Redefining the State: the Principle of Shared Responsibility Patrick Diamond, Director, Policy Network Globalisation and the Future of the Welfare State Santiago, Chile 15 March 2007

Introduction: Redefining the state 1. New relationships between the state and markets 2. New strategic challenges for the state 3. New conceptions of the state 4. New ideas for organising the state – the principle of shared responsibility

Introduction: The shape and role of the state in Europe is constantly evolving:  Post-1945: the state’s key priority was to guarantee a minimum standard of living to all citizens  1960s: the state gradually reduced its role in regulating citizens’ private lives  1980s: the state withdrew from attempting to control the economy - regulating services and guaranteeing standards

1. New relationships between the state and markets?  Past conflicts between states and markets were sterile and debilitating  The challenge is to make both work better to advance the public interest  Yet many services, especially public goods, cannot be provided in competitive markets  This emphasises the state’s enduring relevance; we need a state that works, not withdraws  But the progressive agenda has to go beyond traditional categories in redefining the state to meet new challenges

2. New Strategic Challenges for the State  How does the state respond to the pressures and challenges it will face in the next 10 years? Public Value – universality and public ethos Autonomy – individuals’ ability to control Citizenship – nation-state eroding Well-being – quality of life and work Complexity – life-course and disorderly world Responsibility – rights and duties

Structural Pressures on the State Rising pressures and expectations are impacting on the management of the state and public services:  The increase in the number of households – number of adults living alone in the EU up by half in two decades  The growth in over-65’s in the EU – in 1950 less than 1 in 10 of the European population were over 65. Today, the figure is 1 in 6. By 2025, it will be 1 in 4.  The rise of poverty in the EU – 72 million EU citizens (15 per cent) are at risk of poverty. 36 million live on the brink of poverty.  The emergence of new social risks – mental illness, alcoholism, drug abuse.

3. New Conceptions of the State  Market models will not resolve these future challenges – don’t adequately address the citizen-state relationship  Progressives can’t simply defend the traditional post-war state  Task is to develop conceptions of the state that promote equity and efficiency

4. New Ideas for Managing the State  Progressive politics needs a new governing principle: shared responsibility  The ‘rights and responsibilities’ agenda is inadequate  Task is to generate structures that encourage and facilitate participation  Progressives need to learn to share power and build institutions that reflect this

Shared Responsibility: A New Governing Principle  Harnessing productive forms of responsibility will help to improve the delivery and efficiency of public services  Facilitating participation enhances democratic engagement re-building trust in government  A more equal distribution of power is an end in itself for progressive politics

Harnessing Shared Responsibility Giving citizens greater control through shared responsibility – three inter-locking mechanisms:  Active choice - improving the responsiveness of public services, enabling users  Lifestyle choice - in a world where 90% of health risks can be controlled or minimised by the individual  Collective choice - participatory budget setting, greater localism and decentralisation: governance structures that promote shared responsibility

Conclusion: Re-defining the State  Progressives in the future must fashion a state that works, not withdraws. They must ‘re-state the state’ (Wright & Gamble, 2004)  Shared responsibility helps to advance the public interest without replicating the debilitating divide between states and markets  Central challenge for progressive politics - giving people greater control of their lives in the face of insecurity: new social contract between citizen and state

Afterword “The important thing for government is not to do the things which individuals are doing already, and to do them a little better or a little worse; but to do the things which at present are not done at all”. J.M Keynes, The End of Laissez-Faire, 1926.