Book reviews

DANIELE CONVERSI, The Basques, The Catalans and Spain: Alternative Routes to Nationalist Mobilization (Hurst, London, 1997), 312 pp., ISBN 1–85065–268–6 (pb)

LEO PANITCH and COLIN LEYS, The End of Parliamentary Socialism: From New Left to New Labour (Verso, London, 1997), 341 pp., ISBN 1–85984–109–0 (pb)

MARK MATTERN, Acting in Concert: Music, Community, and Political Action (Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 1998), 185 pp., ISBN 0–8135–2484–9 (pb)

RICHARD J. GOLSAN (ed), Fascism's Return: Scandal, Revision and Ideology since 1980 (University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London, 1998), 330 pp., ISBN 0–8032–7071–2

KATHERINE FIERLBECK, Globalizing Democracy. Power, Legitimacy and the Interpretation of Democratic Ideas (Manchester University Press, Manchester, 1998), 216 pp., ISBN 0–7190–4995–4 (hb)     

The reform of welfare and the way we live now: A critique of Giddens and the Third Way

The Third Way has been put forward as a framework of political understanding and commitment which transcends the division between the 'old left' and the 'new right' and provides the basis for a renewal of social democracy. This article critically examines the Third Way as a framework for understanding the problems faced by the welfare state and as a model or programme for welfare reform. The main focus is the recent work by Anthony Giddens as a leading exponent of the Third Way. Reference is also made to the ideas of Tony Blair and the discourse of New Labour, and the relationship between these versions of the Third Way is examined.