Reforma o revolución: ¿qué queda de la socialdemocracia?- La Mesa de El Viejo Topo

In recent years, the political map has been shifting rapidly to the right. In Europe, war, rearmament, and austerity policies are advancing alongside the rise of reactionary forces. In Latin America, every popular advance is met with media, judicial, economic, or coup-like offensives. And in the United States, Donald Trump went so far as to say, referring to the rise of leftist sectors within the Democratic Party: “They’re not social democrats. They’re godless, hardline communists.” The statement seems like a caricature, but it aptly expresses the political confusion of our time: any minimal measure of redistribution is labeled communism, while many progressive or social democratic forces seem incapable of offering a real alternative. That is why today’s question is not a museum piece. We want to look at the history of social democracy and its debates to understand the present: reform or revolution, managing capitalism or breaking with its structures, the lesser evil or radical transformation. Today, on El Viejo Topo's Roundtable, using Rosa Luxemburg's famous title, we discuss reform versus revolution and ask ourselves: what remains of social democracy? Joining us at this table are: Antonio Fernández Ortiz, historian, specialist in the USSR and Russia, author of several books published by El Viejo Topo, including Chechnya versus Russia, Go and Fight! Stalin Through His Inner Circle, The Left in the Age of Confusion, October Against Capital, and The Revolution of the “Others.” Manolo Monereo, a graduate in Law and Political Science, thinker, and political scientist historically linked to the left. He has published numerous articles and essays on politics, economics, and history. His books with El Viejo Topo include Towards the Third World War?, Oligarchy or Democracy, For a New National Project, For Europe and Against the Euro System, From Crisis to Democratic Revolution, and By His Own Head. Moderator: Carmen Parejo. TABLE OF CONTENTS Section 1. Reform or Revolution From the Second International to interwar reformism, the crisis of the labor movement, and the Russian Revolution as a historical turning point. Section 2. Social Democracy and the Welfare State The realignment after the Second World War, the Fordist-Keynesian model, the Cold War, and the relationship between welfare in the imperialist center and the plunder of the Global South. Section 3. Social Democracy Today Globalization, the crisis of the unipolar world, war, militarization, the capitalist crisis, and the current limitations of social democratic progressivism. Related Books: The Left in the Age of Confusion: Culture, Unity, and Solidarity — Antonio Fernández Ortiz A reflection on the political and ideological confusion that pervades the left, the absence of a genuine state project, and the need to envision unity beyond electoral politics, based on solidarity, collectivism, and a working-class Spain. Available in bookstores and our online store: https://tienda.elviejotopo.com/inicio... Rebuilding the Left — Marta Harnecker Marta Harnecker begins with the urgent need to rebuild the left by acknowledging its weaknesses, errors, and deviations. This book addresses the need for a political instrument capable of uniting diverse groups, building popular strength, and paving the way for profound social change. Available in bookstores and our online store: https://tienda.elviejotopo.com/americ... Social Democracy. How and When Did It Cease to Be Leftist — Mark Aguirre A journey through the history of social democracy, from the Second International and its connection to the working class to the abandonment of Marxism, the welfare state, the crisis of the model, and the acceptance of the neoliberal order. A key work for asking what remains today of that political project. Available in bookstores and in our online store: https://tienda.elviejotopo.com/catalo... The Absent Left: Crisis, Society of the Spectacle, War — Domenico Losurdo Domenico Losurdo analyzes the world that emerged after 1989, marked by economic crisis, inequality, successive wars, and the media's legitimization of the policies that lead to them. A book to consider why, precisely when opposition to the existing order seems most necessary, the left remains absent in the West. Available in bookstores and our online store: https://tienda.elviejotopo.com/inicio... Subscribe to El Viejo Topo TV and turn on notifications to stay up-to-date with our upcoming programs. #ElViejoTopo #ElViejoTopoTV #LaMesaEVT #SocialDemocracy #ReformOrRevolution #RosaLuxemburg #LaborMovement #WelfareState