ABSTRACT
The European social commons are maintained by the guarantees of a decent living standard for all, through well-paid jobs and a basket of social services for all the social protections of the welfare state. The services are inexpensive or free education, health care, housing, public transportation, child care, elder care and job training. The environmental commons are sustained by a commitment to green government policies on jobs, energy, and taxes; urban infrastructure; and a quality of life built around public community rather than private consumption. Stronger unions and labor parties as well as universal welfare prevent social triage of any major group in Europe, except possibly immigrants, even within the current crisis because all, including the unemployed, are included in the social commons through universal welfare provisions. Therefore, poverty rates are low and the unemployed are given life support and retraining. Hence it's true that European Social Democracy tilts toward saving the commons while U. S. capitalism tilts toward triage.
