Plumbers et al

[PHILLPS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Stephen,

The term "neo-socialist" is used in Canada to refer to those on the
left that (or perhaps I should say who were once on the left) that
have embraced the neo-liberal agenda (free trade, deregulation,
contraction of the social wage, reduction in social programmes and
the safety net, etc.) but who argue that this is necessary to
redirect resources to the most needy and to take them away from
the priveledged and protected few (like public sector workers,
university professors, teachers, nurses, unionists, etc.)  This
is precisely the line taken by Roger Douglas in New Zealand when
I debated him a few weeks ago.  In our case, it is frequently
allied with a populist appeal and a sense of regional grievance.

My reference to _new_ left refered to the fact that these people
were frequently associated with the new left (some in the US
universities) in the 1960s and 70s and, like many of the US new
left, have turned somewhat reactionary (in the scientific sense
of that word) to what the welfare state/labour management accord
(or Fordist regime if you would prefer) has produced.

Paul Phillips