The concept of participatory society and the potential impact on the European social model

The demographic evolutions and the consequences of the financial and economic crisis that started in 2008 have put more and more under a question mark the viability of the so-called European social model. Beyond simple speculations, reputed personalities such as Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, in 2012 and the Dutch King Willem-Alexander in 2013 publicly stated the demise of this model and the transition during an unspecified period of time to a “participatory society”. The paper analyses the foundations of the European social model and presents the reasons of its current systemic problems. The paper explores a number of alternatives to the European social model and focuses on the implications of the concept of “participatory society” in the larger context of globalization. The conclusion is that the explicit and generalized renunciation to the current European social model may have profound consequences on the European Union which is defined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union as a “social market economy”. In case the materialization of this transition to a new type of society in Europe happens this will require a fundamental rethinking of the European project.