KOMMENTARE/COMMENTS 10 Theses on the Future of Social Democracy in Europe POUL NYRUP RASMUSSEN I f you want to keep ideas afloat in an ocean of media cynicism you must first build a secure platform. Without somewhere stable that gives theory time to mature into practice, good ideas, ideas that challenge the conventional wisdom, are likely to sink to the bottom, or worse, become part of a press feeding-frenzy. This is particularly true of progressive ideas. It is no exaggeration to say that, these days, messages of solidarity, hope, or a collective solution to individual problems, have a hard time keeping their heads above water. Media outlets, particularly in their conglomerated,»synergized« form, have little time for such notions of togetherness. What sells is the idea of the individual. The lodestones are choice, freedom, and unfettered competition, or shock-horror stories, which are freakish statistically as well as in factual detail, and then become magnified as a general threat. Building the platform first is therefore essential. This also applies to the future of Social Democracy in Europe. Before we can begin to convince the millions of disillusioned or disenfranchised voters – and yes, they are in the millions – we need to create a viable platform that affords us the opportunity to put across the details of our message. Therefore, in this outline of 10 theses on the future of Social Democ­racy in Europe, I wish to concentrate first of all(points 1–4) on how we can best build the platform, and secondly(points 6–10), on how we can then showcase the social democratic policies that we believe point the way to a positive future. 1. Engagement In terms of its potential to represent and connect with people through­out Europe, no other political movement is as well positioned as the Party of European Socialists. The very history of social democracy and socialism is based on the concept of mass participation, increased trans­parency, and a fundamental belief in the principles of democracy. ipg 4/2010 Rasmussen, 10 Theses 13