Where Now for European Social Democracy? - Policy Network

80WHERE NOW FOR EUROPEAN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY?to combine our individualism in order to achieve common goals.Legitimacy, of course, comes through people consenting to combinetheir individuality, and, through democratic politics, agreeing whichgoals the government should be pursuing.I have no patience with those who suggest that decisions abouthow we should protect ourselves against terrorism are not safe to beleft to government and should be left entirely to the courts and thejudiciary. We all accept that these decisions can have serious potentialresults for the community, but precisely because of this, they demanda legitimacy which can only come through the democratic process. Ifpeople are to accept the consequences of these decisions, they mustbe made by those they have elected and who they have the power toremove. There is a challenge to all of us to reassert the primacy ofpolitics as the key mechanism of democracy, with democracy offeringthe only peaceful means of settling differences and ensuring progress.We have a proud tradition of democracy in the UK. But we alsohave a proud tradition of preserving individual freedom. From theMagna Carta onwards we have sought to provide protection from thosewho seek overbearing power. I believe that these values are stillrelevant, indeed are more important than ever – and that they areappropriate for people across the world, even where nations andpeoples share a different cultural background. But I also believe thatthey are not inconsistent with putting in place systems of justice, andsecurity, which protect the collective good and our mutual freedoms,even when these systems constrain individual actions. The challenge isto protect liberty, not a ‘free for all’. We have a right to expect othersto respect our liberty – but this expectation must be based on anunderstanding that we are all inter-dependent and thereforeaccountable to each other.The balance is therefore crucial, not only to the maintenance offreedom, but also to the health of democracy and community. But wemust also be flexible enough to adapt to new circumstances – notsimply to retrench into old assumptions, but to build on existingfoundations to meet new challenges in a way that is consistent with ourunderlying values. This is yet another place where what we need is notbig government but active, engaged government, responsive to change.