"It was President Obama who said, “we hang on to our values… what else is there to guide us?” And typically those on the left have championed universal moral values like equality and compassion while making the case for growing the welfare state. But across the West, from Trump’s re-election to the rise of parties like Reform, many no longer seem convinced by this vision. In response, some on the left propose a shift from compassionate welfarism to a more hard-nosed politics focused on work, productivity and national industry. In the UK, Kier Starmer promises to put “Britain first,” investing in defence while cutting welfare spending.
Is the future of the left a replacement of welfare with work, and moralism with realism? Is it returning to the mantra of socialist playwright Bertold Brecht that “Grub comes first, then morality”? Or will the left mount a defence of the politics of kindness in the face of populist firebrands, or create a completely new rallying call for left-wing politics altogether? "
