The erosion of social cohesion: Slovenia faces global challenges

The fundamental task of any government is to create conditions for citizen prosperity, ensure social cohesion, and protect the national community from external threats for sustainable development. For three decades, Slovenia has largely pursued a social-liberal development model, fostering economic growth that approaches the EU average GDP, relatively equitable income distribution, social peace, and international security within NATO and the EU. Civil society organizations, particularly trade unions, have often acted as a crucial counterbalance to maintain this equilibrium.

However, new challenges are emerging, primarily from the international environment. The article points to the decay of the neoliberal model, which is attempting to preserve itself by deviating from its own principles like free markets and parliamentary democracy. The global order, once based on international law, is being replaced by the arbitrary use of military and economic power. International institutions like the UN and NATO are weakened, and armed conflicts, including alleged genocide in Palestine, pose constant threats to security. Europe's role in this shifting landscape appears inconsistent and marginal.

Furthermore, fundamental civilizational values and ethical norms, such as human rights and the prohibition of genocide, are being dismantled. Rapid advancements in technology, including artificial intelligence, are transforming production and daily life. Information and communication technologies are hollowing out traditional social communities like the family and local groups, directly linking individuals to global centers of capital and power that promote individualism and consumerism. This fuels identity crises and weakens national communities.

The international economic competition is intensifying, driven by a struggle for limited natural resources, new technologies, and cost advantages through low wages and social standards. This exacerbates income and wealth disparities within nations, undermining social cohesion and democratic systems. Consequently, right-wing, illiberal parties, nationalism, and autocracy are gaining strength. Environmental problems are also worsening, pushed to the periphery by the pursuit of profit and dominance in the global arena, making natural disasters on a global scale seem inevitable.