Conservative and Labor Economic Policies

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the economic policies of Great Britain from 1945 up until the present day. It discusses both conservative and labor policies and shows how they differed. The paper ends by discussing the rise and implementation of the "new labor" policies. It particularly focuses on Tony Blair's vision of government and politics, including his concept of the "third way."

Table of Contents:
1945-1979
The Thatcher-Major Years
A New Context
The Recent Economic and Social History of the United Kingdom
The Political Situation in Britain
The Left/Right Division
Globalization
The Rise of "New Labour"
How New Is New Labour?
The Characteristics Blair's Policies
The Limits of Blairism

From the Paper:

"After World War II, a new economic philosophy called "Keynesianism" - different from the "laissez-faire" of old - became prevalent; to his main proponent, John Maynard Keynes (1883-1945), free operation of the market was a good thing but it might prove insufficient to ensure full employment in the long term. The State itself should therefore see to it that effective demand (Keynes attached primary importance to it rather than supply) was always renewed by spending money (expanding the money supply, a policy known as reflation) in order to increase purchasing power and encourage private investment, i.e. rejuvenate economic activity. The government had therefore to be much more interventionist and to operate demand management (which meant economic planning). This is what the Labour government did when the core of the economy (steel, coal, airlines, railways, banks, petroleum, telephone logic), seen as too important to be left to the marketplace, was nationalized."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Duncan Tanner, Pat Thane & Nick Tiratsoo (eds.), Labour's First Century, Cambridge University Press, 2000
• M. Thatcher, The Downing Street Years, London: Harper Collins, 1993
• B. Brivati & R. Heffernan (eds.), The Labour Party - A Centenary History, London: Macmillan, 2000
• Anthony Giddens, The Third Way and its Critics, Cambridge: Polity, 2001 (1st edition 2000)

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