Reconstruction amid deconstruction: or why we need more of the social in European social models

Abstract

This article makes two key arguments. First, European social models are being asked to extend social support to meet new needs associated with the ageing society, changes in citizens’ aspirations and behaviour and the reduced reliability of support from employers and the family. How nations respond to these new needs varies according to current gaps in provision and to political will, but most states up to the crisis were expanding their range of social interventions, sometimes leading to hybridization of their traditional social models. Second, deconstruction of social models to implement neoliberalism and reconstruction to meet new needs are often two sides of the same process. Reforms to meet new needs may take a neoliberal form, and neoliberal reforms may generate new needs. European social models may have to respond to these pressures for, unlike those of the USA, European citizens still look to the state to ensure their social citizenship rights.