The Third Way, safeguarding social justice - Mahinda Chintana

The election manifesto of UPFA Presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapake titled Mahinda Chintana (Mahinda's Vision) was released yesterday at the BMICH. Well-known media personality Janadasa Peiris assesses the Mahinda Chintana and third way politics of the new social democracy.

A hundred and fifty years ago Marx wrote that 'a spectre is haunting Europe' - the spectre of socialism or communism'. This remains true, but for different reasons from those Marx had in mind. Socialist and communist systems have collapsed yet the ideals enshrined in them are still inspiring.

The influence of socialism in the socio-economic and political sphere has not waned. The challenge is to make these values count where the economic programme of socialism has become discredited," says Anthony Giddens in his book "The Third Way".

The of theoretical debate among political scientists on how to implement socialism is not of recent origin. These ideological differences go back to, the time of emergence of Marxism, or even beyond it. All such debates and criticism are aimed at finding a better method of involving the Government and the private sector to provide a free and comfortable life to the people.

To cut a long story short, the idea of "The Third Way" evolved as a result of the differences of opinion regarding Socialism and Capitalism. Thus surfaced the concept of Social Democracy in many parts of Europe. This theory asserts pervasive state involvement in social and economic life. State dominates civil society. The role of the market is confined. Mixed or social economy is the economic philosophy of classical Social Democracy.

Social Democracy

The influence of the classical Social Democracy that was pervading the European countries had its bearing on Sri Lanka during that period. In the aftermath of national independence, the United National Party that came to power governed the country according to the capitalist theory while the old Leftist parties reposed faith in Socialism based on Marxism.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party under the leadership of the late Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike emerged between these two philosophies professing a middle path. The late Premier S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike's obsession with the classical Social Democracy was so strong so as to propose the name of his new party as the Social Democratic Party which now we call The Sri Lanka Freedom Party.The first official manifesto of the SLFP runs thus:

"Sri Lanka Freedom Party is a party of the Democratic people. As far as the economic policy is concerned the Party thinks in terms of the people's aspirations. In any country where the majority of its citizens are pressed with poverty and unemployment, or are not in receipt of remuneration commensurate with their labour, the only fruitful solution lies in the direction of Socialism.

Our political vision is that we should uphold and protect democratic freedom and progressive ideologies for the true welfare of the people who lost their self respect due to foreign domination over a long period.

"With regard to the people's culture and religious beliefs, our Party believes that in order to establish true freedom, the above mentioned principles should go hand in hand with the revival of the culture of the people.

Our Party expects to use our national languages and rehabilitate religions to breathe in a new lease of life for spiritual renaissance. "Ushering in a socialist society in keeping with the wishes of the people and depending on the people's cooperation is the objective of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

This is the vision fostered by the SLFP since 1956. We followed the path of development chosen by non-capitalist Third World countries who won independence newly. Accordingly we adopted a socio-economic concept rooted on social welfare and public sector.

Neo-Liberalism

With the fall of the Socialist Camp at the beginning of the 90s the International Communist Movement and the Socialist and Social Democratic countries had to think afresh for alternative policies and strategies.

Thus emerged a new leftist and a new social democracy in many Western European countries. A multitude of factors drove political intellectuals who believed in social democracy to search for a new path. Globalization and its effects, individualism in a changing world, finding a new meaning to democracy and protection of environment loomed large among such factors.

On the other hand, with the collapse of socialism a new rightist camp was emerging. This new rightist movement is the Neo-liberalism many of us talk about today. According to this concept, the Government involvement in social affairs is minimal and it envisages an autonomous civil society a market fundamentalism, tolerance of inequality and low ecological consciousness.

Neo-liberalism gained ground in Europe during the regimes of Ronald Reagan in America and Margaret Thatcher in the United Kingdom. This concept can be reckoned as an extreme rightist economic concept as it paid minimal attention to social welfare. The open economy in the aftermath of 1977 general elections in Sri Lanka is founded on this policy of Reagan-Thatcher Neo-liberalism.

By now we have experienced the advantages and disadvantages of Market Fundamentalism. All Leftist parties led by Sri Lanka Freedom Party too have faced all these experiences.

It is no secret that the constituent parties of the Left wing were exhaustively vigilant to find out ways of defeating this neo-liberal economy in order to safeguard social justice. In the People's Alliance election manifesto of 1994, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga pledged to give a humanitarian outlook to the concept of open economy in order to retrieve the people from the clutches of neo-liberalism.

Throughout the decade that followed, the PA economic policy in varying degrees gave priority to achieve this objective.

The UNP pro-alien policy

While the leftist parties in Sri Lanka were striving to give a humanitarian face-lift to the market economy, political intellectuals in Europe endeavoured to find a third way as the cruel effects of the Reagan-Thatcher neo-liberalism came to be felt more and more.

In Sri Lanka, the atrocity of neo-liberalism came hard on the people since the United National Front came into power in December 2001 and implemented a neo-liberalist economic policy. Terms like "foreign forces", "Sale of state assets", "betrayal of country to foreigners", "cultural erosion", and "burial of religious and cultural morals" entered our political vocabulary in novel guise owing to the United National Party adopting a pro-alien policy in its raw form. This became their official policy through their "Regaining Sri Lanka" programme.

In 2004, the United People's Freedom Alliance manifesto came into being with the objective to defeat the danger of flourishing neo-liberalism. Currently, with the Presidential Election in view, all these conditions are taking shape and consolidating afresh once again. The "Mahinda Chintana" which is the Presidential election manifesto of Premier Mahinda Rajapakse saw the light of day on October 16 against this backdrop.

"This planet Earth and its ecosystem belongs to you. Not only should you own it, you should also protect it for future generations. A ruler is not the owner of your children's heritage but only its temporary trustee."

This is the pronouncement of United People's Freedom Alliance Presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse. This pronouncement of Mahinda Rajapakse sums up his thirty-five years of political experience and his convictions and understanding of global political revolutions.

Mahinda Chintana is astonishingly compatible with the "Third Way" political philosophy of recent European origin. Anthony Giddens, the renowned analyst of the political philosophy "Third Way" which originated in Europe in the aftermath of the collapse of Socialism and emergence of globalization, in his book "The Third Way, The Renewal of Social Democracy" summarises this philosophy thus: "Social Equality must be preserved. Vulnerable ethical principles should be protected.

Individual freedom is fundamental in that regard. No rights without responsibility. No authoritative powers outside democracy. While acknowledging the multifaceted nature of the universe,traditions must be protected on philosophical basis. The new leftist movement of Europe has suggested a ten-fold programme to attain this end.

Accordingly the need to establish a new democratic society. Civil society should be active and protective of family life. The new Social Democrats believe in a mixed economy motivated to attain a welfare state through social investment".

In my view, the 'Mahinda Chintana' introduced today carries this vision in a nutshell. The fundamental principles embodied in the manifesto, as I have learnt are as follows:

1.This country of ours is to be made the birth place of a people who respect freedom, democracy, discipline, peace and social justice.

2.To build up unity,understanding and co-existence among all communities while respecting the national identity of each other.

3.To bring into existence a country where righteousness prevails through sharing of power for the welfare of all.

4.To build up a nation of top level literacy, intellect and health.

5.To build up a labour force of human resources equipped with technological expertise superseding the level of the rest of the world.

6.To adopt a dynamic and balanced national economic policy capable of withstanding international market challenges and complexities.

7.Giving priority to make a wholesome man above all else.

Through the new Social Democratic vision alias the Third Way, it is the individual who receives priority and to the family. The Mahinda Chintana, which prioritizes subjects such as the citizen's task for a disciplined society, priority for the mother, women's empowerment and respect for senior citizens totally compatible with the European New Leftist political philosophy of "the Third Way".

Here, I wish to deal with only a handful of main factors in the 'Mahinda Chintana' - (Mahinda's vision)

Jana Sevana programme

The programmes of "Janasetha", "Janasevana", and "Navoda Villages" are motivated to strengthen the concept of the welfare state to alleviate poverty among the poorest of the poor. The poverty alleviation programme of Samurdhi Movement is known as the "Janasetha" programme.

It ensures a job opportunity to one member of each and every poor family in addition to the monthly allowance under the Janasetha programme. "Janasevana" programme aims at providing a house and a piece of land for everyone.

The PA Governnment did not initiate the Samurdhi programme merely to hand out relief. Its objective is to provide an impetus for poor people to stand on their own feet instead of depending on aid perennially. The programmes of Janasetha, Janasevana and Navoda villages is an extension of the same policy.

Protection of environment is another major feature of differences between the new social Democratic principles and those of the Reagan-Thatcher neo-liberalism alias new rightist policy. The ecological consciousness of the neo-liberalists is low while the new Socialist Democrats give prominence to the protection of environment. Mahinda Chintana is in line with this principle.

Under the theme "Land full of greenery - Sustainable environmental conservation "Mahinda Chintana envisages a lasting development process hand in hand with the ecosystem assuring a green heritage for the future generation.

Pension scheme

Anthony Giddens, the Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science, in his book "The Third Way" states that the objective of a fruitful welfare state should focus attention to invest on human resources more than investing on capital. According to him that is the acknowledged vision of the European New Leftist movement today.

They believe in the continuance of a pension scheme for elders to ensure social security. The Mahinda Chintana has assured not only the continuance of the Government pension scheme but also the establishment of a National Pension Scheme and a felicitation programme for senior citizens.

The "Nena Bala Neguma" under education is the most conspicuous feature that I observed in the Mahinda Chintana. Mahinda Rajapakse explaining his views in this regard assured that he will never deprive our children of their right to free education. Under the programme "Universities for all" opportunities for higher education will be enhanced.

Attention has been paid to quantity of university admissions,establishment of new universities and provision of employment to graduates. In addition, computer education which will be expanded and our rural areas will be linked to the Internet under the "Navoda Villages" eNena sela programme which is a step in the correct direction in keeping with the modern Information Technology developments. This is quite compatible with Anthony Giddens writings on the Renewal of Social Democracy. On the subject of Education he states:

"Education and training have become the new mantra for social democratic politicians. Tony Blair famously describes his three main priorities in Government as 'education, education, education'. The need for improved education skills and skills training is apparent in most industrial countries, particularly as far as poorer groups are concerned.

Who could gainsay that a well-educated population is desirable for any society? Investment in education is an imperative of Government today, a key basis of the 'redistribution of possibilities'. Yet, the idea that education can reduce inequalities in a direct way should be regarded with some scepticism.

A great deal of comparative research,in the US and Europe, demonstrates that education tends to reflect wider economic inequalities and these have to be tackled at source."

Mahinda Chintana' which is the presidential election manifesto of Premier Rajapakse acknowledges this fact. Finally, if some reference is not made about Premier's policy on globalization and about the theory of power sharing in the face of the national problem, it creates a void. Anthony Giddens on the analysis of the vision of Third Way states: "Third Way politics should take a positive attitude towards globalization -but, crucially, only as a phenomenon ranging much more widely than the global marketplace.

Social democrats need to contest economic and cultural protectionism, the territory of the far right, which sees globalization as a threat to national integrity and traditional values. Economic globalization plainly can have destructive effects upon local self-sufficiency.

Yet, protectionism is neither sensible nor desirable. Even if it could be made to work, it would create a world of selfish and probably warring economic blocs. Third Way politics should not identify globalization with a blanket endorsement of free trade. Free Trade can be an engine of economic development, but given the socially and culturally destructive power of markets, its wider consequences need always to be scrutinized."

The Presidential election manifesto "Mahinda Chintana" says the same thing and nothing different. He opens his manifesto thus:"I am committed to establish a country which will confront international trade challenges and their perplexities successfully and build up an indigenous economy capable of standing on its own through a balanced economic strategy which will uplift the living standard of the citizen".

As far as the National Problem is concerned, in spite of various distortions made to his views, Mahinda Rajapakse is by no means a racist or a religious fanatic. On the concept of unitary state he is for maximum power sharing. He has pledged to usher in a righteous power sharing society for the common good and welfare of all.

Mahinda Chintana is a timely and logical step forward on the same first official election manifesto of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. There is not an iota of doubt about Mahinda Rajapakse's determination to march forward steadily on the intelligent socialist democratic principles professed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.