Crises of society, economy, and democracy are rocking the foundations of Europe. As Nathan Gardels writes in the Washington Post (21 September 2018): “Across Western democracies, the social cohesion that once sustained political consensus has severely eroded.” Social cohesion requires interdependent individuals to perceive societal well-being as crucial to peace and prosperity, and to cooperate for shared social goals (Council of Europe 2008: 7). Yet marginal groups are suffering in the contemporary political, economic, and social climate, and outsiders are increasingly vocal about their discontent. Right-oriented protest groups often concentrate their free-floating rage on border-crossing flows of refugees and workers. Yellow-vested protesters and neofascist memes more broadly signal malaise with state authority and with societies that forget the leftovers.

Economic malaise certainly contributes to the crisis of social cohesion. Postindustrial change, a jobless recovery from the financial and euro crises, and rising inequality threaten economic well-being, and citizens at the margins receive little from mainstream society. Child poverty rates are on the rise in two-thirds of OECD countries. Young people who are not in employment, education, or training constituted 14 per cent of 15–29 year olds within the OECD in 2016.

The crisis of social cohesion also reflects the deficit of democracy within the EU and receding agreement on the mission of the EU. Despite ardent efforts to construct a supranational Europe with symbols and narratives, a collective European social identity seems out of reach, as few consider the EU to be a whole that is larger than the sum of its parts. Mass voters fear that EU elite technocrats have little interest in respecting national political and cultural traditions. EU collective action is grounded in political or legal logic, rather than in cultural norms of cooperation. This democratic deficit contributes to a legitimation crisis of both national and supranational political authorities.

Varieties of society in a global context

Countries have historically built on diverse models to reconcile growth and social solidarity. These models make different assumptions about the importance of marginal groups to national growth projects and to the health of the polity. The social democratic model found in the Nordic countries posits that each individual should contribute to building a strong society and economy.