It’s not about whether the European welfare state model is or isn’t sustainable, as the President of the European Central Bank and Spain’s Mariano Rajoy (as well as a crowd of others) keep saying. It is, rather, that there is no more reason to sustain it.
Of course, they can’t say this openly, so they keep inventing stories about how the model all of a sudden became unsustainable. The reality, however, is that if there existed a political will to sustain – and even augment – the model, it could and would be done.
Clarissa's Blog 
“Of course, they can’t say this openly..”
Who exactly are ‘they’ here? Sometimes when I read your posts on nation-states I get the feeling that countries are governed by this elite cabal who one day decided that the ‘nation-state’ is no longer viable and needs to be replaced with some other model, etc.
In the US, broadly speaking, it’s the republicans who recite bogus studies to bolster their claims of a ‘broken social security’ system. They would love to end unemployment benefits and food stamps, and at the same time give away billions to wall street banks in fees to gamble with public pensions.
So, if the welfare state model is unsustainable, shouldn’t we ask the question ‘unsustainable for whom?’ Who exactly would benefit with this erosion of the welfare state?
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In this particular case, they are Rajoy and the euro bank guy.
The nation-state is no longer viable because the world has changed. This is a major change, and it’s difficult for everybody to accept.
As to who will benefit that remains to be seen. The most recent theory I read yesterday is that now everything will be about maximizing the opportunities for those who can and marginalizing everybody who can’t. I’m not seeing any other future possibility than increasing stratification of societies. I’d like to be mistaken but I don’t see the point of refusing to see reality. We can’t hope to change what we don’t understand.
For instance, when we keep hearing that there’s no money for public ed, we need to see very clearly that that’s a lie. There is plenty of money. What is lacking is the political will to invest the money into this area. We need to stop interiorizing the idea that there is some genuine financial problem that drives the cuts in education.
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