The Dimming Vision of Socialism and the Third Way

From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.
-Karl Marx

I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good.
-Adam Smith

A decade after Tony Blair and New Labour swept into power, supplanting more than twenty years of Tory rule in the United Kingdom, Blair can claim many policy and electoral victories in his quest to revive the Labour Party from its virtual non-existence in the wake if Margaret Thatcher's dominance. However, as Blair now begins making his less than graceful exit from No. 10, it appears he lost the most important battle, the battle of hearts and minds.

A recent report by the Henley Center shows that the newest generation to come of age now rejects the underlying principles of Blair's Third Way, as well as te European Socialist Ideal.

Michelle Harrison, director of HeadlightVision, part of the Henley Centre, said: “In 1997, when Tony Blair moved into No 10, almost 70% of our respondents opted for the ‘community-first’ approach.”

“This held steady for the first couple of Blair years but by 1999 individualism was on the rise. At face value, it seems that last year (when individualists outnumbered community-firsts) we formally fell out of love with the Blair project. Over the decade we have seen a fast-moving shift towards people feeling more individualistic.”

Today, 52% feel “looking after ourselves” will best improve the quality of life, according to the poll of more than 2,000 people.

The study indicates an ever widening chasm between the British and Europe, at a time when Gordon Brown, the archetypal Europhile of New Labour is poised to replace Blair at No. 10 before the next General Election. However, the study is strangely juxtaposed with David Cameron's version of Conservatism, one that is far less Thatcherite and much more Blairite in its nature. Cameron may be five years too late ideologically, but he has personality to spare, and will likely lead the Tories to a win in the next General Election.

This ebbing and flowing of public sentiment towards notions of "community" and "individualism" illustrates the ultimate trouble with all visionary reformers and their ultimate ends. The Thatcher Revolution was replaced by the Blair Revolution. Thatcher's government perhaps moved too rapidly toward privatization in an era when the political will did not exist to do it. Blair moved too rapidly towards governmental expansion in an era when the political will for such actions was waning.

Britain has had an on and off affair with Socialism for 50 years, and it appears that finally the people of the country want out of that abusive and one sided relationship. The people of America would do well to learn from Britain's experience. They likely will not.