Democracy and the Social State (tags)
Finance capitalism and Citizens United turn life, language and democracy upside down as the $150 million given by Wall Street to Hillary Clinton fall under the rubric "social engagement." With these theses, Franz Segbers emphasizes the social state as the foundation of democracy.
TTIP: Threat to Democracy and the Constitutional State (tags)
The TTIP, the largest free trade zone comprising 800 million of the EU and the US is being secretly negotiated. Democracy and the constitutional state are threatened by 3-person arbitration courts where corporations can sue states and decisions are irreversible.
The Future of the Social State (tags)
The extended family as a kind of "self-help group" replaces the social state in the backward-oriented utopia of liberal-conservatism. Nothing hurts families more than the "rebuilding" or dismantling of the social state and the marketing of interpersonal relations.
This is not a social state any more (tags)
Building community centers (as in Vancouver BC), redistributing income and assets from top to bottom, reducing working hours, expanding the public non-profit sector and accepting housing, education and health care as rights not privileges would be important steps to a bright future.
This society cannot afford to dismantle the social state. The social state guarantees inner peace. The strength of a people is measured by the well-being of the weak, those not born with a silver spoon. Solidarity, social justice and equal opportunities are key words and open doors.