Abstract
Dear readers
The financial and economic crisis which began in 2008 in the United States and quickly turned into a global depression is now rapidly becoming a social crisis. In some countries it is threatening to lead to a severe political crisis. There are already commentators who rank 2008 alongside 1945, 1989 and 2001 as a turning point in world history. I agree that regardless of when the recovery comes, nothing will be quite like it was before 2008. I also agree that a certain type of uncontrolled financial market will be a thing of the past. I would even agree that all governments worldwide will, for some years to come, have to use extraordinary instruments of intervention in order to save the banking system, stimulate consumption and prevent social emergencies–-and that because of this a new quality of international cooperation is emerging.
But the world will not be turned on its head. The framework of principles according to which wealth is created, goods distributed and human talent put to use will not be changed. The market economy has a future, provided it remains or once more becomes socially oriented, operating not as a goal in itself but as an instrument in the service of humankind. In other words, the social market economy developed by Christian Democrats in the middle of the 20th century is the key to a successful and sustainable recovery from the current depression.
That is why this year's elections for the European Parliament are so important: we all know–-and European governments have shown in the past months–-that only a coordinated effort by the European Union as a whole will guarantee the success of our national stimulus packages and recovery plans. One thing we have to avoid at all costs is a relapse into protectionism or other forms of economic nationalism, such as new restrictions on the free movement of people and capital. We all know that economic nationalism made the Great Depression of the 1930s deeper and longer–-in fact, was at its root. Today we have to wisely use the European Union to do things differently. And that means the EPP family must remain at the helm in the Parliament and consequently, also in the European Commission. It is clear that socialists and nationalists plan to use the crisis to push their own populist agenda in these elections–-which in either case would end up with the same result: a weaker European Union. The single market needs to be defended these days, not hollowed out, and the euro strengthened, not weakened. In other words, we need a European social market economy more than ever. That is why we want to keep the EPP the strongest party in the Parliament: to ensure that the social market economy will be the EU's answer to the enormous challenges posed by the current crisis.
But we have to adapt the social market economy to the 21st century, to our new demographic, technological and competitive conditions and to the emergence of new economic powers like India, China and Brazil. This means learning from past mistakes that were made by many actors worldwide, while sticking to our principles. It means asking the right questions about how this crisis came about, what to do next, how to speed up recovery and how to make it sustainable. We are tackling all these questions in the current issue of European View. We have assembled politicians from the EPP family, along with bankers and researchers. They write about different aspects of the current crisis and the future of the market economy–-and they provide answers to the questions that matter most to us at this moment.
Finally, I hope that you will enjoy the new format of European View which combines summarised versions of the Centre for European Studies’ innovative research with articles by prominent European political figures. This combination of academic contributions and practical political insight gives a comprehensive overview of the solutions which the Centre Right has to offer.
Footnotes