the most successful society the world has ever known

Maybe its because I am nervous that California will put the axe to unions and take huge a step backward on women's rights in next Tuesday's election, but I've been cheering myself up by trying to follow social democratic politics in Europe. Here is a great article in UK's Guardian Online about Sweden. Well worth a read. Here's also a nice summary and response on Peter Gustavsson's great blog.

I hate to contribute to the myth that our friends in Europe have solved all their problems, or that, somehow, Europeans are just better than Americans. They aren't. You'll find much of the same small-mindedness, xenophobia and selfishness over there as over here. What you will also find, however, is a political culture which was transformed by a powerful and innovative labor movement. Toynbee's article in the Guardain undermphasizes this.

While cultural differences are important, I've always held that the major differences between Europe and the United States in terms of political culture are historical and political. Some of them rise to the level of structure: the lack of feudal past, the legacy of slavery and white supremacy, the long period of expansion into the west, etc. However, all politics is about confronting structure with agency- adapting to the conditions presented to you and willfully pursuing a course of action. Politics, indeed, is to want something.

We can build a successful society here in the United States. Our historically vibrant social movements have long been inspirational to those struggling in the rest of the world. Olaf Palme, one of the architects of Swedish social democracy, was profoundly inspired by the time he spent in the United States, and considered himself a student of civil rights insurgencies here. We, too can be inspired by the successes, however under attack and in retreat, of our friends in colder climes, but we must never forget that our own path will be different. Most importantly, actually existing social democracy is an argument that there are different ways to organize society. So often, our opponents on the right seem to convince us that their way is the only way available. A better world is possible. However, an American "successful society" will be distinctly American.

Let us continue.