Third Way Between Capitalism and Socialism

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Can there be a third way between capitalism and socialism? The Third Way is essentially an essentially a centrist philosophy, finding a middle ground between capitalism and socialism. The third way is a term to describe a hybrid form of economic government, combining some elements of a free market economy with some elements of a planned economy. Many proponents of the Third Way view it as a step forward from both market liberalism and democratic socialism, taking the best elements from both to create a completely unique system. The Third way was a way to defuse the fight between socialism and capitalism. In the early 20th, a number of governments began to implement Third Way programs, including both the progressive movements of countries like the United States under Roosevelt, and the Fascist governments of countries like Spain and Italy. Following World War 2, capitalism was the ascendant philosophy, and although the Third Way remained a viable economic movement, it had much less steam than it had in the past. This remained true until centre-left governments began springing up throughout Europe, a process that was exacerbated by the fall of the Berlin Wall. As socialist ideologies began to take hold in traditional capitalist bastions, the strong free-market philosophies seen in leaders the likes of Ronald Reagan and Thatcher needed a way to move forward. The third way offered a compromise that could ring centre left members of government on board, while still pushing through an agenda of privatisation, globalisation and deregulation of the market. Many of the most fervent advocates of both socialism and capitalism dislike the Third Way, seeing it as a failure to adhere to either system. Strong supporters of democratic socialism tend to find its free-market policies unacceptable, and often see it as using certain socialised systems to continue pacifying the
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