什麼是「第三條路J?本文梭討英美第三條路的幾項重要主張及其相關爭議，並提出一些反省和批評。過去二十多年闕，歐洲各國福利體制無不面臨且是峻的挑戰，而近年來隨著經濟全球化與區域化步伐的加快，以及結構性失業、產業結構改變、勞動市場轉型、高辦化等問題之浮現，來自於內外的改革壓力史是有增無滅。基於此一體認，各種改革的版本、策略或路線應運而生，而布萊爾和李登士所主張的「第三條路」不過是其中之一。英國第三條路論者對於傳統歐美福利國家體制傲自了深刻的批判，但他們以「打擊福利依賴」、「培育工作倫理J、「沒有責任就沒有被利」、「打進理想公氏」為基祠的聲套說法與做法卻不無值千字商榷之處。本文嘗試說明第三條路其實是一種與新右派十分接近的政治路線，而這種政治最令人詬病之處在於視而不見失業與貧窮問題的主閱，轉而採取一種道德威權主義色彩教烈、以II瀉的辭令與手腕對待弱勢者的統治方式。

According to Anthony Giddens， the third way goes beyond both ‘old·style social democracy' and 'neo-liberalism'， and as such it represents the political renewal of social democracy. So what is the third way? To what extent is the project true to the ideals of European social democracy and American New Deal liberalism? This article takes the view that ‘work'is central to third·way politics， and that understanding its attitudes towards work is a prerequisite of understanding much else that it does. The third·way welfare reform aims to promote work ethic through workfare programs， so as to‘end welfare as we knew it'. The article examines these key ideas and their logic， and some of their practical consequences. Itconcludes that the Anglo.American third way is no more than a moderate version of Thatcherism， and represents a return to the principles of the New Poor Law of 1834. The authoritarianism of third·way politics is subjected to critical scrutiny.