tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732662769765511163.post6691294122156263254..comments2023-07-31T11:06:29.485+02:00Comments on Transition: Piketty: “Why have democratic regimes failed to reduce inequality?”D. Mario Nutihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17319653816487296802noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732662769765511163.post-38819523199521884762018-05-08T13:40:52.878+02:002018-05-08T13:40:52.878+02:00Renzo, You might be surprised to learn that in the...Renzo, You might be surprised to learn that in the large municipality of Leeds where I live the Conservatives took the lead in the early and middle part of the Twentieth Century in providing decent housing for working people and were later strong proponents of non-selective comprehensive education. The municipality voted only by a whisker to 'remain' in the EU, by the way, on a high turnout, and this in a city of three universities and big financial and legal sectors. Jeff G.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732662769765511163.post-31051374628572560562018-02-28T14:14:40.955+01:002018-02-28T14:14:40.955+01:00But now, Renzo, Britannia waves the rules!But now, Renzo, Britannia waves the rules!D. Mario Nutihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17319653816487296802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732662769765511163.post-83678990951809679092018-02-26T10:40:27.241+01:002018-02-26T10:40:27.241+01:00Back to Paolo Sylos Labini, Essay on Social Classe...Back to Paolo Sylos Labini, Essay on Social Classes (1974) then. http://www.italialibri.net/opere/saggiosulleclassisociali.htmlTonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732662769765511163.post-43181051467974251332018-02-26T10:32:25.060+01:002018-02-26T10:32:25.060+01:00I feel that Piketty’s criticism by your anonymous ...I feel that Piketty’s criticism by your anonymous political scientist is somewhat unfair, considering the earnest and painstaking work on which Piketty bases his considerations. S/he accuses Piketty of being France-centered only to propose criticisms that do not go past the Channel. It is questionable whether conservatives can be credited with significant welfare state initiatives. And Britannia no longer rules the waves.Renzo Daviddinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732662769765511163.post-33912957421136348722018-02-23T23:42:11.820+01:002018-02-23T23:42:11.820+01:00A most interesting post. As an American I would no...A most interesting post. As an American I would not feel comfortable discussing Europe or even the UK. But for the US Piketty’s argument seems spot on: racism has always destroyed efforts to build class solidarity in the US – whether it was populism in the South between 1890 and 1900 or the so-called Roosevelt coalition which brought us a (to use the French term) "regulation regime" of "social democracy" US style (I put it in quotes because it pales by comparison with the European versions) between 1935 (the passage of the Social Security Act and the Wagner Act) and 1980 (I date that for the election of Reagan though other benchmarks in the 1930s might work).<br /> <br />I recently reviewed David Kotz's “The Rise and Fall of Neo-Liberal Capitalism” (in “Challenge” 58(4), http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/05775132.2015.1060097). I think Kotz’s analysis (and in fact the whole idea of a "neo-liberal" Social Structure of Accumulation in the US that was built in the 1970s and 80s and flourished till 2008 when it's continued viability was thrown into question) is consistent with what I think Piketty is saying.<br /><br />Your commentator seems to focus on Europe, so it is unclear what she/he thinks of Piketty’s comment about the US. One thing is certain: the US never had a "working class" party; Debs Socialists came closest but they were destroyed during WW I never to rise above the role of miniscule 3rd parties again.<br />Mike Meeropolnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732662769765511163.post-15394495953719055022018-02-23T22:50:54.788+01:002018-02-23T22:50:54.788+01:00This is very interesting. We all tried to understa...This is very interesting. We all tried to understand the underlying causes of the decline of the left. There are great similarities even in very different cases, which suggests the existence of universal though very general causation. My suggestions:<br /><br />a) the starting point is the end of the working class (and therefore of its political expressions, Unions and parties) as the potentially dominant class, with the advent and growth of the tertiary sector;<br /><br />b) with the end of big industry as a key sector of the economy, workers were faced with a colossal prisoner’s dilemma, in which the dominant strategy was to "save themselves" (or "save the company” or “save their category" etc.) while the most efficient strategy would have been a Scandinavian strategy of major political reforms;<br /><br />c) this universalistic best strategy was very difficult to work out and and to assert (although there have been some interesting attempts), and this has obviously contributed to the generalization of the inefficient strategy;<br /><br />d) these trends have been strengthened further by globalization.<br />Let us hope.Guido Ortonanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732662769765511163.post-1946499282735239282018-02-23T16:25:05.246+01:002018-02-23T16:25:05.246+01:00Ottima analisi (Pikketty ci fa o ci è? O entrambi?...Ottima analisi (Pikketty ci fa o ci è? O entrambi?).<br /><br />Aggiungerei che P. confonde la democrazia liberale, restaurata in Europa...dall'€uropa con la democrazia sociale, cioè quella che è la ragion d'essere dei partiti "socialisti" (in senso scientifico marxiano): cioè della sinistra in quanto proiettata in partiti di massa che offrono una soluzione al conflitto distributivo innescata dal capitalismo sfrenato, come lo definiva Popper (compatibile col suffragio universale; v. Gramsci http://orizzonte48.blogspot.it/2017/09/cntri-di-irradiazion-vs-legalita.html ). E infatti dimentica che:<br /><br />http://orizzonte48.blogspot.it/2017/06/astensionismo-figlio-e-padre-dello.html<br /><br />Naturalmente la democrazia è SOLO quella sociale; in Italia l'avevamo capito, ma è durato pochino<br /><br />http://orizzonte48.blogspot.it/2017/11/luxemburg-gramsci-basso-e-caffe-la-via.htmlQuarantottohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06816556453620678760noreply@blogger.com