Why the Third Way failed
Economics, morality and the origins of the 'Big Society'

Author/Editor(s):

Bill Jordan

Format:

Paperback, 232 pages, 234 x 156 mm

ISBN

9781847426567

Published:

20 Oct 2010

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North America customers can order this book here from the University of Chicago Press.

"What is particularly uplifting about this book is that it could be read positively from within any of our three major political parties, which means that it has the potential to generate a common mind on how future social policy should be shaped."
Citizen's Income Newsletter

"Bill Jordan's command of history and science, philosophy and economics, puts him in a unique position to provide a compelling critique of the Third Way. His engaging analysis of the moral and contractual regulation that underlies the current Zeitgeist is a necessary read for tomorrow's politicians, as well as for tomorrow's voters."
Amir Paz-Fuchs, Ono Academic College, Israel

"Bill Jordan has long been an outstanding social worker and social policy writer. In this profound book, he argues that New Labour has over-regulated welfare and even made parts of it a tool of oppression. Scholarly yet dynamic reading. "
Bob Holman, Universities of Glasgow and Swansea and voluntary neighbourhood worker

"An incisive analysis by one of Britain's leading social theorists, this book explains why Third Way policies to regulate capitalism went in the wrong direction. Jordan's central question -- how to combine and balance economic and moral regulation -- should trigger public debate about the nature of a good society and the extent to which it is advanced by the normative message of welfare state policies that elevate employment and individual responsibility above all else."
Neil Gilbert, Chernin Professor of Social Welfare, Co-Director Center for Child and Youth Policy University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California 94720

About This Book

In the wake of the economic crash, public policy is in search of a new moral compass. This book explains why the Third Way's combination of market-friendly and abstract, value-led principles has failed, and shows what is needed for an adequate replacement as a political and moral project. It criticises the economic analysis on which the Third Way approach to policy was founded and suggests an alternative to its legalistic and managerial basis for the regulation of social relations.

Author Biography

Bill Jordan is Professor of Social Policy at the University of Plymouth. He has held visiting chairs in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Slovakia and Hungary. He worked for 20 years in the UK social services, and is the author of 27 books on social policy, social theory, politics and social work.

Contents

Introduction
Part one: A moral order?: Value, virtue and justice
Snap judgments and rational choices
Nature, science and cosmology
Part two: Regulation and relationsship: What is economics good for?
Moral regulation
In search of a moral compass
Part three: The policy response: Sharing wealth, income and work
Sustaining the quality of life
Conclusions.

ReviewsOwn it? Review it!

Why the Third Way failed
As always Bill Jordan has produced a thoughtful and stimulating book, one which critiques New Labour's Third Way. The embracement of neo-liberalism, globalisation and a market-led approach resulted in over-regulated and, at times, oppressive welfare including social work. Instead, Jordan argues the current crisis of capitalism requires us to consider how societies can recognise value other than by a cost-benefit analysis, and how they can cultivate virtues that promote the common good. Cameron's 'Big Society' is not the answer because more collective institutions are required. This should involve sharing wealth, income and work, not least by adopting a basic income principle in income maintenance, notwithstanding the very real difficulties involved. All in all an excellent read.
Reviewed by Steve Rogowski

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