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... ual's sense of rights and obligations in modern societies. A reinforcement of the individual's sense of obligation can regularly strengthen the citizens' propensity to see first whether they can themselves jointly solve problems which emerge in their daily life sphere by spontaneous co-operation, and only inasmuch as this is not possible, delegate it for effective resolution to the political system. In this dimension, a new division of labour between state and society is not in the first instance a question of simply discarding state functions and leaving their fulfilment to the discretion of private actors. It is rather about rendering a good deal of state intervention superfluous as the job is done in society itself on a voluntary basis. The Third Way proposes the restructuring of some key parts of the welfare state.
There are changes within the society, which make appropriate changes in welfare state structures unavoidable. To mention just the most consequential ones: &# 61623; The level of medical technology is expanding constantly and so is, as an unavoidable consequence, the costs of health-care systems. A system which entitles each individual to the full scale of medical treatment as indicated by his diseases will constantly raise the portion of income spent for health, which seems unaffordable already in the not so long run. &# 61623; The ratio of working-age population to old-age population is constantly decreasing. This makes new formulas for a sustainable general pension system mandatory. &# 61623; In some welfare states unemployment insurance has created a particular unemployment trap by taxing 100 per cent or more of low-wage income away. New ways of relating the welfare system and the labour market are needed. Even though the welfare state is badly in need of reform this should be done in such a manner as to preserve the basic objectives for which it has been invented.
The Neoliberal remedy is straightforward: reduce the welfare state and resign vis -- vis the power and the wisdom of the market. This will, so the neo-liberals suggest, immediately ease the burden on public budgets and sooner or later adapt workers expectations and attitudes to the hard facts of the labour market. As Neoliberal thinking considers the market both an unparalleled mechanism of rational decision-making and a basic value, the social costs of such a strategy are neglected in theory and tolerated in practice. Third Way thinking is definitely considered right by its proponents in their basic assumption that it would be irresponsible and stupid to take refuge in merely defending the traditional welfare state while attacking neo-liberal irresponsibility. Re-engineering the old welfare state structures is inevitable, but only insofar as this helps to make it sustainable.
This holds true for all the classical pillars of the welfare state. In respect to old age pension, more scope for choice is needed. The individual should decide how much of his income he would like to save now in order to be able to spend it later, but a bottom line, which guarantees a dignified life after retirement, should be maintained. Unemployment benefits should be conditioned on the acceptance of job offers. Besides, they should be faded out in such a way as to leave a reasonable increase in income for those who pick up low-wage jobs. All this can and must be done and there are many ways to achieve it.
Pragmatism, creativity and a spirit of innovation are required. The message of the Third Way is however a renewal of the idea that each citizen is entitled to a dignified standard of living when all his own efforts have failed. The guarantee of a decent life is not dependent on economic merit but a human right. It might be more necessary than before that the individual can prove that he has undertaken everything possible to earn his own living, but in case of failure, he has a right to social solidarity and he has a right that the blame for market failures are not put on his shoulders alone, so that in addition to poverty and insecurity he would be stigmatized with failure, remorse and blame. For all these reasons the Third Way could prove a meaningful concept for the renewal of social democracy only to the degree to which it offers meaningful welfare state reforms without discarding the guarantee of social security. Otherwise it would not only damage the public identity of social democracy and deny its confession of basic values, but also contribute to social disintegration.
Therefore, a Third Way project must conform by a concept not just of opportunities for all, but of social justice, which implies the guarantee of a minimum standard of material well being. Of course, such a guarantee implies the individual's obligation to seize every opportunity offered to him by the markets or the society to make his own living. Thus, employability, may be one of the useful objectives for welfare state reform, but not the sufficient condition for a renewed social democratic project as long as there are not enough jobs available for everybody. And finally I would like to draw this essay to an end with a discussion on one of the most disputed features in the Third Way project as it is has been offered by Tony Blair is its concept of a general culture of entrepreneurship for all members of modern societies. It is meant to do away with the widespread attitude of entitlement, and, consequentially, allow for a major increase in labour market flexibility, welfare state reduction and a related increase in self-determined voluntary social activities.
The main thrust of the concepts seems to be towards overcoming the deeply rooted welfare consensus, which is prevalent in most European societies. Some of the distinguished promoters of the Third Way project such as Blair, Giddens, and in have repeatedly declared that the individual independent of the degree of education, job qualification, or social position must start to consider him or herself as an entrepreneur, fully responsible for his own fate in the world of markets. Everybody should develop awareness that the risks of the labour market are in the last instance ones own risks and not failures created by default structures of society which entitle the individual to strong social guarantees. Such a major cultural change, which amounts to adopting a substantial portion of neo-liberal culture, would have serious consequences at two levels. According to its critics at the structural level, it would reduce the welfare state subsidies to support for employability. At the socio-psychological level, the individuals at the lower strata of society would get the feeling, that beyond this limited support there is no reliable social security, which they are entitled to, whatever the outcome of their efforts in the labour market in the last instance, will be.
Individuals would have to accept almost unlimited degrees of economic and social flexibility. In conclusion I shall prefer to sit on the fence and watch this argument unravel itself. Although the Third Way is similar for all the European governments, each one of them as a different set of policies and topics of their own and differing methods as to how to achieve these objectives. Third Way needs three structural elements to succeed suggests Szreter: First, the need of moral principles and priorities is essential.
Second, a clear ideology with more details needs to be related to the real world. Third, these principles need to be clear, with policies and practices on how to change current policies to the Third Way policies. (5) Finally we are in the middle of an exciting journey to which only time holds the answer. 1. Britain recycling the Third Way Alan Ryan Spring 1999 2. Third Way debate summary (web) 3. New Statesman (In a speech of the Third Way) 22 nd May 1998 4.
The Political Quarterly Publishing Co. Ltd 1999 5. New Statesman (Social Capital, the economy and the third way) 8 th May 1998 Bibliography: BIBLIOGRAPHY &# 61623; Blair Tony. (1996), New Britian, Clays LTD &# 61623; Giddens Anthony. (2000), The Third Way and its Critics, Polity Press &# 61623; Giddens Anthony. (1998), The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy, Cambridge Polity &# 61623; Hargreaves Ian. (1998) Tomorrows Politics: The Third Way and Beyond, London Demos &# 61623; Powell Martin. (1999) New Labour: New Welfare State? The Third Way in British Social Policy, Bristol Polity &# 61623; Harrington Patrick. The Third Way-An Answer to Blair, (web) &# 61623; Alberto Assad. (1998) The Third Way: The Radical Centre, University of Colorado (web) &# 61623; Jones B. (2001) Politics UK, Longman 4 TH edition
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