The State and the Social Partners-Towards a Development Compact

The ideologues of the laissez-faire have been quick to interpret the collapse of the centrally planned economics in the Soviet bloc as a proof of the excellence of their model. Yet, this counter-utopia to the collapsed real socialism is also demonstrably bankrupt But far more disturbing is the disorientation of the middle way democratic regimes which are finding increasingly difficult to strike the right balance between public and private, market and planning, short-term contingencies and long-term visions informed by ideals of social justice and harmony with nature.