What is the ISM?

The Institut Solidarische Moderne (ISM) is a think tank for producing new leftist political ideas. We wish to develop innovative concepts through dialogue and we want to build bridges between policy and science, civil society and social movements. We define crossover as the overcoming of various social barriers and a commitment to developing emancipatory ideas based on solidarity between people with various political backgrounds, including those who come from different parties or organisations. We founded the ISM in January 2010 in response to our evaluation of the profound programmatic and strategic deficits of the political and social Left in Germany and in Europe. Our goal is to contribute to the efforts to overcome these deficits. The ISM brings together different political approaches and seeks to raise various social contradictions to a political level. Our efforts aim to unite a variety of approaches into a broadbased project that is focused on the development of a comprehensive social alternative. Such an alternative is necessary for the Left if it is to strengthen its strategic capabilities, create real potentials for leftist politics, and bring about a new political and social hegemony. The concept "Solidarische Moderne" stands for this alternative.