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Reflections on the Revolution in Europe
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 effectively ended the division of Europe into East and West, and the features of our world that have resulted bear little resemblance to those of the forty years that preceded the Wall's fall. The rise of a new Europe prompts many questions, most of which remain to be answered. What does it all mean? Where is it going to lead? Are we witnessing the conclusion of an era without seeing anything to replace an old and admittedly dismal way of life? What will a market economy do to the social texture of various countries of Central Europe? Will it not make some rich while many will become poorer than ever? How can the rule of law be brought about? In this incisive and lucid book, Ralf Dahrendorf, one of Europe's most distinguished scholars, ponders these and other equally vexing questions. He regards what has happened in East Central Europe as a victory for neither of the social systems that once opposed each other across the Iron Curtain. Rather, he views these events as a vote for an open society over a closed society. The continuing conundrum, he argues, which will plague peoples everywhere, will be how to balance the need for economic growth with the desire for social justice while building authentic and enduring democratic institutions. Reflections on the Revolution in Europe , which includes a new introduction from the author, is a humane, skeptical, and anti-utopian work, a manifesto for a radical liberalism in which the social entitlements of citizenship are as important a condition of progress as the opportunities for choice. A fascinating study of change and geopolitics in the modern world, Reflections points the way towards a new politics for the twenty-first century. Ralf Dahrendorf, born in Hamburg, Germany in 1929, is a member of Britain's House of Lords. He was professor of sociology at Hamburg, Tobingen and Konstanz from 1957 to 1968, and in 1974 moved to Britain. He has been the director of the London School of Economics, warden of St. Antony's College, and pro vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford. He is the author of numerous books, including The Modern Social Conflict and After 1989: Morals, Revolution and Civil Society.
190 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
95 people want to read
About the author
Ralf Dahrendorf
142 books32 followersRalf Gustav Dahrendorf, Baron Dahrendorf, was a German-British sociologist, philosopher, political scientist and liberal politician. A class conflict theorist, Dahrendorf was a leading expert on explaining and analysing class divisions in modern society. Dahrendorf wrote multiple articles and books, his most notable being Class and Conflict in Industrial Society (1959) and Essays in the Theory of Society (1968).
During his political career, he was a Member of the German Parliament, Parliamentary Secretary of State at the Foreign Office of Germany, European Commissioner for Trade, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Education and Member of the British House of Lords, after he was created a life peer in 1993. He was subsequently known in the United Kingdom as Lord Dahrendorf.
He served as director of the London School of Economics and Warden of St Antony's College, University of Oxford. He also served as a professor of sociology at a number of universities in Germany and the United Kingdom and was a research professor at the Berlin Social Science Research Center.
During his political career, he was a Member of the German Parliament, Parliamentary Secretary of State at the Foreign Office of Germany, European Commissioner for Trade, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Education and Member of the British House of Lords, after he was created a life peer in 1993. He was subsequently known in the United Kingdom as Lord Dahrendorf.
He served as director of the London School of Economics and Warden of St Antony's College, University of Oxford. He also served as a professor of sociology at a number of universities in Germany and the United Kingdom and was a research professor at the Berlin Social Science Research Center.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 11, 2020
In 1989-90, the world stood on a cross road as the countries of Eastern Europe emerged from the yoke of Soviet control. These newly freed countries faced choices of what economic and political system they would adopt with their new found freedom. But ‘freedom does not just happen; it has to be created.’
Writing in May 1990, based on his experience as an EC commissioner and former West German government minister, Dahrendorf sets out, in a long epistle to a colleague in Poland, some of the considerations that should guide their decisions on the road to freedom. Dahrendorf points to three fundamental conditions to create an ‘open society’. The first, a core issue, is establishing a constitution – one which sets out basic rights, the rule of law and an independent judiciary to administer it. This then forms the foundation for the second condition, the economic element in which basic economic freedoms are created, including an independent central bank. These two create the conditions for the third foundation on the road to freedom, robust societal institutions ‘capable of withstanding the storms generated within and without.’
Dahrendorf warns that ‘there is no necessary, inescapable path to freedom’. He reminds us that it ‘takes a good deal of luck to reach the destination.’ And it can be threatened if ‘adverse forces’ from ‘the stars or from neighbours’, or by the failure for the right leaders to emerge at the right time; if small mistakes turn out to have uncontrollably large consequences, ‘much may be lost’.
As countries set out on the path to freedom, Dahrendorf and urges them to turn back from the obsession with economic growth to recognise the requirements of citizenship. Dahrendorf cautions that ‘If the monopoly of the [Communist] party is replaced merely by the victory of the masses, all will be lost before long, for the masses have no structure and no permanence.’ This was an insight that the EU ignored as Yugoslavia disintegrated, and one that the US ignored as we see the tragic legacy of the ‘the victory of the masses’ after the Arab Spring in the early 2010s. Dahrendorf notes that the world’s focus on the rights of national self-determination is ‘one of the more unfortunate inventions of international law’ as it ‘ascribes a right to peoples when rights should always be those of individuals.’
Dahrendorf also warns that ‘the greatest risk’ faced by the countries of Eastern Europe is fascism, ‘the combination of a nostalgic ideology which draws harsh boundaries between those who belong and those who do not’ and the risk of ‘a new political monopoly of a man’, where minorities are ‘singled out for popular wrath and official discrimination’.
Dahrendorf notes optimistically at the time the fascism is not the sinister climax of capitalism, and points to the US as an example of the ‘incarnation of capitalism’ that has ‘proved entirely immune to the temptation’ of fascism. This optimism seems misguided as we see in the last four years the emergence of the ‘political monopoly’ of a man who is an autocratic plutocrat, who has aligned himself to a party which represses democracy with laws restricting the ability of minorities to vote and that engages in blatant gerrymandering, diluting the value of those who are able to vote.
The role of the United Kingdom in the EU has always been a challenge. It was uncertain at the beginning of the last decade of the 20th century, and now 30 years later the UK had retreated, rejecting the wisdom of some, like former British Defense Secretary Michael Heseltine, who see that ‘The tide of history has carried us close to Europe’s shore. We should accept that destiny; the wind will never be more favourable.’
Although the assessment of the political factors is strong, Dahrendorf’s analysis of his second condition, economic freedom, is weak. While supporting the role of markets, there is no discussion on the vexed question of market failure and the conditions in which government intervention in the market is and isn’t appropriate. As we have seen, in the last quarter century, ignoring this can lead to inequality, plutocracy, disenfranchisement of the populace and threaten people’s acceptance of democracy, creating conditions for what he fears, the re-emergence of fascism.
While focused on the tumultuous events of the 1990, some of the principles are as relevant today as we grapple with questions on the future of capitalism, and consider what options we have to reshape society post Covid-19.
Writing in May 1990, based on his experience as an EC commissioner and former West German government minister, Dahrendorf sets out, in a long epistle to a colleague in Poland, some of the considerations that should guide their decisions on the road to freedom. Dahrendorf points to three fundamental conditions to create an ‘open society’. The first, a core issue, is establishing a constitution – one which sets out basic rights, the rule of law and an independent judiciary to administer it. This then forms the foundation for the second condition, the economic element in which basic economic freedoms are created, including an independent central bank. These two create the conditions for the third foundation on the road to freedom, robust societal institutions ‘capable of withstanding the storms generated within and without.’
Dahrendorf warns that ‘there is no necessary, inescapable path to freedom’. He reminds us that it ‘takes a good deal of luck to reach the destination.’ And it can be threatened if ‘adverse forces’ from ‘the stars or from neighbours’, or by the failure for the right leaders to emerge at the right time; if small mistakes turn out to have uncontrollably large consequences, ‘much may be lost’.
As countries set out on the path to freedom, Dahrendorf and urges them to turn back from the obsession with economic growth to recognise the requirements of citizenship. Dahrendorf cautions that ‘If the monopoly of the [Communist] party is replaced merely by the victory of the masses, all will be lost before long, for the masses have no structure and no permanence.’ This was an insight that the EU ignored as Yugoslavia disintegrated, and one that the US ignored as we see the tragic legacy of the ‘the victory of the masses’ after the Arab Spring in the early 2010s. Dahrendorf notes that the world’s focus on the rights of national self-determination is ‘one of the more unfortunate inventions of international law’ as it ‘ascribes a right to peoples when rights should always be those of individuals.’
Dahrendorf also warns that ‘the greatest risk’ faced by the countries of Eastern Europe is fascism, ‘the combination of a nostalgic ideology which draws harsh boundaries between those who belong and those who do not’ and the risk of ‘a new political monopoly of a man’, where minorities are ‘singled out for popular wrath and official discrimination’.
Dahrendorf notes optimistically at the time the fascism is not the sinister climax of capitalism, and points to the US as an example of the ‘incarnation of capitalism’ that has ‘proved entirely immune to the temptation’ of fascism. This optimism seems misguided as we see in the last four years the emergence of the ‘political monopoly’ of a man who is an autocratic plutocrat, who has aligned himself to a party which represses democracy with laws restricting the ability of minorities to vote and that engages in blatant gerrymandering, diluting the value of those who are able to vote.
The role of the United Kingdom in the EU has always been a challenge. It was uncertain at the beginning of the last decade of the 20th century, and now 30 years later the UK had retreated, rejecting the wisdom of some, like former British Defense Secretary Michael Heseltine, who see that ‘The tide of history has carried us close to Europe’s shore. We should accept that destiny; the wind will never be more favourable.’
Although the assessment of the political factors is strong, Dahrendorf’s analysis of his second condition, economic freedom, is weak. While supporting the role of markets, there is no discussion on the vexed question of market failure and the conditions in which government intervention in the market is and isn’t appropriate. As we have seen, in the last quarter century, ignoring this can lead to inequality, plutocracy, disenfranchisement of the populace and threaten people’s acceptance of democracy, creating conditions for what he fears, the re-emergence of fascism.
While focused on the tumultuous events of the 1990, some of the principles are as relevant today as we grapple with questions on the future of capitalism, and consider what options we have to reshape society post Covid-19.
April 17, 2015
The author provides the background for the current problems of immigration in Western Europe. By comparison, America's immigration problems seems diminished.
July 13, 2015
livro belíssimo, escrito naquele curto espaço de tempo cheio de alegria e incertezas, entre o fim do comunismo na Europa e o fim da União Soviética.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews