WE'RE WITNESSING THE MELT-DOWN OF EUROPE'S WELFARE STATE?

          I've got this nasty feeling that the welfare state, the most admirable "invention" of modern Europeans, is being dismantled systematically, with the debt crisis as a flimsy pretext, and they won't stop until it's bare-bones it won't be worth its name. It gets me terribly down. I had this quixotic fantasy that countries around the world will eventually adopt a welfare state system where no one, certainly not the helpless poor, is left to his/her own inadequate devices.

          The system, anchored to the concept of equitable redistribution of wealth through redistributionist taxation, requires, sine qua non, lots of social conscience, the wealthy sharing a part of their wealth so that those who can't are not left alone to fend for themselves.

          The sacrifice is well worth it. At stake is the achievable human dignity for all. For all is the operative phrase here.

          The welfare state also of course requires a certain economic level to take root and remain viable, for how could there be a redistribution of wealth when there's nothing to redistribute? This doesn't mean, however, that the system should be at the mercy of boom-bust cycles. In fact the welfare state should be built on unshakeable foundation so that it is a bulwark against inclement economic weather and no government could undo it on the pretext of fixing purported systemic flaws.

          For decades Western Europe has been showing the world that the welfare state is doable. But lately some EU countries, forced by the loan sharks to reduce their deficit, seem all too eager to slash huge chunks of social spending at a great cost to the people who are already reeling under the staggering crisis.

          Ominously, one can detect a barely disguised common discourse by European politicans demonizing the welfare state; to hear them talk you'd think the welfare state is the culprit of Europe's debt crisis!

          Is this just the act of governments who are forced to reduce the deficit on the spot, some against their better judgment, and for no other reason? Or is there a hidden agenda, on the part of the others, to hack away at a welfare state system that's never been truly popular among powerful members of the business sector in boom times as well as during an economic downturn?

          The putative panorama is alarming. The dismnantling of the welfare state in Europe, where the best practicable model is found, can only bring about a most unfortunate retrogression of society, depriving countries in other regions of a model and inspiration for a social equity that works.

          In the evening of March 22 there was a demonstration in downtown Madrid protesting against the harsh labor reform that the rightist Spanish government has just passed into law. (The pictures you see in this blog were taken during that demonstration.) 

          Actually there is a sense of doom among the less privileged and not only because workers can now be sacked at the drop of a hat; worse, so many of the social gains, the cornerstone of the welfare state, are being pushed back and there doesn't seem to be a way to stop the powerful forces.

          As I paused between shots, and worrying that the battery of my camera was running empty, a couple approached me and asked what the demonstration was for. They were taller than the average Spaniard; indeed they turned out to be from South Africa (the woman) and Canada (the man).

          I said the people were demonstrating against the labor reform though it was obvious from the banners, even for those who can't read Spanish, that the demonstrators weren't just protesting against sacking-made-easy. Frowning, the Canadian said, "We're worried about Europe."  And you can be very sure that he wasn't alluding to its deficit.