L’"austeritarismo" e l’Europa: quali vie per resistergli?

AUSTERITARIANISM IN EUROPE: WHAT OPTIONS FOR RESISTANCE? In much of Europe, the social rights and social protections won in the post-war decades have been seriously eroded, and are further threatened by neoliberal austerity. Efforts to resist have been largely unsuccessful; but is an effective fight-back possible? In this paper I first outline the role of the European Union as a key driver of the recommodification of labour, through its growing emphasis on market "freedoms" as an overriding priority, and on "competitiveness" as the central policy objective for national governments. I discuss how this orientation has been reinforced by the economic crisis, and the ensuing pursuit of austerity and the imposition of «new economic governance. I then survey various forms of protest and opposition: both trade union action and the initiatives of "new" social movements. I suggest that a nuanced evaluation of their success and failure is necessary. In conclusion I argue that an effective articulation of different forms of resistance – cross-nationally and between different actors – is essential in order to stem the neoliberal hegemony.