Driver, Stephen and Martell, Luke (1997) New Labour's communitarianisms. Critical Social Policy, 17 (52). pp. 27-46. ISSN 0261-0183

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Abstract

This article argues that communitarianism can be analysed on different levels — sociological, ethical and meta—ethical — and along different dimensions — conformist/pluralist, more conditional/less conditional, progressive/conservative, prescriptive/voluntary, moral/socioeconomic and individual/corporate. We argue that New Labour's communitarianism is a response to both neo-liberalism and old social democracy. It is sociological, ethical and universalist rather than particularist on the meta-ethical level. Labour increasingly favours conditional, morally prescriptive, conservative and individual communitarianisms. This is at the expense of less conditional and redistributional socioeconomic, progressive and corporate communitarianisms. It is torn between conformist and pluralist versions of communitarianism. This bias is part of a wider shift in Labour thinking from social democracy to a liberal conservatism which celebrates the dynamic market economy and is socially conservative.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Law, Politics and Sociology > Politics School of Law, Politics and Sociology > Sociology
Subjects:	J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN0101 Great Britain J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General)
Related URLs:	http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/ssfa2/nlco...
Depositing User:	Chris Keene
Date Deposited:	13 Feb 2008
Last Modified:	23 Apr 2018 16:10
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/1308
Google Scholar:	116 Citations

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