Self-Sustaining Inequalities: Political Discourse and Diffusion of Responsibility in European Social Integration

In this paper, I build on a previously published essay to more systematically develop an argument of how inequalities in Europe can sustain themselves through political discourse. I argue that European integration and the vagueness of the idea of ‘social Europe’ create a space of political uncertainty in the realm of social policy. In this space, political decision-makers deflect social responsibilities by pointing to existing inequalities to justify actions that further cement said inequalities. Such arguments have recently been used regarding inequalities between (a) individual EU citizens, (b) EU welfare states at large, and (c) EU and non-EU states. I discuss how these patterns are different from national-level inequality discourses, where there are usually some influential actors aiming to actively reduce inequalities. In the context of EU integration, responsibility for inequality reduction is deflected to those at the weaker end of an unequal relationship. This goes along with an overemphasis on the assumption that inequalities across Europe are simply an externally given fact. My argument, by contrast, underscores that these inequalities are also a political choice. This is key, as sustaining and expanding the achievements of European integration will be challenging if no further actions against inequalities are taken. Thus, I conclude that decision-makers currently avoiding actions against inequalities have an interest in reconsidering the responsibilities they are willing to assume – that is, in case they want to strengthen the European project.