Factors of Social Disintegration in EU

The article analyzes the factors of social disintegration in the EU through the prism of social divisions and the concept of a divided society. Based on the analysis of the specifics of the EU’s social dimension in general and the implementation of the Pillar of Social Rights, in particular, a number of interrelated factors have been identified, such as the growth of various forms of inequality, civic exclusion and social fragmentation. The situation of households, indicators related to poverty and social exclusion, youth out of employment and education, as well as the fragmentation of society and public sentiment in the context of falling incomes and a new technological transition are considered. It is concluded that the social crisis, firstly, has deep foundations that cannot be explained by such phenomena as population aging, uncontrolled immigration or deindustrialization. Secondly, the disintegration in the social sphere confirms the existence of a more diverse and stable social base of protest non-systemic parties and movements in the EU countries. The factors of inequality, civic exclusion, and social fragmentation have one important unifying element that explains the identitarian nature of alternative ideologies to neoliberalism that have become popular since the 2010s. As part of these phenomena, citizens face the decline in well-being, so as their deprivation which is closely linked to the threat of abandoning their former identity, along with a rethinking of the institution of family, work, and the lack of an understandable and predictable future in the AI economy, platform employment, and green technologies.

Social Europe, social policy, EU, social disintegration, inequality, civic exclusion, identity