The Rise and Fall of the Third Way in the West

In the recent one decade, a concept which is called Third Way has undergone a period of upsurges and fades in western political world. Scholars and experts in China and around the world have expressed a great concern with regard to the Third Way. As a theoretical mechanism and political practice, the Third Way has been expounded as a resolution to cheer up voters and facilitate governance. It rises to the political stage at the outset of a globalization economy and by the end of cold war to face the challenge from social risks. The Third Way claim engages in a pursuit for further development of capitalist society.The emergence of the Third Way has led to an all-around resurrection of western socialism in mid 90s, with its prime time coming through the year of 1998 when 13 out of the 15 member stations of EU saw a dominant or cooperated socialist party’s governance. Failing to realize the proclaimed The Third Way policy and to meet their voters’expectation, these western socialist democratic parties were trapped in a deadlock, which compromised these leftist liberal parties and converted them to a rightist. Their political base was loosened at the cost of a draining political source– the low class voters. Administrations of Tony Blair and Gerhard Schr?der manifested the situation in their later phase by being ashamed by mentioning the Third Way or die neue Mitte. In one decade, as its supporters were replaced, the concept faded away. In fact, at the emergence of the concept, the Third Way was encountered with a cross fire of criticism from western scholars. They pointed out that the claim of the Third Way was constructed on a weak theoretical foundation and that its mobilizing function as slogans or watchwords only worked as an outcome of specific historic period. They also declared that its fated destination as thirdwayer were not in power, which has become a definite fact now.The Third Way is a short track in history. However, the transience does not lead us to a dead end of a meaningful contemplation as any dominant political theory marked in the history of political thoughts and is shaping the prospective politics. In a Marxism perspective of the fundamental capitalist contradiction, this dissertation attempts to dig up information and facts in regard to the trajectory of the Third Way proceedings in the Western world. The seemingly isolated political thoughts and movements, parallel or occasionally on crossroad, are examined in a bid to highlight the effect of the fruitless western political upon capitalist system to avoid a superficial and cross-section analysis in the thesis, which is typical in similar Chinese essays on the topic.The fundamental capitalist contradiction is one unalienable attribute, confrontational and decisive in the capitalist system. In hundreds of years of capitalist world, capitalist production relations have been in a process of adjustment and transformation with a hope of alleviating intense social relations, sustaining social functions and fitting the development of productivity. These changes which took place inside the system may only lead to a delay of crisis. The capitalist society will undoubtedly be replaced by an advanced social form. On one hand, production relations need a self-adjustment contingent on all possible realms. And on the other, as the capitalist administrations have exerted all potentials of self-adjustment to their wit’s end, socialism inevitably replaces it. In Das Kapital, Karl Marx states,“The concentration of productive materials and socialization of labour has swelled to an extent that the capitalist shell can never hold. The shell is going to blow. Bell tolls for the private capitalism. The depriving is being deprived.”The internal contradiction of capitalism is taking various forms in its historic process as any existence in the world is taking changes, with its core of fundamental intense, i.e. the contradiction between socialized production and privatization of productive materials, is insoluble. To satiate a progressive society for human sustenance and development, an enterprising socialized productivity is a definite tendency for human society. Whilst, the unshakable private proprietorship institutions being based in capitalist society, all economic activities are running in pursuit of individual profiteering purposes, the impetus for the capitalist society is profit. Adam Smith had an early conscience for the privacy-oriented motivation in the capitalist society. The pursuit for profit is not the exclusive feature of capitalism when the primitive communism disrupted. People accumulate individual properties by means of violence, drafts, and deception. To snatch more stock income at a cost of social justice, capitalist entrepreneurs may laid off staff and pollute environment. The capitalists are producing aspirin and arts along with heroine and porns under their table. Foods and schools are not for those who cannot afford for them. Peter Sanders’intension to compromise with the profit-oriented incentives as something unethical but tolerable is treated by Marxists as an internal cause for all struggle. There is no compromise.Bourgeoisie refused to face with two destinies clarified by Marxism. To delay their sudden end in history, efforts were exerted to reduce the damage of the fundamental contradiction. Capitalist states are competent with the role of the general capitalist.Two prescriptions are invented to make a temporal cure: One is to direct the crisis to foreign countries, the other is to make a reformation to their institution. Conversely, crises become intense as their attempts are put into practical field, although a friendly exploitation is coming through. The reformation is not aiming at overthrowing capitalism institution. As is interpreted in Manifesto of Communist Party,“The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionising the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society.”The twentieth century witnessed an alternation of the two means being shifted in western countries, seeking an alleviation of crises in manners of politics responses. Imperialist wars ceased in the global realm as they are exhausting too much of their power and nationalism are integrating colonial countries or regions. Welfare policy makers were staged from 30s to 70s in 20th century, who stabilized capitalist countries for a span of time. After the 70s’stagflation gave a heavy blow of the consolidated complex built upon the doctrine created by John Keynes, neo-liberalism is taking the place. In 80s, Ronald Reagan and Margret Thatcher condemned the macro-control from the centralized government of Keynes doctrine, which they clamed that was the causal effect for unemployment and polarization of properties as well as risky lives of people. This condemnation was intensified by the rush of globalization galvanized by economy and based on high technology. Emerge of the Third Way conception is another trial to assuage the capitalist contradiction in western countries. Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Gerhard Schr?der, each of these new leaders acted as an heir to socialist democracy and learner of neo-liberalism, seeking for a wholitic integration of market economy and government participation. From a historic inspection it can be ascertained that the Third Way is another adjustment in a pendulum style inside capitalist society.In a retrospective of Marxism, the fading of the Third Way claim in western societies owes to its lack of a perfect economic theory which is an insurmountable inside the frame of capitalist internal intense. The Third Wave, as a science and technology reform, rushed the western world into a speedy development especially in late 70s, which led to a maturity of fundamental contradiction. The pendulum activity between shifting their responsibility into other countries and optimizing social institutions are becoming more in a form of alternation, failing to ward off the internal destruction of capitalist contradiction, but worsening the situation. The spontaneous withdrawal of the Third Way concept in western world marks the radicalization of the dead end scenario for any resolution. Capitalist societies are trapped in a period called permanent interim. The safe and well situation of any political theory or state policy can barely emerge in the frame of capitalist mechanism.