Structural change
…Those who are really threatened by the Le Pen phenomenon are those who invented the policies of pseudo-adaptation to the demands of globalization, of semi-deregulation of the markets, and who pretend to have embraced the advantages of competition. The social-democratic governments and alliances sought to be on good terms with both God and Mammon. They tried, in other words, to serve market needs without harming their traditional ties with the unions. Their measures were, in fact, half-measures. But it makes no sense to facilitate the faster accumulation of entrepreneurial wealth without shaping conditions for intense competition. It makes no sense to privatize public corporations and at the same time maintain the privileges of the public sector in the economy. The state remains an essential actor. Those who think that genuine structural changes in the economy and society require the state to disappear are only scaremongering; just like Le Pen. What we need, rather, is a different kind of state. What we need is a Europe which uses the assets of the single market and the euro. This historical conjuncture mandates the incorporation of the new European reality to the nascent global environment. Timidity and the endless oscillation of the majority of European governments – regardless of their political identity – in backing with clarity and coherence the completion of reforms which were initiated about 15 years ago is the root cause of current complications…
