In terms of Massimo's comment that a neo-keynesianism today would be "very
difficult to implement as well as being  undesirable", does anyone have any
thoughts on Immanuel Wallerstein's writings this decade concerning the
declining power of states - not only in terms of a fiscal squeeze, but also
of declining legitimacy in the eyes of the population at large as agents of
social betterment?

Steve




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