Publié lundi 11 février 2008 à 11h54
par
Eric 
(vu 1306 fois et 4 commentaires)
Y’all,
As your specially invited blogger this week, I must first say that I am very honored. And since I try to keep two blogs as it is (in English here and in Swedish here), I have learnt that the best blog posts are not too long. But since I have your attention now, we must be serious to start with.
In the autumn of 1993, I attended my first seminar at university level. I had registered for a course in economic history at Stockholm University, a decision I had started to regret right before the course started. The summer of 1993 had been great. I was in love with music (rock’n’roll, that is), literature (Jack Kerouac, that summer) and politics (social democracy, of course. But with a more radical socialist twist, in those days).
When autumn arrived, I didn’t want to study economic history. It sounded too... serious. I tried to swap for literature, but thanks to the rigid rules at Stockholm University, I had to stick to the original plan.
At the first seminar in economic history, our very old and brilliant professor (who taught his last semester that year), rose from his chair and wrote on word on the chalkboard:
Interdependence.
I had never heard of ”globalization” back then, I guess the term wasn’t even in use in Swedish yet. But during that autumn, we did not only read Dudley Dillard’s classic book ”The Economic Development of the North Atlantic Community”. We were also trying to understand the interdependent future, how the globe was changing. And whether Sweden maybe maybe maybe ought to join that economic community they were having down south. (Sweden eventually joined the EU in 1995).
For me, that autumn was beginning of a journey in which I have tried to understand how globalization works. And how progressive, social democratic ideas can help shape that development.
During the 15 years since 1993 I have read David Held, Anthony Giddens, Manuel Castells, Hardt and Negri (ok, at least most of it) and Habermas. I have been active in the best youth and student organization in Europe, ECOSY (Young European Socialists). I'm lucky enough to have had a beer or two with Poul Nyrup Rasmussen discussing what globalization – called interdependence by my professor on that chalkboard – brings with it.
Two words come back to haunt me.
Democratize. Politicize.
This is what I mean: The European Union is fantastic. But we have two major problems. The first is that it is not democratic enough. We need to strengthen the European Parliament, we need a more developed public sphere in Europe, where people can meet, exchange ideas and create the dialogue that is inevitable for all functioning democracies.
Moreover, a democracy needs different ideas, left and right, debates, discussions, even conflicts. Political conflicts.
In my view, this is why PES, PES activists and the PES manifesto campaign are so important. PES is the best tool I know if you want to democratize and politicize the EU from a center-left perspective.
In short, that’s way I agreed, without hesitation, to be your PES-blogger this week. More will follow.
* * *
Guess we are following the US Elections?! I do, I can recommend one thing if you want to follow it more closely. Go to iTunes and start subscribing to NPR:s ”It’s all politics” (radio) and MSNBC:s ”Meet the Press” (TV). American journalism at its best.
* * *
Loads of Grammies were handed out last night. Congrats Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle and dear old Johnny Cash.
See you soon,
Eric Sundström, editor in chief at "Aktuellt i Politiken"; the newspaper of the Swedish Social Democratic Party.
Chargement...
Commentaires
1. Welcome! par editor le lundi 11 février 2008 à 12h22
A warm welcome to Yourspace - we hope you'll have a great week here!2. dying democracy? parching politics? par lena lin
le lundi 11 février 2008 à 14h22
Good, serious blog, Eric!
Yes, we need to start by the basics: democratize and politicize! It is a paradox that in Europe where we have all the democratic rights and possibilities, few are interested to make use of them. In some other parts of the world, people risk their lives when engaging in political debate. In Europe, politics is often considered a dirty businessm although, it is open to all and anyone to step in and help clean it up! I do not believe that European politics is so terribly dirty but it is not at all as d y n a m i c as it could be - for us Europeans and for the rest of the world.
I do believe that we are far too few who make our voices heard in Europe.
Therefore, it is so good to have the European Socialist Party w i t h the opportunity for all and anyone to participate directly in the PES debate, by joining as a PES activist.
Next question: How do we recruit PES-activists by the thousands every week?!
Lena in Sweden
3. Answer to Lena par chourka
le lundi 11 février 2008 à 15h12
You can succeed in convincing your local responsible to transfer the data of their members straight to the PSE.
It is what we are doing currently in Paris. That takes a little bit time, but it is the most efficient way to increase the figures.
I am not comfortable with the motto that "politics are all the same" or "it's a dirty business". In democracy, leaders, parties are what the citizens want them to be. If you are not pleased with a policy, denonce it, campaign against it, demonstrate! And if all that failed, then candidate.
To my view, we are facing a double obstacle: the passivity of our national structures which are very keen to speak about "Europe" but not able to act commonly for broader interests than national and the nationalism of our mass-media. Media owner are in deep fascination for the USA (especially as economic model) which far away from the european own.
We have to read american writers such Jeremy Rifkin to remind us that we, Europeans, have the biggest and the wealthiest economy in the world. € is stronger than the $ not only because of conjonctural reasons.
4. PES-activists and Rifkin par Eric
le lundi 11 février 2008 à 17h53
Lena, when it comes to querstion about getting more people active in the PES-activist movement, I think it is key to also get the trade unions and youth organizations involved. Without them, not much will happen, at least not according to the history of the Swedish labour movement.
Needless to say, we also need the support of the leadership of our big "motherparties". At least in Sweden, I hope this is changing in a good way (our party leader Mona Sahlin is charing one of the PES-groups).
When it comes to Rifkin, I think he is making an excellent point: We Europeans need to be proud of what we have acheived since 1945. A union of 27 countries, and growing. However, we to the left of the center need to be proud as well and take the fight with the blue team. A more social Europe will be an even better Europe for Rifkin to write books about.
Important note: In the blog post above, I intended to put one of my favorite Swedish writers, Per Wirtén, in the middle of Held and the gang. He has inspired me so much over the years, and he inspired me to write that blog post through a lecture he held only last week (where he stressed the need to democratize and politicize the EU). I also intended to put Mark Leonard in that gang, an author who I first met a meeting hosted by Per Wirtén.
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