Thread by @LittleKeegs0

When they say the panel has "some of the most distinguished thinkers on the topic of social democracy" but I don't see any Twitter mutuals

https://twitter.com/jainfamilyinst/status/1420019758523731970

(Commenting as I listen)
I really like the idea that the neoliberal turn involved a shift from thinking the economy is something we manage, to thinking we must adapt to global markets that are outside our control. This still shows up in lots of left party rhetoric outside the US.

It's hard to describe exactly, but something I've picked up from reading social democratic writings and and about the '70s and '80s was this looming sense of dread, that it was all about to fall apart.

This is exemplified in Sweden's case. It's true that the employee funds moved far ahead of public opinion, and social democrats paid dearly for it. But it's best seen as a last desperate attempt to secure social democracy before capital flows became unrestricted.

Broadly, I see 4 potential answers to this problem (which may well be complementary). The old answer was to have capital controls. Today, we're also seeing an approach of international cooperation to, for example, establish global tax rates and stop a race to the bottom.

Another response is to say that the state has a lot of room to just spend by itself, to uphold public spending or increase growth, if capital isn't cooperating. Lastly, of course, is the direct answer: socialism.

Interesting note by Stephanie: one thing you lose with deregulation is the ability to see what's actually happening in industries, especially relevant for finance today. You need people on the ground and inside these places.

As Wolfgang mentions, ultimately the social democratic strategy relies on cooperation between different classes. Between the poor and middle class, between blue and white collar workers. But this coalition has fractured.

I would add it's largely factored around lines of education, and I don't know if that can be fundamentally fixed, or if we should just accelerate to a high-education future and work from there.

We can still pull tons of votes from the non-college educated of course, but we can't expect a very strong base of support from the old working class anymore.

Regardless, social democrats do need to present a coherent vision of the future as a unifying and energizing force.