Yet as I demonstrate in my recent book, Ideas of Social Europe, this progressive counter-narrative has been hollowed out. The paradox of universal agreementRemarkably, the promise of a “social Europe” hasn’t disappeared—it has become ubiquitous. Election after election, politicians across the ideological spectrum champion their commitment to social Europe. Ambitious pan-European welfare schemes, once the beating heart of the “social Europe” vision, have become virtually taboo. Social Europe thus serves as a cautionary tale with global implications.