Taking Back Control?

In the heyday of neoliberalism globalisation was considered inevitable and redistributive democracy obsolete. The promise was prosperity for all, the result was growing inequality. Economic stagnation coincided with a worldwide crisis of confidence in democratic institutions, including established political parties and trade unions. New movements like the »yellow vests« and newly formed parties at the margins of the political spectrum emerged in protest of declining political protection against rapidly rising economic and social uncertainty.

In his brilliant new book, Wolfgang Streeck argues that in light of this situation, whose causes appear all the more pronounced due to the Corona pandemic, it is time to make a fundamental decision. Should the reorganisation of the state system continue as before, i.e. towards ever greater supranational centralisation? Or would a rebuilding of decentralized autonomy and sovereignty – a return to more democratic self-government on the ground – be a better answer? In the book Streeck explores the limits of technocratic or free-market centralization within and between states and the possibilities of democratic decentralization as a response to the crises of our time, especially in Europe.

»Streeck's new work [is] of a standard that, unlike many other works, deserves an in-depth discussion.« Otfried Höffe, Frankfurter Rundschau

»a hugely important and highly recommendable contribution to the debates on statehood, Europe and neoliberalism« Thomas Biebricher, Soziopolis

»[Streeck‘s] criticism of the EU is full of facts, precise and sharp.« Andreas Wehr, Telepolis

»Streeck has found a form of sociologically informed crisis narrative that enables us to see more clearly rather than give up in the face of the complexity of the world.« Süddeutsche Zeitung on Gekaufte Zeit