Introduction

One of the fastest growing European catchwords at the present time – the ‘European Social Model’ (ESM) – is used to describe the European experience of promoting, simultaneously, sustainable economic growth and social cohesion. The concept is characterised by a high degree of ambiguity and polysemy; it is a loosely defined normative concept and, as such, is used with differing meanings in accordance with rather half-baked definitions. A clear definition of what constitutes its essence seems to be lacking in most articles on the subject, while a review of some of the most important of these articles reveals that, insofar as definitions are to be found, they do not necessarily converge. This chapter aims to discuss the concept of the ESM as it is understood in the academic literature and as it occurs in the discourse of the European Union (EU) institutions. The concept is analysed and deconstructed in order to identify the main understandings and various dimensions of the model in question. The second section summarises, classifies and discusses the ways in which the ESM is most frequently construed and proposes a new approach to its understanding. The third section examines the concept of the ESM as a political project and argues that it is a key factor in legitimising the European institutions. The conclusions are in a fourth section.

Main conceptions

Jacques Delors was one of the first people to popularise the term ‘European Social Model’ in the mid-1980s by designating it as an alternative to the American pure-market form of capitalism. The basic idea of the ESM is that economic and social progress must go hand in hand; economic growth, in other words, is to be combined with social cohesion. However, after nearly 20 years of discussion of the ESM in both academic and political circles, the term remains, in the face of analytical scrutiny, sorely imprecise.

One of the first definitions of the ESM appears in the White Paper on social policy (European Commission, 1994) where it is defined as a set of common values, namely the commitment to democracy, personal freedom, social dialogue, equal opportunities for all, adequate social security and solidarity towards the weaker individuals in society. This is a definition that fits into the broad strand of literature that deals with the ESM in a normative manner.