To what extent has New Labour abandoned its socialist ideologies?
Socialism is an ideology that rejects the work of the individual and instead prioritizes the work of the collective and believes the products of the work by the collective should then be distributed equally. Socialism corresponds with equality of outcome which means that it stifles the opportunity for progress or wealth and Winston Churchill considered it “the equal sharing of misery”. In order to combat this negative image, Tony Blair implanted the third way; an amalgamation of the better elements of socialism and capitalism. However, in order to achieve this amalgamation, Blair had to reject several socialist beliefs.
Prior to Blair’s leadership of the Labour party in 1994, the Labour party was exclusively a party for the working class and had been since its start in the 1900s. Founded out of trade unions and the socialist parties of the time, it was essentially a parliamentary pressure group at first, campaigning for the rights of what they believed were the majority. Because it was a party born out of industrialization, it is understandable that it would focus on conditions for the workers it represented which, particularly in the 1900s, were very poor. The Labour Party in England followed the doctrine of evolutionary socialism, perhaps because it identified there was efficiency in a capitalist market as well as the moral vision of socialism. Evolutionary socialism believed in gradualism and corresponded with the Fabian Society, a society that promoted the idea that ‘socialism would develop naturally’. For this reason, the Fabian society and the Labour party are linked, even today.
Old Labour was a dogmatic ideology that believed in social justice, managed economy and universal benefits. After Thatcher’s deregulation polices went into effect, Old Labour pushed for nationalization and high tax of the rich with renewed vigor. Both of these policies corresponded with the socialist core values such as collectivism, common ownership and class conflict. These policies appealed to the working class, whom the Old Labour party represented, however, it was their other policies that let them down and led them to be defeated three times in the general election. Old Labour’s 1983 manifesto, coined ‘the longest suicide note ever’ proposed to withdraw from Europe, implement unilateral nuclear disarmament and renationalize all the previously state owned companies thatcher had de-regulated. The problem for Labour was that they went severely toward the left wing just after Thatcher had firmly brought Britain to the right. As well as this, the Old Labour party was severely divided due to ideological differences and because of this, there became an extension of the Labour Party, the Social Democratic Party. Adding on to the Labour party’s growing list of problems was the fact that Clause IV was exclusive to the working class and this would alienate a whole demographic of voters.
Tony Blair completely turned the Labour Party on its head by creating the third way. The third way was the selection of the better elements of socialism and capitalism and incorporated ‘big tent politics’ in order to appeal to a wider range of people. On the political spectrum, the third way covers centre left up to centre right and therefore, was the approachable party for the majority. Described as “Thatcherism with a smile”, it included neo-liberalism and social justice. Essentially it was economically conservative and offered the hand up in regards to welfare, a contrast to Old Labour’s hand out. This hand up was also not to the same extent as Old Labour, instead of being ‘cradle to grave’, it was ‘welfare to work’ which was a Thatcher influenced aspect. Because of this, many strongly socialist members of the Labour party resented Blair for creating ‘blatcherism’ and considered it a rejection of a socialist managed economy. new clause iv, third way,
No it has not: NMW, NHS (Mantra – education x 3) new deal, sure star, eu
Yes it has: Low spending economic policies, free market, privatization, carried on thatcher’s policies Many of the socialist ideologies do not correspond with the modern age. The working class are no longer the minority, socialism is effective on paper but not in real life as identified by Russia, china, etc. and challenges the very basics of human nature. Humans are inherently selfish and if faced with it will focus on the individual rather the collective. In order to achieve anything, there needs to be a happy medium, something that Blair believed he had accomplished.
Conclusion: ed Milliband, one nationism, labour would still carry out cuts – but with fairness. Jeremy corbyn