Preliminary communication
CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL CONTRACT – SOCIAL LIBERALISM (NEW SOCIALISM)
Heda Festini
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zadar, Croatia
Abstract
My proposal of a contemporary social contract is a development of an outline of a program entitled, „The Social State versus Neoliberalism―. A contemporary social contract must employ positive elements of capitalism, such as workers' ownership of stocks, as well as of socialism, such as self-rule. The framework of the new social model arises from philosophical and sociological thinking of the society as a whole. Its central components could be articulated by economists, and political science can assess its political implementation. By considering Rousseau's Social Contract, I put forward criticisms of capitalist neoliberalism, which advocates deregulation of the market and enables a minority to enjoy great profits. I examine the foundations of its functioning-namely financial capital: a) Oligarchy of a few banks in collaboration with various corporations, especially oil companies, which employ false theories b) Unsupervised judgments of self-established agencies, especially those that determine creditworthiness c) Hidden rule of self-made technocratic associations. I conclude: In capitalism there is no democracy. A new socialism is needed to balance capitalism. In particular, we need market regulation in support of state and public institutions: a) Worker-owned stocks b) Partnerships between public and private c) Citizens' participation in governance. Concretely, the following actions are required on a local and global level: a) A call to resist the power of financial capital b) Abandoning the saying that the state, unlike the enterpreneur, is a poor governor c) Strengthening the secular state.
Keywords
neoliberalism; financial capital; social contract; new socialism
Hrčak ID:
104640
URI
Publication date:
28.6.2013.
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