ABSTRACT
A ‘European social model’ is typically referred to as a villain to be locked up or as an endangered species dying out, but never as something that has a future. Yet, both the fierce critics1 and the anxious fans2 of the European social model address only specific institutionalizations of the welfare state in continental Europe, such as forms of employment protection or the generosity of benefits. These institutionalizations characterize existing families or worlds of national welfare states but not necessarily a European social model.3
