Abstract

It is commonly held that Socialist European parties have failed to meet the challenges posed from global markets and from the new communication technologies. Such opinion is however sustained from two seemingly opposite perspective, namely that these parties have followed the neo-liberism's paradigms and that at the beginning of the xxi century socialism as such is a relic of the past. The author seeks to demonstrate that these evaluations are closer to each other than it might appear, on the ground that they presuppose that Socialist European parties represent a single political subject, in spite of their national identity, and still rely on the old dichotomy between market and State, notwithstanding the rise of global capitalism. According to the author, a renewal of socialism requires both a deep reflection on its relationship with democracy and an understanding of the popular needs that is now removed from the current representations of the political class, with the effect of increasing the populist parties' appeal.