Description
Book SynopsisThe great forgetting: The past, present and future of social democracy and the welfare state reminds us that we were much happier when we were more equal, shared common goals, and trusted that government would be there for all of us when we needed it. The great forgetting emphasises that economic policy must be about more than getting government out of the way so some people can enrich themselves - often at the expense of the rest of us. The great forgetting explodes the myth that globalisation is the cause of inequality and that the state can do little to protect us. It demonstrates that the 1 percent are not the wealth creators they claim to be; they own much of their wealth through inheritance, tax concessions, and the ability to protect wealth in tax havens or through investments abroad. Inequality is lethal, but it can be fixed by a state that belongs to all of us and not just the 1 percent who use their wealth to acquire the political power that we once shared more.The great forg
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1. Where are we today? And how happy are we now that we are here?
2. Social equality: why it matters
3. The way we used to be and could be again
4. How we fell into the memory hole and got to where we are today
5. Social democracy forgets its identity: what really ended in 1989?
6. Rethinking the state
7. Rethinking the past: reimagining the future
8. Europe versus America: a summing up
Select bibliography
Index
