Atlas / Comparisons / Neoliberalism vs Third Way
Neoliberalism and Third Way
Measured distance across six axes
The same broad family. They agree within three points on AU, SC, ID. No axis separates them by eight points or more.
Axis by axis
| Axis | Mont Pèlerin, Chicago | New Labour, New Democrats | Gap | Reading | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EC · Economic organisation | +09 | +03 | 6 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
| CU · Social and cultural order | +01 | −04 | 5 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
| AU · Organisation of power | −02 | −03 | 1 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| SC · Scale of decision | +02 | +04 | 2 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| ID · Rule of membership | −02 | −04 | 2 | Agrees | Effectively the same position. Not what an argument between them is about. |
| CH · Method and tempo | −02 | −08 | 6 | Differs | Real difference, but not the dividing line. |
Each axis runs from −10 to +10; the distance is the straight-line separation across all six at once, out of a maximum of 49.0. How the scoring works →
The evidence behind the widest gaps
A distance figure is worth nothing unless the scores behind it can be checked. These are the artefacts supporting the axes that separate these two most.
Mont Pèlerin, Chicago · EC +09
Far market pole on doctrine, with the important caveat that most named exponents rejected pure laissez-faire.
- Programme textThe 1947 Mont Pèlerin statement of aims defends the market order and also the rule of law and a competitive framework.
New Labour, New Democrats · EC +03
Coded +3: to the economic right of the postwar conservative parties in the same countries.
- Documented act or statuteBank of England independence in 1997, PFI for public investment, and no renationalisation.
What this comparison does not establish
Proximity means similarity of stated position. It carries no claim about competence, circumstance, scale of operation, or what either organisation actually did to the people under it. Two organisations can sit close together and produce entirely different histories, because those things are not on any axis and could not be.
Neoliberalism
1947– · International
Market competition as the organising principle of policy, insulated from democratic interference by rules and independent institutions.
Third Way
1992–2010 · UK, US, Germany
Accept the market settlement, invest the proceeds in public services, and compete for the centre ground.
Distance is not the whole answer. Two organisations can sit the same distance apart for entirely different reasons, and the reason is the content of any claim about them. Open the comparison in the atlas to weight the axes yourself.
Open in the atlas