Synopses & Reviews
The social democratic parties were once the strongest political forces in Europe. Today, however, they appear disoriented and rudderless, crucially lacking the ideological, intellectual, and organizational vitality which underpinned their strength in the post-war political landscape. Electorally marginalized, seemingly ideologically exhausted, and often out-of-step with the contemporary zeitgeist, European social democracy is currently in profound need of revision and renewal - potentially its very existence as a political force is under threat. This book marks a serious attempt to forge the intellectual backbone of a renewed social democracy fit for the 21st century. Bringing together leading academics, political thinkers, and policy experts,
After the Third Way offers a new and original perspective on ideological and policy innovation, and will be invaluable reading for anyone interested in the future of social democracy.
Review
“A clarion call for justice, equality, and liberty to triumph. Greed and selfishness, a widening chasm between the haves and the have-nots, indifference to climate change and poverty, threaten the very future of humankind.”
Review
“Taking up where Tawney and Crosland left off, Hain shows practical ways in which sustained recovery of fairness, fulfillment, and freedom can be achieved in this generation.”
Review
“Hain proves why reports of the death of socialism were greatly exaggerated. It just needed reviving.”
Review
“Fresh thinking to tackle rising inequality and environmental degradation which imperil human development today.”
Review
"This is a tour de force, and could hardly be more timely."
Review
“When prominent politicians leave the House of Commons they tend to write memoirs looking back at their time in politics—but Peter Hain has chosen to write a book looking forward.”
Review
“Hain makes the case for an active, enabling state. . . . Whether it’s freeing up our greatest economic assets (people) through improved working conditions, or investing in homes, schools, childcare, and green jobs to create growth, the state must have a role. It’s a point worth making—not least, as Hain says, because otherwise history is bound to repeat itself. But though he critiques the past, Hain relentlessly looks to the future, providing not just a blueprint for government but a shot in the arm for socialists struggling to recover confidence in the face of the onslaught from the right in recent years. . . . The value of this book is that it sparks the sort of lively and nuanced debate that is too often drowned out in a public discussion so dominated by neoliberal values.”
Review
“Its strength is its pace and breadth . . . . Back to the Future of Socialism is powerful, questionable, confrontational—but not dull.”
Review
“Indefatigably upbeat. . . . One of the most attractive aspects of Hain’s politics is his international hinterland, the huge part the anti-apartheid struggle played in his life (which he has addressed poignantly in other books). With so many MPs of all parties rising through the hideously narrow world of Westminster, his decision to stand down will deprive Labour of a powerful voice in parliament. But, as Tony Benn said, perhaps he’ll have more time to devote to politics.”
Review
“A front-line politician’s treatise that makes the case for democratic socialism over neoliberalism has to be welcome. Hain makes clear why there can be no going back to New Labour, if the party is to be true to its soul.”
Synopsis
Whats gone wrong with capitalism, and how should governments respond? Did big government or big banking cause the global financial crisis? Is the answer austerity or investment in growth; untrammelled market forces or regulation for the common good? Anthony Croslands The Future of Socialism provided a creed for governments of the center left until the global banking crisis. Now Peter Hain, drawing on over fifty years of experience in politics, revisits this classic text and presents a stimulating political prospectus for today. Hain argues that capitalism is now more financially unstable and unfair, productive but prone to paralysis, dynamic but discriminatory. A rousing alternative to the neoliberal, right-wing orthodoxy of our era, Hains new book should be read by everyone interested in the future of the left.
About the Author
Olaf Cramme is Director of Policy Network. Previously, he was Lecturer in European Politics at London Metropolitan University and worked as a Parliamentary Researcher at the Houses of Parliament. He has published widely on global governance, the future of the European Union, and European social democracy. He holds a PhD in European Studies from London Metropolitan University and studied history, politics, and international relations at the University of Heidelberg and at the University Paris-Sorbonne.
Patrick Diamond is Senior Research Fellow at Policy Network. He is also a Gwilym Gibbon Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford and a Visiting Fellow in the Department of Politics at the University of Oxford. He was formerly Head of Policy Planning in 10 Downing Street and Senior Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister. Diamond has spent ten years as a Special Adviser in various roles at the heart of British Government, including No.10 Downing Street, the Cabinet Office, the Northern Ireland Office, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), where he served as Group Director of Strategy.
Table of Contents
Preface * The Guiding Purpose of Centre-Left Politics * From Fatalism to Fraternity: Governing Purpose and the Good Society * Social Democracy in a Global Era * Policy Predicaments * The Mechanics of Markets: Politics, Economics and Finance * Debt and Deficits: The Quest for Economic Competence * Social Democracy at the End of the Welfare State? * Building Sustainable Solidarity: Institutional Legitimacy and Social Trust * Progress and Social Policy: Two and a Half Cheers for Education * Social Cohesion, Culture Politics and the Impact of Migration * Identity, Community and a Politics of Recognition * Governance and Politics * The Politics of European Integration * After the Mass Party: Progressive Coalitions for a Fragmented Left? * Back to the Future: Towards a Red-Green Politics * The Squeezed Middle and the New Inequality * Coming to terms with the Challenges to Internationalism * Citizen Engagement and the Quest for Solidarity * Cooperation, Creativity and Equality: Key Concepts for a New Social Democratic Erac * Afterword