The rise and fall of the welfare state

The Rise and Fall of the Welfare State Asbjorn Wahl Translated by John Irons PlutoPress www.plutobooks.com First published 2011 by Pluto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA www.plutobooks.com Distributed in the United States of America exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St Martin's Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010 Copyright © Asbjorn Wahl 2011; English translation © John Irons 2011 This translation has been published with the financial support of NORLA The right of Asbjorn Wahl to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN ISBN 978 7453 3140 Hardback 978 7453 3139 Paperback Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin 10 Designed and produced for Pluto Press by Curran Publishing Services, Norwich Simultaneously printed digitally by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, UK and Edwards Bros in the United States of America CONTENTS List o f figures and tables Preface ix xi Introduction Freedom and equality Who owns the welfare state? Power and polarization The non-historical approach About the book 11 14 17 The power base Historical background The class compromise System competition The content and ideology of the compromise Restraining market forces A broader concept of the welfare state 20 22 25 31 33 35 39 The turning point Globalization - or market fundamentalism? Deregulation The economy of madness Privatization Three phases - three stages Monopolization and corruption What went wrong? 43 43 45 48 55 59 60 64 The shift in the balance of power Attacks on the trade unions The end of the class compromise The employers failed in Norway The undermining of democracy Deregulation and privatization 66 66 71 73 75 78 v VI CONTENTS Forms of organization and management Supranational agreements and institutions The myth of the powerless state 82 85 89 The attacks Poverty and increasing inequality Pensions under attack But Norway is best Crisis and shock therapy The transformation of welfare 93 98 101 107 115 121 The brutalization of work Labour as a commodity Brutalization and exclusion The demands of neoliberalism Social dumping Driving forces Abolish workfare policies! Loss of welfare? 126 127 130 137 142 145 150 154 The misery of symbol politics The workfare fiasco Blessed are the poor? From power struggle to legal formalism 159 160 165 171 Challenges and alternatives Changes to power relations The struggle is already on The European Union as a barrier Internal political-ideological barriers Politicization and revitalization A new course! Freedom 178 179 183 188 192 198 204 208 Notes Bibliography Index 213 225 235 FIGURES AND TABLES F IC U R E S 2.1 The power of private capital was limited via wide-ranging state regulation 3.1 The comprehensive regulations of private capital have been removed 3.2 Growth in GNP per capita globally 3.3 The relation between financial assets and GNP globally 3.4 The relation between financial transactions and international trade in goods and services per day 4.1 Unemployment in a number of major industrial countries 4.2 The wage share of total income (factor income) in the EU15, Germany, the United States and Japan between 1975 and 2006 5.1 The development of income inequality (the Gini coefficient) in Norway, 9 -2 0 6.1 Percentage of the Norwegian population between 16 and 66 receiving a disability pension 36 46 47 49 51 68 70 108 132 T A B LE S 4.1 Level of unionization in selected countries (as a percentage of the work force) as the neoliberal offensive made its impact Annual average tax level as a percentage of GNP in OECD countries, 9 -2 0 4.3 Income and taxation for Norwegian divisions of multinational companies, 0 6.1 Effects on health and working environment of various types of insecure work vii 69 80 81 139 To Anja and Vegard PREFACE This is an updated and partly newly written, translated version of a book I published in Norwegian in 2009 My aim with the book is to challenge conventional interpretations of the welfare state I this by linking the analysis of social development, welfare and work with more fundamental power relations in society Such analyses have been in short supply over the last few decades At the political level our experience is that fundamental causes and driving forces in society are non-issues, while symbol and symptom politics flourish and political spin doctors whatever they can to deceive us The critical potential of social science is in a poor state, while an army of social scientists in institutes of applied research are mass-producing superficial descriptions of isolated social phenomena - to the great satisfaction of their employers The book is also meant as a warning about the threats to the social progress which was won through the welfare state, if we are not able to resist the offensive by market forces and regain and reinforce democracy in our societies As I have been working on the manuscript, these threats have increased enormously across Europe and the Western world Particularly in the European Union, we have seen not only attacks on social protection and public services but direct massacres of them, in the countries most strongly affected by the economic crisis While the financial crisis contributed to delegitimizing neo­ liberalism and the current economic model, our experience is that neoliberals and financial capital are still running the show Rather than regulating the speculation economy, they therefore seem to be using the opportunity to complete their ‘silent revolution’ by forcing further privatization and cuts in public budgets on countries in deep economic crisis In the European Union we are seeing frightening developments in the direction of a more authoritarian regime, where economic and political power is being further de-democratized and centralized through the so-called Euro Plus Pact and new legislation on economic government and enforcement mechanisms (popularly called ‘the sixpack’, since it contains six pieces of legislation) This more than anything else illustrates the current defensiveness and weaknesses of the labour and trade union movement, the deep political crisis on the Left and the lack of ambitious alternatives to the current economic model It is therefore a matter of urgency to X PREF ACE develop our analyses of the situation, our alternative social models, as well as our strategies and tactics to achieve our aims The time is ripe to build broad social alliances and to organize resistance against the current onslaught on the best parts of our societies In this book I have given some indications of how this can be done, and I therefore hope that it will contribute to inspiring activities in this direction I would never have been able to write this book without my almost 30 years of experience in the Norwegian and international trade union movement Not least, the last nearly 20 years of service in the International Transport Workers’ Federation, in the Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees and in the broad Norwegian alliance, the Campaign for the Welfare State, have been decisive for my comprehension of power structures and other social relations I am therefore greatly indebted to the trade union movement, which is still the foremost defender of ordinary people’s rights, influence and dignity in the world of work as well as in society in general Unmentioned but not forgotten are many Norwegian friends who have given me a great deal of advice and suggestions, useful and constructive comments and encouragement during my work on this book These have been a great help Particularly, I should like to thank my union, the Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees, as well as the Norwegian government-funded, non­ commercial foundation NORLA (Norwegian Literature Abroad), both of which contributed financially to the translation of the book Many thanks also to the staff at Pluto Press, who have been very positive, helpful and professional throughout the process Finally thanks to John Irons, who translated the manuscript from Norwegian and delivered promptly in spite of some late submissions from the author Last, but not least, warm thanks to Solveig, who has commented, supported and encouraged me from the beginning to the end and helped me to keep the inspiration alive all along - in spite of the fact that the work has detracted from many evenings, weekends and holidays All the responsibility for details as well as the totality of the book lies of course with me, including all weaknesses and any mistakes that still exist Asbjorn Wahl Oslo, July 2011 INTRODUCTION Jan e1 is 49 years old and lives in a medium-sized Norwegian town called Moss She is on an 80 per cent disability pension She was awarded this in September 0 , after just over three and a half years of being tossed back and forth in the system The story she has to tell me over a cup of coffee is not a happy one The problem is that I have heard a good many other similar stories in recent years They are the stories of people who struggle with their health, then their self-confidence and their self-image, and finally have to face the toughest fight of all - the machinery of the welfare state Jane was employed for 30 years She started early, as a welding apprentice at the legendary shipyard Nyland Vest in Oslo After three years, her back gave out She had a long period of illness and had to quit her job The doctor even advised her to apply for a disability pension, but she declined Jane wanted to be back at work After almost a year, she managed to get a job on the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) as a station inspector at Lillestrom station She stayed with the railways for 25 years, at various locations and in various functions - lastly as a head of transport in the freight transport company CargoNet Throughout, she liked her job, liked her colleagues, and liked the solidarity and the environment of which she was a part However, her health never fully recovered after her back injury at the shipyard Jane has been in a lot of pain, but she has learned to live with it, as she says In 1985, her doctor diagnosed ankylosing spondylitis, since when she has gone to physiotherapy once or twice a week This enabled her to muster the necessary strength to go on working for so many years From around 0 , however, her absences owing to illness 232 BIBLIOGRAPHY R o s a L u x e m b o u r g F o u n d a tio n ( R L F ) ( 0 ) Prospects o f the European Welfare State: Stocktaking and exploration o f problems B e r lin : R L F R o s s k a m , E ( 0 ) Winners and Losers? 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H o v e : P ic n ic P u b lis h in g W e iss, L ( 9 ) The Myth o f the Powerless State N e w Y o r k : C o rn e ll U n iv e r s ity P re ss W e r g e la n d , E ( 0 ) Arbeidsmiljoloven, sykefravceret og sekstimersdagen [T h e W o r k in g E n v ir o n m e n t A c t, s ic k le a v e a n d th e s ix -h o u r d a y ] O s lo : T r a n s it 234 BIBLIOGRAPHY W e s tin , S ( 9 ) ‘V e lfe rd o g h e lse i fo lk e tr y g d e n s a r h u n d r e ’ [W e lfa re a n d h e a lth in th e c e n tu ry o f N a t io n a l In s u r a n c e ], Journal o f the Norwegian Medical Association, 1 : - W e s tin , S ( 0 ) ‘V e lfe rd e n s p a r a d o k s e r o g u tfo r d r in g e r ’ [T h e p a r a d o x e s a n d c h a lle n g e s o f w e lfa r e ] in M a s la n d , J G , F u g e lli, P., H o y e r, G a n d W e s tin , S (e d s), Sosialmedisin - i teori og praksis [S o c ia l m e d ic in e - in th e o r y a n d p r a c tic e ] O s lo : G y ld e n d a l W e s tin , S ( 0 ) ‘E r u lik h e t s k a d e lig f o r f o lk e h e ls e n ? ’ [Is in e q u a lity h a rm fu l t o p u b lic h e a lth ? ] Journal o f the Norwegian Medical Association, : 3081 W h itfie ld , D ( 0 ) Public Services or Corporate Welfare L o n d o n : P lu to P re ss W h itfie ld , D ( 0 ) New Labour’s Attack on Public Services N o ttin g h a m : Sp o k esm an W ilk in s o n , R a n d M a r m o t, M ( 0 ) Social Determinants o f Health: The solid facts G e n e v a : W H O W ilk in s o n , R a n d P ic k e tt, K ( 0 ) The Spirit Level: Why equality is better for everyone L o n d o n : P e n g u in W o o d , E M ( 9 ) ‘C la s s c o m p a c ts , th e w e lfa r e s ta te , a n d e p o c h a l s h if ts ,’ Monthly Review, ( ) : - W o o d , E M ( 0 ) The Origin o f Capitalism L o n d o n : V e rs o B o o k s W o rld B a n k ( 9 ) Averting the Old Age Crisis W a s h in g to n D C : W o rld Bank W o rld C o m m is s io n o n th e S o c ia l D im e n s io n o f G lo b a liz a t io n ( 0 ) A Fair Globalization: Creating opportunities for all G e n e v a : I L O INDEX A accounting systems, 84 Adam Smith Institute, 44 Afghanistan, 197 kftenposten , 140-1 air traffic controllers, 67 Alcatel Norway, 81 Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra America (ALBA), 86, 218n4-16 Allende, Salvador, 45 American Coalition of Service Industries (CSI), 88 American Enterprise Institute, 44 Ankarloo, Daniel, 130 Argentina, 50 asset realization/ stripping, 52 Attac, 185 Attlee, Clement, 28, 36 Australia, 4, 84 taxation in, 80 B Balfour, Arthur, 24, 33, 214n 2-4 Banco del Sur, 86, 218n4-17 Basque trade unions, 3-4 Bauman, Zygmunt, 197-8 Beveridge, William H., 28 Beveridge Report, -9 Bischoff, Joachim, 49 Bismarck, Otto von, -4 Bjerkedal, T., 136 Blair, Tony, 57, 83, 104, 217n4-9 Bodin, Raymond-Pierre, 138 Bohle, Philip, 138 Brazil, 16, 51 Bretton Woods conference, 29, 214n2-8 Brie, M., 207 Brochs-Haukedal, William, 140 Brooks, N., Brundtland, Gro Harlem, 73, 89, 107 brutalization of work, 17, 126-58, 163, 206, 2 -ln -l Buffett, Warren, 1-2 Bulgaria, 120 Campaign for the Welfare State, 126, 199, 221n6-l Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, -7 Canal Digital, 81 capital -friendly national environment, 90 income from, 44 power of unregulated, 46 yields, share and distribution of, 107 capital controls, 36, 40 and national autonomy, 37 need to restore, 116, 181 235 neoliberal removal of, 17, 46, 50, 70, 78 -9 , 81-2, 147-8, 170-1 capitalists/capitalism accepted by workers under the class compromise, 3-4 capitalists’ attitude to class compromise, 27, 33 casino capitalism, 47-8 from industrial to financial capitalism, 47, 178 essential nature of, 22 gangster capitalism, 58 interest in socio­ economic issues, 21 laissez-faire, and crisis of legitimacy ill 1930s, 27 power limited by market regulation, -7 short-termism of contemporary capitalism, -2 caring responsibilities, 38 socialization of caring work, 38 cartels, 61 Cato Institute, 44 Centre for European Policy Studies, 119 Centre for Policy Studies, 44 INDEX 236 Chagas, Eduardo, 223n8-14 charity, private, 37 Chicago school of economics, 4-5 see also neoliberalism child(ren) labour, 173-4 life chances of poor, 109-10 poverty, 99, 107 Chile, 45 China, 16, 54 Church, the, 3, 215n2-16 Churchill, Winston, 28 Citigroup, 187-8 Civita, 9, 44-5 class compromise, 26, 30 -5 , 65, 70-1, 94, 194-6 (see also partnership model) class struggle, Clemet, Kristin, Club de PHorloge, 44 coal miners, 67 colonialism, replaced by privatization as source of investment opportunities, 55 communism, 31 Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO), 73 construction sector, 143, 144 consultancy companies, 125 on union busting, 67 Cordinnier, Laurent, 120 corporate social responsibility, 173 corruption, 62—4 COSATU, 174 creativity, national measures of, credit control, 36 deregulation of, 50, 73 see also debt cross-subsidizing, 63 currency exchange rates, 36 floating rates, 45 speculation, 44, 48, 50 -1 , 117 Czech Republic, 89 D Dagbladet, 108-9 De Grauwe, Paul, 119 debt, national crisis of developing countries in 1980s, 57 crisis of 2010s, 92, 115-21 default option, 192 propaganda about causes, 118-19 debt, private, levels of, 119 see also credit democracy, arguably linked to free markets, 45 bypassed by supranational agreements and bodies, 85-9 democratic deficit in the EU, 78, 86-7, 118, 188, 189, 07-8 democratization of ownership, 181 direct forms of, 208 necessary for development of welfare state, 20 necessary for permanent advances in equality, 177 need to strengthen, -8 , 210 participatory, 184 and power, 39 undermining of, 18, -8 , 83 Denmark, 13, 30, 55, 61, 197, 219n4-26, 220n5-10 depression (of the 1930s), 7-8 deregulation, 11, 17, -8 , 78-82 of credit, 50, 73 of markets, 70, 128-9 see also under capital controls developing countries attempts to establish a welfare state in, 15 debt crisis in 1980s, 57, n -ll exploitation by the developed world, 21, 31 resistance to further trade liberaliza­ tion, 174 state power in, 90-1 disability pensions, 101, 132, 133-4, 137, 139 case history, 1-3 coverage reduced, 71 difficulty in obtaining, 1-3, 136 increased number of, 40-1, 161 downsizing, 135-6 Delvik, J E., 11, 12 Dreschler, Wolfgang, 83^4, 85 E Eastern Europe, 56, 58 economic cycles and crises, 23, 48, 50 see also financial crisis (of 2007 onwards, debt crisis of 2010s) economic growth national levels of, not achieved under neoliberalism, 47 pressure for increased, 154 economics Eastern European system, 31 Keynesian see Keynesianism I ND E X neoliberal see neoliberalism pro-cyclical policies, 117 Economist, 76 economy after the Second World War, 31 in the 1970s, 43 speculation-oriented, 52, 56, 116, 117 transition to lowcarbon, 175-6 education, 14, 41, 95-6, 219n5-3 capitalist interest in, 21, 95 inequality in, 110 issues over, 96 privatization of, 88-9, 96 qualifications and work, 130-2 efficiency, 6, 82, 154-7 Elstad, L., 131-2 employer organizations, employment see labour, work energy sector, 40, 57 market deregulation, 113-15 privatization, 59 see also oil industry equality and inequality in education, 110 growing inequality, 10, 13, 50, 98-101, 107-10, 122 in health, 110 of income distribution, 7, 8, 50, 97, 99-100 inequality exacerbated by globalization, 44 need to reduce inequality, 181, 205 negative social effects of inequality, 100-1, 176-7 in Norway, 107-10 and redistribution under the Nordic model, 38 relationship to freedom, in schools, 14 and the welfare state, 42 Esping-Andersen, G., 94, 128, 213n2-2 euro, the, 117, 189 European Coal and Steel Community, 191 European Economic Area (EEA), 60, 86, 216n3-16 European Economic Community (EEC), 46 European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 163-4 European Metalworkers’ Federation, 174 European Roundtable of Industrialists, 96 European Services Forum (ESF), 88, 219n4-23 European Social Forum, 185 European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), 16, 54, 179, 188, 193-5, 202 European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), 119-20 European Union 2020 Strategy, 194 actions post financial crisis, 195 as barrier to economic and social development, 188-92 constitution, referenda on, 87 definition of poverty, 99 democratic deficit in, 78, 86-7, 118, 188, 189, 207-8 Economic and 237 Monetary Union (EMU), 86 European Centra! Bank, 86, 118, 120-1, 188, 201 European Commission, 86, 118, 120 European Court of Justice, 92, 145, 190, 206 European social model, 4, 40, 213n l-2 legislative process, 190 Lisbon strategy, 91 Lisbon Treaty, 86, 87, 118, 188, 201 Maastricht criteria, 72, 118, 188, 217n4-7 nature of financial rescue packages, 117 neoliberal influence in, 45, 56, 59-60, 118, 188 Port Services Directive, 201 Posting of Workers Directive, 191 poverty in, 167 Services Directive, 201 unionization in, 69 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion, 167 exclusion government ‘fights’ against, 18 of labour, 95, 126, 129, 136, 138-9, 164 from school, 13 social, 9, 13-14, 17, 94, 124 from welfare arrangements, 137 exports see trade F families, policies related to, 111 238 fascism, 4, 25 financial crisis (of 2007 onwards), 11, 19, 48, 50, 86, 178 cuts following, 86 neoliberal responses to, 49, 116 outcomes of, 86, 116, 117-20 financial instruments, 48, 51, 215n3-8 failure to prohibit damaging, 116 need to prohibit damaging, 204 financial sector failure to control post financial crisis, 116 increasing role of, 47 need to regulate, 204-5 role of pension funds in, 105 financial transactions vs trade in goods and services, 51 Finboe, Ingrid, 143 Findus Norge, 81 flexicurity, 92, 219n4-26 Flathen, Roar, 15-16, 13n l-6 food, speculation in, 51 Foster, John Bellamy, 47 France, 12, 16-17, 55, 61, 87, 120, 187, 201 trade unions in, 71-2 freedom and equality, labour movement seen by Right as threat to, path to, 208-11 vs collective security, Friedman, Milton, 44 INDEX Germany, 12, -4 , 25, 37, 57, 72, 117, 120, 147, 187, 189, 217n4-6 Agenda 2010, 220n5-12 jobs lost to other countries, 148 politics in, 196-7 trade unions in, 69 -7 , 202 Gilbert, N., 171 Gini coefficient, 100, 108, 220n5-7 see also equality and inequality GlaxoSmithKline, 81 globalization, -5 , 52 claimed to prevent governments from tackling poverty, 171, 182 and neoliberalism, 10 resistance to, 184 supported by the Left, 3-4 Gogstad, Anders, 136, 161 GRECE, 44 Greece, 72, 117, 120, 189, 197, -2 Greve, Belt, 112 gross national product per hour worked, per person, 7, 47 relationship to financial assets, 48, 49 Guardian, 86 inequalities in, 110 levels of, 14 mental health problems, 141 problems and work, 1, 24, 132-4, 138-42, 157 (see also disability pensions, sickness) problems resulting from stress, 157 recommendations to improve, 164 services, 41 suffering under brutal working environ­ ment, 24, 155 see also stress and burnout health and safety issues, 143, 144, 153 hedge funds, 52, 116, 204 Henkel, Hans-Olaf, 71 Heritage Foundation, 44 Hernes, Gudmund, 89 Hobsbawm, Eric, 31 Holmes, Oliver Wendell, ‘homo economicus’, 106 Hood, Christopher, 83 Hoover Institute, 44 housing, 40 limited access to good, 94 loans, bad, 48 market, deregulation of, 113-14 for migrant workers, 143-4 prices and H speculation, 51 Hagen, Kare, 222n7-2 public, sold off, 57 Hagen, Stein Erik, 76 social, 114, 122, 124, Hall, D., 63 205 Halvorsen, Kristin, 16 Hansen, Marianne Nordli, Hudson, Michael, 120-1, 189 G 109 Huffschmid, Jorg, 50 G20, 116 Hayek, Friedrich von, 44 human rights, 37 Galbraith, James K., 118 health gender issues, 38 budgets in developing Hwong, T., General Agreement countries, 58 care insurance, ,1 I on Trade in Services Iceland, 60, 116, 187 care, privatization (GATS) see under World IG Metall, 70 -1 , 148, 175 of, 57 Trade Organization 239 INDEX India, 16 individualization of problems and exclusion, 9, 18, 133-4, 151, 159, 162, 168 industrial action, 23, 25, 29, 30, -2 , 203 confronted and defeated by government, 25, 67, 14 ,1 legal restrictions on, 69 strike-breaking, 25 industry, manufacturing, 139 nationalization in, 36 privatization of stateowned, 56 -7 , 59 infant mortality, informal economy, 70 information technology, speculative bubble, 51 infrastructure private investment in, 57-9 see also telecommuni­ cations, transport, utilities, water insurance, private made unnecessary by comprehensive welfare state, 38 see also pensions insurance, social, 95 as core component of welfare state, 40 introduced by labour movements, 22 union schemes for, 128 workplace-based, 24 intellectual property rights, 88 interest rates control of, 41, 122 on debt of developing countries, 58 International Accounting Standards Board, 84 International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 183 International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), 172-3 International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), 84 International Labour Organization (ILO) 26, 138, 173, 175, 191 conventions, 222n7-5 International Monetary Fund (IMF), 45, 56, 57, 58, 84, 85-6, 118, 120, 184, 188, 201, 216n3-12, 216n3-15 International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), 68 -9 , 195, 222n7-7 investment exit strategies of investors, 79, 125, 148 expected return on, 47 privatization providing opportunities for, 56 search for sites for, 56, 84 see also capital, financial sector Iraq war, demonstrations against, 185 Ireland, 87, 119, 120, 187, 189, 192, 201 Italy, 25, 57, 72, 120, 147, 187 J Jagland, Thorbjorn, 164 Japan, 72 economic policy, 46, 50, 57 Josefsson, Dan, 64 Juppe, Alain, 55, -2 ,1 K Keynesianism, 29, 43, 179, 189, 214n2-9, 215n3-l Klein, N., 215n3-3 Kohl, Helmut, 71 Kolstad, A., 141 Kraby, Pal, 218 Kraft Foods, 79 L labour force commodification of labour, 94, 127 common across Europe, 9-60 gender issues in, 38 struggle for full employment, 40 work participation rate, 7, 35, 137 labour market deregulation, 192 EU direct intervention in, 195 flexible, 16, 59-60, 70, 92, 129, 206 policy, 40 labour movements) see trade unions NEED labour protection laws, 24, 37, 70, 123, 148, 199 interpreted against trade unions, 145, 190 liberalization of, 129 violations of, 74 Lafontaine, Oskar, 217n4-6 Lasch, Christopher, 64 Latin America, 86, 183 Latvia, 99 Left (political), 5, 9, 13, 16, 98, 115, 116, 154, 160, 166, 182, 188, 197, 199 loss of trust in traditional parties, 197-8 new possibilities for, 210 political and ideological crisis of, 119, 159, 169, 186, 192, 196, 198 240 problems with analysis by, 16-17, 160 and social forum initiatives, 195 see also socialism leisure, amount of time, Lesotho, 89 Levitt, Marty, 217n4-2 Liechtenstein, 60 life expectancy, 7, 14, 58, 101-2 differences in, 14, 104-5 Lindberg, Ingemar, 152-3, 210-11 Lindert, P., 32, 75, 6-7 living conditions/ standards, 34, 40 and welfare state, 94 LO see Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions LOnytt, 137-8 M Macarov, D., 99 Major, John, 103 Manpower, 147 marginalization, 136 Maritime Union of Australia, 183 market choice preferred to democracy by neoliberals, 77 control by multi­ nationals, 1-2 deregulation, 70, 128-9 exposure to, 123 fundamentalism, 44 increased exposure to, 123 liberalization (as prelude to privatization), 60 model of the welfare state, 37 neoliberal reforms and, 9, 46 regulation, 34, 5-7 INDEX maternity leave, 38, 111, 113 Mayhew, L., 103 McKenzie, Richard, 171, 222n7-4 means-testing, 9, 24, 37, 42, 101, 112, 120, 167-8 synonyms for, 112 trend towards, 124 media, domination by the Right, mental health problems, 13 see also stress and burnout Mexico, 50 Minns, R., 102, 103 Monks, John, 16, 179, 193-4, 195 monopolization, 60, 62 Monthly Review, 47 Moore, John, 219n5-l Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), 172, 184, 222n7-6 multinational corporations, 52, 216n3-10 increased power of, 78 political behaviour of, 173 pressure for low corporate taxation, 79 role in structural adjustment programmes, 57-8 specific named, 61 taxation of, 81 and threats of relocation, 148 WTO acting to support interests of, 87-8 Maeland, John Gunnar, 136 N nationalization, 36 of banks needed, 204 and control of the service sector, 38 and renationalization after privatization, 45 Nationen , 144-5 Navarro, Vincente, 101 neoliberalism alternatives to, 19 becomes influential in 1970s, -5 becomes more influential in 1980s, 45 economics propounding, 44 institutionalization of, 85-9 and the Nordic model, 5, 15-17 not destroyed by financial and debt crises, 116 policy only of the elite, 126 remaining arguments for, 49 as threat to welfare state, -1 , 121, 128 and totalitarian rule, 121 views of, -6 Netherlands, the, 70, 87, 201 New Public Management, 41, -5 , 124, 140 need to end, 205 New Zealand, 4, 84, 108, 112 taxation in, 80 Newbury, Sue, 218n4-15 Nordic Council of Ministers, 109 Nordic model of the welfare state, -8 , 11, 15-17, ,3 - , 37-8, 128, 167 attempts to export, 15 see also Norway Nordli, Odvar, 109, 170 North American Free ■ I NDEX Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 45, 215n3-4 Norway attacks on organized labour, 25 Conservative Party, 74 contemporary situation in, 107-15 economic policy, 52, 73, 168-9, 2 n -ll employer attacks on trade unions, 72>-4 Farmers’ Party, 25 General Framework Agreement (Constitution of Work), 30 government of, 52, ,1 -7 , 216n3-15, 220n5-10 Green Party, 52, 168 Labour Party, 12, 25, 30, 52 -3 , 168, 214n2-6 Labour Protection Law, 199 labour relations in, 30 model municipality projects, 184 as part of EEA, 60 pensions in, 106, 111 Power and Democracy project, 77 Progress Party, 12, 74 after the Second World War, 40 Social Democratic Party, 9, 11, 53, 73 -4 , 199 Socialist Left Party, 16, 168, 199, 200 taxation levels, 80-1 think tanks, 44 views of state, 15-16 Working Environment Act (1977), 153-4, 221-2n6-12 Norway Group, 89 Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), 15, 30, 73, 74, 174 Norwegian Employers’ Association (NAF), 30, 73 Norwegian Employment Service, Norwegian Institute for Labour and Social Research (FAFO), 9, 126-7 Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, 131, 134, 143, 144 Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service, 129 Norwegian National Institute for Consumer Research, 168 Norwegian National Institute of Occupational Health, 132 Norwegian National Insurance Service, Norwegian State Housing Bank, -1 , 114 Norwegian State Railways, Norwegian Trust Fund for Private Sector and Infrastructure, 58-9 Norwegian Union of Forestry and Land Workers, 25 Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees, 199 Nustad, Terje, 221n6-3 Nyland Vest, O Obama, Barack, 41 offshoring, 17 oil industry, 74, 115, 134 1970s oil crisis, 43 oligarchies, 60-1 Onyx, 61, 63 see also Veolia Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 6, 16, 45, 55, 56, 81, 99, 101 241 statistics, 98 organizational changes felt meaningless, 135 and increased work intensity, 135-6, 137-42 organization of work, 152-3 proportion of workers experiencing, 82, 132-3 Orwell, George, 2 n -ll outsourcing, 17, 46, 70, 125 P Panitch, Leo, 192 partnership model, 10, 26, 29, 34 -5 , 192-3 collapse from 1970s on, 70-72, 74 entrenched in trade unions, 54, 192 institutionalization in 1930s, 29 undermined by employers, 70 see also class compromise Patrick ports company, 183 pensions, 38, 95 administrative costs, 102 attacks on, 71, 101-6, 120, 123, 187, 190 funds, 50, 105 levels of, 7, 119-20 models for, 103-4, 215n3-6 public systems, 101-3 regulation and indexation, 104 risks of private schemes, 102 Pickett, Kate, 100 Pierson, P., 75, -7 Pinochet, Augusto, 45 planning laws, 36 Polanyi, Karl, 49 politics in Germany, 196-7 need for credible 242 alternative to neoliberalism, 202 in Norway, 198-9 (see also under Norway) policies needed to move on from crisis, 180-1, 204-8 political and ideological barriers to effective action, 192-8 political parties see social democracy/ social democratic parties, under countries, symbol and symptom orientation, 18, 159-77 and traditional Left parties, 196 Portugal, 4, 25, 187, 197 Posten, 164 poverty caused by the Asian financial crisis, 50-1 definitions of, 99 in the European Union, -2 On5-5 focus on causes not manifestations, 181 and freedom, government ‘fights’ against, 18 increasing levels of, 13, 14, 94, 98-101, 107 and means-testing, 112-13 in Norway, 107 policies to fight, 167-70, 205 public, increased, 48 relative, 98-9 and taxation levels, and workfare, 165-6 working poor, 146, 166 power of capital dependent on state collusion, 90 I NDEX countable bodies, of capital limited by 77, 82 regulation, -7 and the welfare state, ceded to capital by 4, 11, 75 deregulation, 46 and willingness to and the class compromise, 26 compromise, 30, powerlessness, public 32, 35 feelings of, 14 contemporary changes in patterns, 17-18 privatization, 17, -6 , and democratic 5 -6 , -4 , 115, 194 control of the campaigns against, economy, 39 ,1 -9 grabbed through corruption inherent weakening of trade in, 62-3 unions, 6 -7 EU policy on, 190 held primarily by need to oppose, 205 neoliberals and no popular demand right-wingers, for, 75 ignored by the to provide investment contemporary Left, opportunities, 84 16-17 removing democratic labour power, 22 control, 82 lack of state, myth of, required under 89-92 structural lost by democratic adjustment bodies, 124 programmes, -8 , neoliberalism and changes in, three phases and not considered in stages of, -60 social debate, productivity statistics, 119 11-12 protests and and poverty, 170 demonstrations relations between in the 1980s, 1-2 developed and against austerity developing world, measures, 187 59 in Genoa against G8, relations changed by 223n8-9 contracting out, 64 against Iraq war, 185 relations and loss of at Seattle, 184 capital controls, 46, see also industrial 81-2 action relations, need to public sector change, 179-82 attacks following debt of small group of rich crisis, 120 capitalists, 5, 14 expansion of public and social dumping, sector post Second 143-4 World War, 36 of the state vs market orientation, 17 individuals, propaganda against, 82 and the struggle as proportion of between labour and economy, 39 capital, 20 reform initiated by transferred to unac­ unions, 184 86 INDEX security and insecurity in a capitalist society, 23 growing insecurity in society, 10 and pensions, 105 Seip, Anne-Lise, 152, 169, 213-14n2-3 service sector, 131, 188 public control of sections, 38 Q size of, 92 quangos, 82-3 social dumping in, Quinlan, Michael, 138 143 working conditions in, R 133-4, 149 Ramonet, Ignazio, 198 services, social/welfare Reagan, Ronald, ,5 , access to, 41 67, 84, ,1 ,1 , 206 as core component of Rehn, Olli, 195 welfare state, 40 resources, natural, mixed model for ownership and control provision, 112 of, 40, 56 privatization of, retirement 59-60 age, raising, 104, 111, trends in Norway, 220n5-8 restructuring, 82-4, 139-40 see also welfare state Public Services International (PSI), 174, 183 Research Unit (PSIRU), 62-3, 216n3-20 243 social development, 50 criteria for, social dumping, 74, 92, 142-5, 190 social forums, 71, 184-6 problems and decline in, 186, 206 social movements, 97-8, 184 and social struggle, 183-8 social pact/contract see class compromise, partnership model social security benefits in Norway, 221n6-2 bill increased by pressurized working conditions, 95 as core component of welfare state, 40 need to increase level of benefits, 168-9 number of claimants, 110-11 132 ages of, 120 Sexton, S., 102, 103 reductions in early, 95, 101, 103, Shell, 81 provision of, 71 111, 130 shipping, 148 renamed benefit reasons, 133—4, 145 dependency, 130 sickness risk treatment of absence due to, 2, collectivized by claimants, 1-3 141, 161 welfare state, user groups, 97 benefits paid during, individualization of, 1-3, 142, 165 socialism 94, 122-3 see also disability aim of trade unions, of private pension pensions, health 32, 33 schemes, 102, 105 feared by capitalists, Sierra Leone, 89 Romania, 99 32 Rompuy, Herman van, 117 Slovakia, 89 fleeting nature of Smith, M , 202 Russia/Soviet Union, resurgence after social, threat to the word, 214n2-12, 216n3-14 financial crisis, 179 129 economics of, 51, 58 reformist road to, 34 social clauses, 172, 174 rival economic system socialist political social democracy/social of, 31 parties, 29 democratic parties Russian revolution, working-class as bulwark against 25, 26, 35, 70 sympathy for, 1-2 socialism and S Solbakken, Tor-Arne, 141 communism, 1-2 Sachs, Jeffrey, 58, solidarity ideological crisis in, 216n3-14 between movements 72-3 Sarkozy, Nicolas, 17 in North and South, involved in attacks on Schroder, Gerhard, 71, 22 welfare state, 13 196, 197, 217n4-9, human value of, 106, role and stance of, 220n5-12 165 196-8 244 as route forward, 207 among trade unions, 174 Sommer, Michael, 197 Soros, George, 44 South, the see developing countries Southeast Asia, 50 Tiger economies, -1 , 54 Soviet Union see Russia/ Soviet Union Serensen, Rune, 77 Spain, ,2 , 57, 117, 119, 120, 187, 189, 197 spin doctors, stability, social/political, capitalist interest in, 21 Stagecoach, 82 state, the authoritarian tendencies, 90-1 various roles of, 90 Statistics Norway, 141 Steen, Reiulf, 106 Stoltenberg, Jens, 53-4 Streissler, A., 102 stress and burnout, 132-8, 141, 147, 221n6-7 strikes see industrial action structural adjustment programmes, 57-8, 118 SUCRE, 86 Suez, 61 suicide, rates of, 13 supranational agreements, 85-9 Sutherland, Peter, 96 Sweden, 13, 44, 55, 57, 111, 190-1 employer-trade union relations, 74, 82 Saltsjobad Agreement, 30 T Tawney, R H., 169-70 taxation of consumption, 38 corporate, 79, 81, 218n4-12 INDEX on dividends, 73, 107 of financial transactions, 205 havens, 205 income tax, 38 international competition over, 79 levels and social objectives, -7 loopholes, 123 national levels of, 80 of the rich, 205 shift from progressive to indirect, 123 tax avoidance, 81 telecommunications, 60 Telenor, 173-4 Temple, William, n -ll tendering process, 57, 60, 87, 149 corruption in, 1-4 leading to monopolization, 61-2 undermining local decision making, 87 Thatcher, Margaret, 45, 60, 67, 82, 84, 97, 100, 206, 217n4-9, 220n5-4 think tanks, neoliberal in orientation, 7, 4 -5 , 56 ‘third way’, 196, 217n4-9 Timbro, 44 trade barriers, selective removal of, 87-8 NAMA Agreement, 222n7-8 resistance to further liberalization, 174 subsidies for exports, 57-8 see also World Trade Organization trade unions, aims of, 21, 32 attempts to curb, 25 break with social democratic parties, 196-7 and collective agreements, 37, -70, 120, 128, 132, 142 contemporary problems of, 186 decline in 1980s and 1990s, 55 depoliticization of, 15, 35, 54, 162, 171-2 development of, 22 employer tactics to weaken, -9 , 73-4 failure to represent those not in work, 162 future policies for; -8 future role for, 198-204 ideological crisis of, 91 legislation against, 57, 69, 190, 217n4-l level of unionization, 67, 69, 200, 217n4-3 as necessary for development of welfare state, 20 need to defend rights, -7 need to strengthen, 206 neoliberal and capitalist undermining of, 18, 6 -70, 92, 120,173 in Norway, 25 oppression of/ confrontation by government, 45, 60, 66 political parties emerging from, 24 recognition of by employers, 34 recovery in 1990s, -2 , 183 response to neoliberal threat, 14-15, 54 -5 , 65, 171-2 role in the class compromise, 34, 65 I NDEX in Scandinavia, 30 solidarity with developing world, 21-2 nationalization in, 36 neoliberal think tanks, 44 Office of Fair Trading, 62 pensions in, 103-4 poverty in, 112-13 privatization in, 56-7, 60, 3-4 protests in, 187 public sector in, 84, in the South, 200-1 strength and ability to negotiate, 30-1 in the UK, 29 and the wider labour movement, 20 Transdev, 62 transport, public, 38, 57, 120 -2 quangos in, 82-3 taxation in, 80 EU tendering requirements, 87 UK Waste Control, 63 tripartite cooperation, United Nations 15-16 aDD Global Compact, 173 Trondheim model, 199 Human Development Index, 107 trust research by, between people, United States of America in public attacks on trade institutions, unions, 7-9 attacks on welfare U provision, 75 unemployment brutalization of work, in the 1930s, 25 146 in the 1970s and economic policy, 46, 1980s, 67, 73 50, 56 benefits reduced, 97 health sector, 41 contemporary, 120, income distribution, 145, 147 8, 72, 9 -100, 122 and national neoliberal think tanks, expenditure, 94 44 policies to prevent, poverty in, 99, 205 112-13 statistics, 68 USAID, 58 as systemic or moral welfare in, 37 problem, 151-2 welfare-to-work United Kingdom, 13 programme, 151-2 attacks on trade UPS, 183 unions, 67 utilities, 56 attacks on welfare privatization of, 59 provision, 75 public control of, 38 Conservative Party, see also infrastructure 28, -7 development of V welfare state, 28 value economic policy, 46, 50, -7 destroyed by casino inequality in, 100 capitalism, 48 essential role of labour movement, 29 labour in creating, Labour Party, 28, 29, 53 57, 83 245 values, welfare state and, Veggeland, N., 11-12, 80-1 Veolia Environment/ Transport, 61-2, 216n3-18 Via Campesina, 185 Volkswagen, 148 wages differentials within EEA and social dumping, 142 excessive for bosses and high earners, 99-100, 160 increases in, 74 international competitiveness in, 92 minimum, 73 negotiations, 26, 34 neoliberal attempts to drive down, 52, 120 policies, 194 poverty-level, 146-7, 166 public sector, 120 share of overall national income, 50, 72, 107 in the United States, 146, 221n6-9 War, Second World, 28, 29 Washington Consensus, 46, 54, 58 waste disposal, 62, 63, 155 water supply, 61 resistance to privatization, 183 wealth, redistribution of, 38, 50, 70, 92, 177 and pensions, 104 to the rich, 108, 116, 123, 157 welfare definitions of, 219n5-l 246 payments see social security religious emphasis on church and family providing, 32 versus prosperity, 95 fare state achievements, claims to ‘ownership’, 8-9 conditions for emergence, 15 current trends in, 10-11 debt crisis and attacks o n , 115-21 depoliticization of analysis and understanding, 17 emergence of, 5, 8, 10, 20 history of, 20 -3 impact after Second World War, 40 Left and Right views of, main components, 40 national levels of provision, 80—1 nature of, 10 need to defend, 205 not explicit aim of labour movement, 32 notional support from all parties, 12 right-wing claims to create/defend, 9, 12-13, 23 as specific phase of historical development, 42 three models of, 37 universalism and, 38 INDEX weakening by neoliberalism, 93 Wergeland, Ebba, 222n7-3 Westin, Steinar, 110, 113, 135 Wilkinson, Richard, 100, 176-7, 209 work content and organization, 131 'decent’, campaign for, 175, 207 hours of see working hours laws related to see labour protection laws organization of, 152-3 precariousness of, 146-7, 167, 192, 200, 207 see also labour force, labour market work, conditions of brutalization of work, 17, 126-58, 163, 206, 2 -ln -l in developed world underpinned by colonial exploitation, 22 improved in early years of welfare state, 34, 142 negatively affected by neoliberalism, 52, 94, 137-42, 164 Norwegian legislation on, 153-4 problems reported with, 132-3 struggle to control, 127-8 workfare, -1 , 18, 126, 130, 179, 220n5-10 barrier to adequate benefits levels, 166 failure of, 160 need to abolish, 150-4, 160-5, -6 and pensions, 103, 111 working hours excessive, 144 extensions of, 147 national differences in, 119 need to regulate, 207 no boundaries to, 134 struggle to reduce, -5 of those with two jobs, 146 weakened regulation of, 70, 129 World Bank, 45, 56, 57, 58, 84, 85-6, 101, 172, 184, 216n3-15 World Economic Forum, 15, 185 World Social Forum, 71, 184-5 World Trade Organization (WTO), 45, 78, 87-9, 172, 174 Doha round, 87 General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), 88, 200, 218n4-20, 218n4-21, 218n4-22 Seattle protests, 184 Z Zapatero, Jose Luis Rodriguez, 198 ... representation of the situation and future of the welfare state It almost looks as if the success of the welfare state has been carved in stone Attacks on, and the undermining of, the welfare state exist... analysis of the origins of the welfare state and the understanding of its development during the recent neoliberal era When the emergence of the welfare state is portrayed as a result of consensus... years They are the stories of people who struggle with their health, then their self-confidence and their self-image, and finally have to face the toughest fight of all - the machinery of the welfare