New Labour's communitarianisms

Abstract

This article argues that communitarianism can be analysed on different levels—sociological, ethical and meta—ethical—and along different di mensions—conformist—pluralist, more conditional-less conditional, progressive-conservative, prescriptive-voluntary, moral-socioeconomic and individual-corporate. We argue that New Labour's communitarian ism 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 pre scriptive, conservative and individual communitarianisms. This is at the expense of less conditional and redistributional socioeconomic, progress ive 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 conserva tive.