Function in One SentenceIf we do not wait for the seizure of state power, how does revolution begin now?Introduction: The Trap of WaitingFor more than a century, revolutionary politics has been paralysed by a single assumption: that meaningful transformation can only begin after power is taken. Before that moment, movements are expected to agitate, protest, mobilise, and endure — but not to build. This assumption has proven catastrophic. Waiting for “victory” before construction produces thre...

Function in One SentenceIf we do not wait for the seizure of state power, how does revolution begin now?Introduction: The Trap of WaitingFor more than a century, revolutionary politics has been paralysed by a single assumption: that meaningful transformation can only begin after power is taken. Before that moment, movements are expected to agitate, protest, mobilise, and endure — but not to build. This assumption has proven catastrophic. Waiting for “victory” before construction produces thre...

Introduction — The Seductive Logic of SubstitutionVanguardism has always presented itself as a solution to a real problem. When societies fracture, when inequality deepens, when crises accelerate faster than collective deliberation seems able to respond, the temptation to substitute organisation for society becomes powerful. In moments of historical compression, substitution appears rational. The vanguard promises clarity where confusion reigns, decisiveness where democratic processes appear ...

Introduction — The Seductive Logic of SubstitutionVanguardism has always presented itself as a solution to a real problem. When societies fracture, when inequality deepens, when crises accelerate faster than collective deliberation seems able to respond, the temptation to substitute organisation for society becomes powerful. In moments of historical compression, substitution appears rational. The vanguard promises clarity where confusion reigns, decisiveness where democratic processes appear ...

Introduction: The End of the Vanguard IllusionThe twentieth century exhausted the idea of the vanguard. Not because revolution failed, nor because ideals were wrong, but because the vanguard form itself proved structurally self-negating. It substituted trust in organised power for trust in society, loyalty to hierarchy for loyalty to people, and future abstractions for present human needs. In doing so, it reproduced the very domination it claimed to abolish. The lesson of the twenty-first cen...

Introduction: The End of the Vanguard IllusionThe twentieth century exhausted the idea of the vanguard. Not because revolution failed, nor because ideals were wrong, but because the vanguard form itself proved structurally self-negating. It substituted trust in organised power for trust in society, loyalty to hierarchy for loyalty to people, and future abstractions for present human needs. In doing so, it reproduced the very domination it claimed to abolish. The lesson of the twenty-first cen...

AbstractFor more than a century, the internal debates of the socialist movement have been framed through a moralized dichotomy: orthodoxy versus revisionism. One side is accused of betrayal, the other of dogmatism. This essay argues that this framing is historically misleading and analytically useless. The decisive fault line within social democracy has never been revisionism as such, but stagnation — the abandonment of a continuous project to expand economic democracy and social ownership un...

AbstractFor more than a century, the internal debates of the socialist movement have been framed through a moralized dichotomy: orthodoxy versus revisionism. One side is accused of betrayal, the other of dogmatism. This essay argues that this framing is historically misleading and analytically useless. The decisive fault line within social democracy has never been revisionism as such, but stagnation — the abandonment of a continuous project to expand economic democracy and social ownership un...

AbstractSocial democracy did not drift toward conservatism because it betrayed its ideals, nor because it compromised too much with capitalism. It became conservative because it succeeded—without embedding a mechanism for permanent self‑transcendence. This article argues that welfare states, once institutionalized and stabilized, tend to convert emancipatory gains into assets to be preserved. In the absence of a built‑in logic of continuous reform or renewal, social democracy undergoes a pred...

AbstractSocial democracy did not drift toward conservatism because it betrayed its ideals, nor because it compromised too much with capitalism. It became conservative because it succeeded—without embedding a mechanism for permanent self‑transcendence. This article argues that welfare states, once institutionalized and stabilized, tend to convert emancipatory gains into assets to be preserved. In the absence of a built‑in logic of continuous reform or renewal, social democracy undergoes a pred...

Introduction: When “Revolution” Became a Forbidden WordAcross much of contemporary Europe, the word revolution has become politically radioactive. It evokes memories of violence, collapse, authoritarian regression, and historical trauma. Social democratic parties, in particular, have learned to treat the term with caution, preferring the language of reform, stability, and responsibility. Yet this aversion has come at a cost. By abandoning the concept of revolution altogether, much of the Euro...

Introduction: When “Revolution” Became a Forbidden WordAcross much of contemporary Europe, the word revolution has become politically radioactive. It evokes memories of violence, collapse, authoritarian regression, and historical trauma. Social democratic parties, in particular, have learned to treat the term with caution, preferring the language of reform, stability, and responsibility. Yet this aversion has come at a cost. By abandoning the concept of revolution altogether, much of the Euro...

Introduction: The False Choice Between Violence and VulnerabilityModern political movements are repeatedly trapped in a destructive binary. Either they embrace violence as a shortcut to power, or they renounce force entirely and accept vulnerability as moral proof. Both positions are strategically incoherent. Violence, when elevated into a myth, does not liberate movements—it consumes them. Yet the rejection of violence is too often misinterpreted as submission, passivity, or willingness to b...

Introduction: The False Choice Between Violence and VulnerabilityModern political movements are repeatedly trapped in a destructive binary. Either they embrace violence as a shortcut to power, or they renounce force entirely and accept vulnerability as moral proof. Both positions are strategically incoherent. Violence, when elevated into a myth, does not liberate movements—it consumes them. Yet the rejection of violence is too often misinterpreted as submission, passivity, or willingness to b...

Introduction: From Distrust to DesignIf the twentieth century’s central organisational problem was who should lead, the twenty‑first century’s is far more sober: how can collective action remain possible when trust in elites, parties, and institutions has structurally collapsed? The failure of vanguardism, as argued in the previous essay, was not moral but architectural. Concentrated authority, epistemic asymmetry, and loyalty‑based incentives guaranteed degeneration regardless of intentions....

Introduction: From Distrust to DesignIf the twentieth century’s central organisational problem was who should lead, the twenty‑first century’s is far more sober: how can collective action remain possible when trust in elites, parties, and institutions has structurally collapsed? The failure of vanguardism, as argued in the previous essay, was not moral but architectural. Concentrated authority, epistemic asymmetry, and loyalty‑based incentives guaranteed degeneration regardless of intentions....

Introduction: When Distribution Without Power Turns ConservativeWelfare states do not become conservative because they care too much about equality. They become conservative because they redistribute without transforming power. Once social democracy confines itself to correcting outcomes—taxing, transferring, compensating—while leaving the underlying structures of ownership, control, and decision-making intact, it begins an inevitable drift: from emancipation to preservation, from reform to c...

Introduction: When Distribution Without Power Turns ConservativeWelfare states do not become conservative because they care too much about equality. They become conservative because they redistribute without transforming power. Once social democracy confines itself to correcting outcomes—taxing, transferring, compensating—while leaving the underlying structures of ownership, control, and decision-making intact, it begins an inevitable drift: from emancipation to preservation, from reform to c...

I. The Moment Institutions Stop WorkingThere are historical moments when institutions do not collapse dramatically — they simply stop responding. Elections continue, parliaments convene, parties issue statements. Yet decisions no longer resolve lived problems, representation becomes symbolic, and accountability dissolves into procedure. At this point, legitimacy does not vanish overnight; it thins. What remains is a hollow shell of governance operating on inertia. This is not an exceptional c...

I. The Moment Institutions Stop WorkingThere are historical moments when institutions do not collapse dramatically — they simply stop responding. Elections continue, parliaments convene, parties issue statements. Yet decisions no longer resolve lived problems, representation becomes symbolic, and accountability dissolves into procedure. At this point, legitimacy does not vanish overnight; it thins. What remains is a hollow shell of governance operating on inertia. This is not an exceptional c...

Introduction: Reindustrialisation Is Coming—The Question Is Who Owns ItEurope will reindustrialise. The only real question is under whose political logic. After decades of offshoring, financialisation, and strategic dependency, the consensus has shifted. Supply-chain shocks, geopolitical fragmentation, climate transition, and technological competition have made reindustrialisation unavoidable. Yet this inevitability carries a danger: if the left does not define reindustrialisation, the right ...

Introduction: Reindustrialisation Is Coming—The Question Is Who Owns ItEurope will reindustrialise. The only real question is under whose political logic. After decades of offshoring, financialisation, and strategic dependency, the consensus has shifted. Supply-chain shocks, geopolitical fragmentation, climate transition, and technological competition have made reindustrialisation unavoidable. Yet this inevitability carries a danger: if the left does not define reindustrialisation, the right ...

AbstractThe welfare state does not become conservative because it protects people, but because it forgets why it protects them. Once social security, redistribution, and public services are treated as historical endpoints rather than transitional platforms, welfare transforms from an emancipatory force into a system of preservation. This article synthesizes the lessons of the preceding analyses and outlines the necessary conditions under which a welfare state can remain non‑conservative—that ...

AbstractThe welfare state does not become conservative because it protects people, but because it forgets why it protects them. Once social security, redistribution, and public services are treated as historical endpoints rather than transitional platforms, welfare transforms from an emancipatory force into a system of preservation. This article synthesizes the lessons of the preceding analyses and outlines the necessary conditions under which a welfare state can remain non‑conservative—that ...