PGS22 Summit Reader | Joining Forces - Onwards and Upwards

They need strength of centre-left parties, as a conse- to entirely rethink their politics, their policies quence of the atrophy of traditional class and their strategy not only to win elections, structures accompanied by deindustrialisa- but to stand a chance of governing credibly in tion, the weakening of labour unions, the rise an increasingly unstable and insecure world. [...] of individualism, growing tax resistance, the There has rarely been a more important stagnation in living standards of the middle moment for the progressive governance class and the emasculation of traditional movement. [...] that the market liberal settlement of the last Meanwhile, demand for collectively-financed two decades is beginning to break apart, public services adapted to individual needs while the social consensus in favour of activist has been growing in the midst of an ageing government and collectively funded public population accompanied by higher expec- services has rarely been more deeply rooted. [...] There should be a particular focus on On place-based approaches to economic wealth and inheritance taxes, shifting growth, the urban/rural divide and the green the burden of taxation from labour and transition, parties need to develop policies income to property and capital, using that lead to a more equitable distribution the resulting revenues for investments of economic output as well as access. [...] way to a new intellectual dynamism in many The seminar was implemented with the finan- countries, with social democrats in the best cial support of the European Parliament.