New Labour and the theory of globalization - Virgin Media.pdfVIP

 M I C H A E L R U S T I N University of East London New Labour and the theory of globalization Abstract This article argues that the theoretical basis of the New Labour project was sociological in its framing, drawing in particular on the ideas of Anthony Giddens. The theory of globalization, individualization and risk advanced by him and others became the rationale for New Labour’s rejection of ‘traditional’ socialist and welfare ideologies, holding the col- lectivist, materialist and class-based politics that these had upheld to be now obsolete. However, it is argued that Marxist analytic perspectives retain their relevance in understanding the dynamics of what is more clearly understood as global capitalism than in the more diffuse language of globalization. The concept of systemic contradiction developed by sociologists such as David Lockwood in the 1980s retains its relevance as an analytical resource in contemporary capitalist society. Key words: Anthony Giddens, globalization, Marx, New Labour, systemic conflict One under-recognized difference between the era of Thatcherism and that of New Labour lies in the theoretical frameworks which justified these two political projects. The intellectual authorities by which the Thatcherites were inspired were primarily free-market economists, such as Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek. The discipline of sociology was their particular bête noire, being held responsible (not altogether unreasonably it must be said) for the legitimation of social democratic concerns about inequality, social injustice, and the neces- sity for an active role of the state in redressing such wrongs. Thatcher’s aphorism, ‘there is no such thing as society, only individuals and their