I need to state up front that I am probably one of the least competent people to speak about the left within an economic, social or political perspective. I have always considered myself to be a man of the centre and a strong supporter of what was called Christian Democracy, which I do not believe is the same thing as today’s European People’s Party.
I also believe that the model of the social market economy is the one that has worked best. The German economy is the most appropriate example of this. On the other hand, as an economic model it has really not caught on beyond European shores.
What was considered the traditional left wing in economics fell out of fashion with the disintegration of the Soviet Union (the former name of Russia and a host of other countries that used to form one country). At that time it was thought that economic liberalism had triumphed over all other economic models.
However, following the financial and economic crisis of 2008 it became very evident that economic liberalism had its flaws and was not as perfect a model as it was thought to be.
What we have had is not the sustainable shared prosperity that economic liberalism was meant to deliver, but wage stagnation, ever more workers in poverty, ever more inequality, banking crises, populism and an impending climate catastrophe. This has led to anger and frustration, which looked elsewhere for solace, but not to the left.
What we have today in a number of countries such as the United States and Italy, which may be described as right wing – but it is certainly not economic liberalism. If anything, the anger that has been expressed in a number of countries through the ballot box is a result of economic liberal policies.
A new kind of economy is needed ‒ an economy that is fairer, more inclusive, and less destructive of society and the environment
One of the fundamental tenets of economic liberalism is free trade, which is very much under threat today as a result of protectionism policies put in place in a number of countries.
So if traditional left wing economics is out of fashion and economic liberalism has brought about unhappiness and anger in several populations, it is pertinent to ask if there is a new version of the left wing. And what is happening in a number of countries where there is a resurgence of the left wing (in a European scenario it would be the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats), it would seem that yes, there is a new version of the left wing. It is not the case of going back to the past but more of an evolution.
Economic liberalism, as expressed though deregulation ‒ less taxes for the rich, more power for employers and shareholders and less power for the workers ‒ is not as inevitable as it has been made to be. For too many people the system is not working, and there is a recognition that a new kind of economy is needed ‒ an economy that is fairer, more inclusive, and less destructive of society and the environment. It is interesting to note that a need is being felt to redistribute economic power so that it is held by everyone – just as political power is held by everyone in a healthy democracy. The aim is to have an economy that suits society rather than a society that is subordinated to the economy; to have an economy for the many rather than an economy for the few.
In effect, this is not very different to what the social market economy represents. Therefore, new left wing economics is really about taking on board the views of what used to be referred to as the centre ground; where there is a business friendly environment but not a businessman friendly environment, where the human person is truly in the centre of economic decision making and not on the periphery, simply as a factor of production that can be disposed of at will.