Metaphors of Cohesion

Abstract

The European model of society, the idea that the EU is more than a single market and is founded on a specifically European social order, gained currency during the period of the Delors Commission as an idealized version of the EU. The European model of society represented a Europe of growth, prosperity, liberal institutions and social welfare, ‘a humane social order based on the mixed economy, civilized industrial relations, the welfare state, and a commitment to basic social justice’ (Ross, 1995, p. 46). This society was to be driven by economic growth, of which the motor was the single market. But the institution of a successful market was, by itself, not an appropriate goal. It was believed that the single market would, in turn, act as a catalyst for institutional and social developments. It was Delors’ belief that liberalization and harmonization would go together. Similarly, ‘The competition which will be developed by the large market will also promote cooperation’ (Delors, quoted in Ross, 1995, p. 46). The EU’s moves towards a single market were not designed to displace welfare, the two would go hand in hand. Markets only exist within a broader framework of societal relations and ‘societies were more than markets, citizenship more than consumption, and government more than an economic traffic squad’ (Ross, 1995, p. 46).