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New Labour “project” is often regarded outside of Britain as a successful example of how social democracy can be modernized. “The progressive consensus” is what the country’s new prime minister, Gordon Brown, calls it. Tony Blair, his predecessor, often spoke of New Labour as representing “the third way” in democratic politics. The joint creators of the project that started thirteen years ago sought a grand narrative for their party that would reconcile constitutional government with the dynamic challenges posed by globalization and rapid technological change.
In their contrasting personal styles, they claimed that they wanted to make Labour’s century-old ethical values of liberty, equality, and fraternity relevant to the modern world—and not only in Britain. Brown and Blair believed that their project held important significance for the progressive left everywhere.
They wanted to marry economic efficiency with social fairness through the development of a...
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