A Step to the Left? Or Just a Jump to the Right? Making Sense of the Third Way on Government and Governance

Since the early 1990s, Left-of-Centre political parties around the world have been engaged in an attempt to redefine their politics under the banner of the 'Third Way'. In attempting to understand the Anglo-American versions of the Third Way, this article argues that while there are clear continuities between the governments of the Third Way and their conservative predecessors, a more accurate precedent can be found in the successive Labor governments in Australia between 1983 and 1996. While this connection has been noted elsewhere, this article seeks to draw it out in terms of the underlying rationale and conception of government. It argues that the proponents of the Third Way share a common perception that government has become 'overloaded' with responsibilities and that they utilise market mechanisms as a pragmatic response to this, which distinguishes them from the New Right's moral critique of the state. The conclusion suggests that although this has the potential to open a space for thinking about how government might proceed differently, the Third Way has thus far failed to realise this potential.