I wonder if that would be the case if Western Europe had been spending a couple hundred billion dollars a year on military programs, not exactly the most efficient form of Keynesianism. The most SD country in Europe, Sweden, has been forced to scale back considerably in its social spending. Also, Europe's well-being (like ours) is due in large part to exploitation of southern countries. Take away that factor, and the true face of capitalism would soon reappear in Europe.
It's hard to compare one country to another. Much better is to compare one country to itself in the past. Twenty years ago, we were stagnant. Now we're booming. Since inequality has become particularly obscene again, the time is ripe for progressive policies, like the living wage campaign, which has demonstrated that rising wages can indeed spur growth. But this is only after years of reduced wages. This is what I mean by the corrective nature of liberal democracy. The left only understands equality, and the right only understands inequality, and in its infinite wisdom, The System steers the economy back to the middle when one side or the other goes too far.
We should certainly try to push things as much to the left as possible, (which is why we should hope for Hillary to lose in New York, because if she wins, it sends a signal to the Democratic Party to keep moving right). But let's not kid ourselves into thinking that our gains will be permanent. Our gains will produce exactly those conditions from which a backlash becomes inevitable. The only way out is to over-turn capitalism, and even an infinity of progressive reforms will never do that.
Ted Dace