End Of An Era? The Slow Death Of Europe's Social Democrats

We live in a time of great social and economic change. Technological progress is 'disrupting' entire nations, and obsoleting large portions of the workforce, and a huge range of previously manual tasks. But how far is this disruption going — could entire political movements see themselves becoming obsolete?

Such a fate may already be in progress for Europe's post-WWII social democrats. Basing their ideologies around the idea that the benefits of hard work could be equally shared around societies through limited government intervention, and expansive welfare states, these movements were instrumental in creating many of the continent's success stories. However, as instrumental as they were, they are now being left behind.

In election after election, in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and elsewhere, social-democratic governments are falling. But why?

German magazine Der Spiegel attempts to examine this trend, looking at what made social democrats strong, and why this is no longer working. Primarily, they make an interesting observation: the power base of these movements — unionized working-class voters, usually involved in manual labor or manufacturing — are abandoning their purported protectors. Some have grown richer, and moved into the service sector, buoyed by the winds of technological progress. Others have felt left behind and turned to the far right and far left in their resentment.

For these ailing parties they are left with a stark choice — do they try to claim a tenuous and competitive center? Or do they abandon cosmopolitanism and openness to embrace populism as a way to regain popularity? Neither option is particularly good, but for these once-venerable institutions, the only other option is irrelevance.