YOU CAN'T UNTETHER IT FROM JUDEO-CHRISTIAN VALUES:

Beyond the Third Way: What Is Wrong with Social Democracy? (Matt Browne, Ruy Teixiera and John Halpin, 9/30/09, Der Spiegel)

One can discern four reasons, common to many social democratic parties in Europe, each rooted in shortcomings of the Third Way.

First, European social democrats have done a poor job of defining what they stand for or how it differs from conservatives. The Third Way reconciled progressive thought with the market economy, individualism and globalization. This helped Bill Clinton in the US, Tony Blair in Britain and Gerhard Schröder in Germany establish political hegemonies in an era of conservative dominance. All three projects were egalitarian, but in rejecting many signature policies of social democratic thinking, they allowed conservatives to blur the differences between themselves and social democrats. Moreover, the social democrats' current difficulties in defining an alternative economic paradigm stem from gaps in Third Way thought, most notably with regards to industrial renewal.

Second, social democrats have failed to connect with the values of voters and thus struggle to respond to the populist anger that is typically rooted in these values. The Third Way's rejection of ideology was once a strength; it has now become a weakness. Social democratic politicians often suffer from "seminaritis" -- treating the political process as a matter of compiling data, evidence and the best ideas.

You can reject ideology, but you can't reject morality and build a decent society.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 30, 2009 6:03 AM