In this article we take managing migration and managing the gig economy as a prism through which to examine not only whether the phrase ‘social market economy’ has any real substance, but also whether it offers any guidance as to how the European Union (EU) may respond in the future. We argue that the language of ‘social market economy’, a concept drafted in the halcyon days prior to the financial and migration crises, serves only to highlight the gap between rhetoric and reality. We identify two main reasons for this, namely a lack of legal competence and a lack of political will. We then consider whether the objective of attaining a ‘social market economy’ can be operationalised in any way. In the light of the establishment of the European Social Pillar, we argue that it can, yet within certain limits. We conclude by arguing that the lack of clear communication by the EU, both of its successes and also of the limits on its powers, means that it receives little credit for the good it is able to do. It also unnecessarily raises expectations among the public about what it can achieve. This inevitably leads to the disappointment generated by unfulfilled expectations.

中文翻译：

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在（异构）社会欧洲中的“社会市场经济”：会有所作为吗？

在本文中，我们将管理移民和管理零工经济作为一个棱镜，通过它不仅可以检查“社会市场经济”一词是否具有实质性意义，而且还可以为欧盟（EU）的运作方式提供任何指导将来可能会回应。我们认为，“社会市场经济”一词是在金融危机和移民危机爆发前的太平绅士时期起草的，其作用仅仅是强调言辞与现实之间的差距。我们确定了两个主要原因，即缺乏法律能力和缺乏政治意愿。然后，我们考虑是否可以以任何方式实现实现“社会市场经济”的目标。根据欧洲社会支柱的建立，我们认为它可以，但仍在一定范围内。最后，我们争论说，欧盟缺乏清晰的沟通，既没有取得成功，也没有权力限制，这意味着它因其能够做的善而获得的荣誉很少。这也不必要地提高了公众对其实现目标的期望。这不可避免地导致未实现的期望所产生的失望。