Third Way

Term coined by New Labour, indicating that the Party seeks a compromise between heartless neo-liberalism and uneconomical socialism.

The Third Way as a political theory

New concepts in politics and economy are often described as the 'Third Way' - a political theory or ideology that lies in between to traditional, political approaches. First of all, the 'Third Way' was seen as a compromise between capitalism and communism. Nowadays, it also characterises a middle course between to political camps or ideologies within one political system. With Tony Blair becoming Prime Minister on May 2, 1997 the concept of the 'Third Way' reappeared on the stage of politics. The term became more a symbol for the transformation and modernisation of social democracy, rather than a simple alternative to the two old ways of socialism and capitalism.

Anthony Giddens, director of the London School of Economics and Political Scienes (LSE), defines it as an attempt to unit socialist and neo-liberal ideas and as a chance to deepen and widen democracy.