The European Social Question

Book excerpt: Since the turn of the twenty-first century, it has become increasingly clear that the European Union is falling short of its promise to enhance social cohesion across the continent. In the face of rising financial capitalism, technological and demographic change, societies across Europe are experiencing old and new forms of poverty and the rise of social inequality. Throughout the EU, welfare state modernization has been at the centre of divisive debates over the redistribution of wealth, and imbalances between a wealthy European core and its peripheries persist. Today more than ever, the policies and governance structures of the EU are seen as part of the problem rather than the solution. This book asks the questions: can the EU contribute to social policy-making and social cohesion, or does it undermine it? And should its action in the social realm be intensified, or curtailed? Taking nine key controversies in the debate around EU social policy-making, the book explores the issues and arguments that emerge around them. In doing so, the book helps students and researchers alike to understand how the EU operates and shapes social policy on multiple levels and to better assess the EU's role in supporting social cohesion.