Third Ways

[Michael Perelman]

The third way is a dead end street.  In the United States, where only a
small fraction of the people vote, the idea is to appeal to the Republicans
rather than to reach out to populist Democrats, who have abandoned electoral
politics.

The Republicans follow an equally cynical road, attempting to discourage
voter turnout.

The Democrats, by following the third way, have an electoral strategy that
does not offend their major donors, which seems to be an overriding
concern.  The third way seems to be little more than a confession of
intellectual and political bankruptcy.

Jesse Jackson's first run at the presidency showed how effective a populist
strategy would be, even within the bounds of conventional electoral
politics.

I suspect that the appeal of the third way is connected with another thread,
namely how few people have moved from the right to the left.

--

Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
Chico, CA 95929
530-898-5321
fax 530-898-5901