The Centre Left and New Right Divide? Political Philosophy and Aspects of UK Social Policy in the Era of the Welfare State

The book offers solutions to the difficulties associated with moving from philosophical generalities to specific policies, by exploring how a bridge might be built between political philosophy and social policy analysis. It is in the light of these findings that the book critically evaluates the relationship between the Centre-Left and the New Right in UK policy and politics. It focuses on how the concepts of individual autonomy and equality are used by political philosophers, examining UK training, education, social security, and community care policy. The main contention is that the Centre-Left and the New Right share a number of important value commitments which have profoundly affected the kinds of welfare policies that are promoted by each position. This consensus is partly due to the way both positions promote particular values, but also that both positions similarly deal with the problem of competing values. Because the Centre-Left and New Right offer pluralistic solutions to this problem, values associated with one position can often gain a purchase on the other. However, the book also argues that this consensus is not an unproblematic one for two main reasons: (a) small differences in value commitment can still have an exaggerated effect in terms of policy outcomes, and (b) the Centre-Left and New Right often offer different pluralistic solutions to value conflict even though many of the values promoted are similar.