The Third Sector is an umbrella for a collection of non-government and
non-private sector organisations. These include charities, development
trust, credit unions, co-operatives, NGOs, and a variety of other
not-for-profit organisations. They form a large and rapidly growing part of
the economy. Their growth is in part due to an increase of government's
contract out.
Given that the current crisis is, in part due, to the failure of
institutions, starting with the IMF down to local government. Given that the
alternative of the promotion of private corporations in whether in the form
of Russia cowboy capitalist or Thatcher/Regean era deregulation, is also
proven to have failed. Is not part of the Third Way, new institutions at the
micro-economic level as well?
Thus the Third Way institutional agenda is three fold;
a) Reform of government, a New Labour pre-occupation
b) New and more effective regulation of the corporate world, something New
Labour is afraid to touch. As in the delays in establishing a new railway
regulator
c) Promotion of a network of human scale Third Sector organisations
There is a lot to learn about building & managing effective Third Sector
institutions. Many are reluctant to address the issues as;
a) they are still wedded to all powerful local government as the only form
of true community ownership
b) Bad experiences with the collectivist approaches to management Third
Sector organisation promoted in the 70s & 80s particularly by some in the
worker co-op movement
c) Poor perception of the old mutuals, building societies & traditional
co-operatives
In the era of the Network Society, new management ideas based on
participation can create forward looking and innovative third sector
organisations. Organisations link not by centralised planning but networks.
It is revealing that New Labour is uncomfortable with the Third Sector. It
may be New Labour 's and the Third Ways, fatal flaw that it assigns all
economic development to private sector. It will always be held to ransom as
a result. The Third Sector should be promoted so slowly but increasing
provides an powerful alternative.
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