Governance and Leadership for a Vital Europe!

Over the past century, and particularly from World War II onwards, Christian social thinking (CST) has left its mark on European societies. Its characteristic institutions and arrangements, such as the social market economy (combining free enterprise and market price formation with a compensatory social security net); the Rhineland model with the institutionalized social dialogue between capital, labour and state; and a public sphere with ample room for civil society and the private initiatives of organized citizens; those institutions and arrangements are concrete implementations of CST, which should serve the purpose of approximating us to the Christian social ideal of a solidary and vital society made up by free, creative and responsible persons.

At the European Social Week, we analyse the state of European societies and reflect upon it in the light of CST.

At ESW V, in particular, we will revise our European Model: the social market economy, the social dialogue, the welfare state arrangements and the active involvement of civil society organisations in public service delivery such as education, care and social housing. Do those institutions and arrangements indeed enable and stimulate persons to flourish as free, creative and responsible persons; and can we say that our communities and societies are indeed gaining in vitality and solidarity? And to the extent that this is not the case, what conclusions should be drawn?

 What is up to us to do?