Desemprego, sindicatos e inovação na política social

The author analyses causes the of continued massive unemployment in Western Europe. He criticizes the neoclassic approach. On the other hand, points at the limitations of union proposals (to keep salaries up, to shorten the working week). He suggests that the possible solution for the "excess of labor", i.e., a nondiscriminatory or coercive solution, would be the development of a "post-industrial domestic sector" where socially acknowledged and meaningful activities were held, with state paid and juridically guaranteed wages.The author analyses causes the of continued massive unemployment in Western Europe. He criticizes the neoclassic approach. On the other hand, points at the limitations of union proposals (to keep salaries up, to shorten the working week). He suggests that the possible solution for the "excess of labor", i.e., a nondiscriminatory or coercive solution, would be the development of a "post-industrial domestic sector" where socially acknowledged and meaningful activities were held, with state paid and juridically guaranteed wages

Socialismo democrático: algunas alternativas para una economía política (notas para una conferencia en Cuba, Enero de 2009)

The holders of political power may choose among the myriad of institutional possibilities that exist between capitalism and socialism. After explaining why any system of production is mixed, this essay explores both why markets are frequently considered preferable to other arrangements and which are the “simple” wrongs associated with capitalist market economies. Among these “simple” wrongs, we find markets’ tendency to self-subversion, to permeate the whole of social life, and to inflict damage when it is permitted to markets to encompass the factors of production, like labor, natural resources, and money. Despite these “simple” wrongs, democratic socialists and social democrats believe that the political power mobilized within liberal democracies can cope with these side-effects by resorting to instruments like anti-trust legislation, market-constraining policies, and to the protection of the factors of production. Finally, the essay explains why social democrats and democratic socialists believe that liberal democracy, with its emphasis on liberty and equality, on the one hand, and on representation, contestation, and accountability, on the other, is the institutional arrangement that can best cope with the inherent pathologies of capitalist market societiesLos detentores del poder político pueden elegir entre la infinidad de posibilidades institucionales que existen entre capitalismo y socialismo. Después de explicar por qué cualquier sistema de producción es mixto, este ensayo explora ambas cuestiones: por qué los mercados frecuentemente se consideran preferibles a otros arreglos y cuáles son los males “simples” asociados a las economías capitalistas de mercado. Entre estos males “simples”, encontramos la tendencia de los mercados a la autosubversión, de permear toda la vida social, y de infligir daño cuando se permite a los mercados abarcar los factores de la producción, como el trabajo, los recursos naturales y el dinero. A pesar de estos “simples” males, los socialistas democráticos y los demócratas sociales creen que el poder político movilizado al interior de las democracias liberales puede lidiar con estos efectos laterales al recurrir a instrumentos tales como legislación antimonopolio, las políticas que constriñen el mercado, y a la protección de los factores de producción. Por último, este ensayo explica por qué los demócratas sociales y los socialistas democráticos creen que la democracia liberal, con su énfasis en libertad e igualdad, por un lado, y en representación, impugnación y responsabilidad, por el otro, es el arreglo institucional que mejor puede superar las patologías inherentes a las sociedades capitalistas de mercad