ken livingstone re: third wank

The Third Way is a product of its age. The collapse of the Soviet Union has completely disorientated the left. Many welcomed what they saw as the democratisation of Eastern Europe, regarding the reintroduction of capitalism into the USSR as the best chance of liberating the people there. The bi-polar world was abolished, and optimism reigned.

Seen in retrospect, this optimism was misplaced, and the illusions are having to be shed fast. The new world order has turned out to be a disaster for the vast majority of the people of the planet, with huge capital flows out of the third world, and a succession of irresponsible interventions by the dominant world power - the USA - allowed to go unopposed. Social democracy has looked on, impotent, and often supportive of the inroads being made by neoliberalism.