Politics and Antipolitics in Western Europe in the Seventies1

摘要: In the 1964 issue of DAEDALUS entitled A New Europe?, stability state and predictability course politics in advanced industrial European nations lay beyond doubt. Fifteen years later, these are points most ques tion. The critical for Western Europe today is capacity principal agencies political life?party, interest group, bureaucracy, legislature?to manage problems society economy, and, coping, to redefine rediscover common purposes. Among institutional failures past decade, those parties stand out as critical. late sixties seventies have been times massive politicization mobilization. That this surge collective activity new high levels participation nowhere led transformation or even major reforms but only dead ends deadlocks principally due parties: Left's failure link its transformative vision con temporary social conflicts define alternative strategies outcomes; Center-Right's replace worn-out formulas fat growth with reformist lean years; general, parties' incapacity translate aspirations into projects. question that argument raises cannot answer whether now at a point lies along curve indefinite downturn disintegration or, rather, we reached bottom curve. Such problem did not arise earlier Daedalus issue, there evolution appeared firmly hitched locomotives economic development, they ran predictable universal tracks. retrospect, linear developmental model, who interpreted societies way understand cyclicity phenomena whose were charting by extrapolation from current trends, flawed anticipations future. Today loss faith evolutionary/developmental view underlies uncer tainty about future politics. It inspires essay far more modest ambition than revealed first intellectual prem ises would support construction picture fu ture based on account dilemmas entirely undermined. However sobering predicament govern ment opposition parties, can hardly conclude their continued stag