Is There a Third Way

The purpose of this Book is to show that political philosophy really does matter. It comes as a result of "Is there a Third Way ? Workshop held at the 7th Conference of the International Society for the Study of European ideas (ISSEI) at the University of Bergen Norway in August 2000. This question "Is there a Third Way? " This comes at the end of a Millennium and the turn of a Century which has shown vacillations in European Ideas and conflicts from religion to politics to economics to civilizations. The question is therefore whether or not there is a need for a strong body of convictions to exist as a bulwark against the pressures on government to compromise or change policies. Such a question is posed in debates as the importance of the economy in politics but does not simply put economics above everything. This being reductionist questions if there is a "Third Way" beyond economics and politics which would not create an ideological paralysis of political parties and elites which have formal control of nation-states. It also questions whether there are alternative economic systems other than exists today for example the LETS or barter system. In perspective, the Third Way is presented in articles in topics from Theological, Economic, Political and Historical Perspectives.