Customer Reviews

The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In 1956 British Labour MP Tony Crossland wrote about a party "searching for its lost soul." The world was changing so fast that the old doctrines were no longer any guide for the future. Crossland argued that, at its core, socialism was more a set of moral values and aspirations than an unchanging political program.

Like Crossland's The Future of Socialism, Anthony Giddens' The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy, is an attempt to reinvent social democracy--to give a political movement back its lost soul.

By 1998 many of the party faithful believed that Labour had sold its soul for victory at the polls. Tony Blair was talking tough on crime, tough on welfare dependency, and tough on government spending. The party had abandoned its old social democratic policies and modeled itself on Clinton's pragmatic New Democrats. Many Labour intellectuals were wondering whether the party had any vision at all other than winning elections.

Meanwhile Giddens, as an academic sociologist, had been questioning the philosophy behind the socialist tradition. With the 1994 publication of Beyond Left and Right he gave a long and subtle account of the exhaustion of the old ideologies and the prospects for the future. With the victory of 'left of center' parties on both sides of the Atlantic under the banner of the 'third way' he saw a chance to popularize his views.

Giddens is philosophical sociologist and works mostly in the realm of abstract ideas. None of his political books have much to offer as accounts of real-life political decision making or practical suggestions for refom. A much better example of that genre would be something like David T. Ellwood's 1988 Poor Support (the blueprint for Clinton's failed welfare reform plan).

If you're after Giddens-Lite -- a non-academic introduction to his vision for social democracy then this is the book to get. It's short, easy to read and relates big ideas to recent political events. If, on the other hand, you want a more serious, academic account then Beyond Left and Right is a better choice.

The Third Way is an influential book but is unlikely to become a classic.

I considered myself more of a traditional Socialist for the last couple of years. Then, one night in September, I was browsing through the History/Social Science section on the second floor of the Connecticut College Library, and I happened across this book. Curious to know more about the "Third Way" so derided by orthodox Socialists and other leftists, I picked it up and began to read. This book was the first factor that caused me to shift my thinking away from the orthodoxy of the old left and toward a modernized vision of Social Democracy for the 21st century. Giddens makes it clear through his analysis of the evolution of the modern economy that Socialism is dead, and that no viable alternative to a market economy exists anymore. He makes a strong case for letting go of orthodox Social Democracy and moving forward to a new system that incorporates the potential of modern education and technology. He also makes it plain that the state is still necessary to promote equality, protect the environment, and mitigate the natural negative effects of the capitalist system. I recommend picking this up and taking a look at Gidden's ideas for moving the world forward to a system that rejects the orthodoxy of both the left and the right, and calls for us to seek out a newer world.

Socialism has sure changed a lot since it was conceived as a political idea more than a hundred years ago. Utopian socialism is only a part of the what-ifs of intellectual history. Communism has been abandoned since 1991. Even though there is a solid movement of Neo-Marxists still around, orthodox Marxism has largely been discredited, while the new trends have yet to reach a consensus for political action. And Social Democracy has stopped being a strong political force since the rise of Neoliberalism.

In this context, Anthony Giddens, a popular British sociologist, tries to conceive a new set of principles for the new Socialist movement, what we now know as "Third Way Socialism". He begins by addressing the roots of Social Democracy and Neoliberalism (the Cold War), arguing that since the collapse of the USSR, the political challenges and the subjects to be addressed have significantly changed. Thus, a third way needs to be found between these two ideological traditions, which of course will be filled by the neo-revisionism of Socialism.

He then moves on to address what he calls the five dilemmas of the modern world, specifically, globalisation, individualism, the relevance of left vs. right politics, political agency and the environment. Other subject matters are discussed, such as civil society, the nation state, the EU, the relevance of welfare, family structures, and so on.

Reading this book, however, I started feeling that something is missing. But the answer after a while, became obvious. What is missing here, is the core of what Socialism (in its every previous form) has been about. And that is, a critique of capitalism. Socialism emerged as a movement in opposition to capitalism and each socialist thinker, be it Marx, Engels, Lenin, Luxemburg, Bernstein or Callaghan, had in his/her view an alternative vision to the capitalist economic system that dominates us today. To strip this from the ideology, is to largely abandon what Socialism has been about. Thus to me, "Third Way Socialism" looks much less like Socialism, and much more like a revival and revision of modern (20th century) Liberalism.

In my opinion, this book will be forgotten. It reads like a mix between a casual discussion and a political manifesto, discussing subjects in the abstract, giving the reader a feeling that it is rich in vocabulary, but poor in essence.

I give this book 4 stars because it offers a simple explanation of the position of Third Way left-wing politics.

I can imagine that this book would be decent for people who don't know much about political theory or serve as a reading for intro to political theory classes. However, it serves as nothing more. The book fails to give any concrete evidence to back up his ideas. I guess then this book would constitute a good outline for how he feels social democracy should go, but as one reviewer said, this is not an academic text. I guess if you have some time on your hands and want an intro social democracy and what he feels the future of it is, than read this. If you want facts and detail, don't bother. One more thing, I find it quite scary if it is true that Tony Blair based his policy on this book

New Labor found its theoretical justification in this work by Anthony Giddens, a once great Sociologist who sold out all of his principles to become Tony Blair's lapdog. This is all nonsense, missing out on the fact that the past decade has shown an increasing disparity of wealth on a Global Scale thanks in part to neoliberal policies. Giddens's response - to justify it. Read Pierre Bourdieu instead. He kept his integrity and is still an incisive social thinker. As for Giddens, I will still read his earlier work (A critique of historical materialism is quite good), but this is just plain garbage.

People should be aware of this work for its influence on the articulation of "policy" by Tony Blair, who admires its theses.

Necesito saber si el libro está traducido al español. Un buen amigo me lo envió desde Londres y me informa que allá no existe traducción. Ojalá puedan ayudarme.

Espero ansioso la lectura de este nuevo libro de Anthony Giddens, seguramente se convertirá en obligada lectura de todos aquellos que en el mundo creemos en una sociedad más justa y con mejores oportunidades ...

Think of our lives. Nothing is same. Under this age where ideas of disconstruction and postmodernism are severe, our ways can't be concrete anymore. Flows of our minds still make our lives, and form our standatd lives without exploration. However, lives are not so easy and simple. Ample experience of human nature show that clearly. Find it, what you really need. You may be cheating yourself as well as others. Find my fellow. Thing may be stupidity from your present perspective, but what you can make without living your life. Live your life without cheating. Live your life without stopping from fear. Four fears are from one absolute fear. Don't stop yourselves, feel your own way, not others'. just live in now and there. Knowledge don't tell anything as long as you are particular about it. Life is not short and long. They say your life is just 70, but you never know what is correct, and what way of life is yours. Search what your life is, and come back where are you and when you are. You don't need to go anywhere with knowledge.Live with you at first, not with others. After you get yourself, you can do with others. This book may have you feel this way.

Thanks. I love you, honeies.

BYe. Shuri Mahara