ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the programmatic change of Social Democratic parties regarding the Dual Welfare State and especially regarding economic management. The international political interactions and economic connectedness have indeed grown since 1975. Social Democracy emerged in response to the challenges posed by industrial capitalism and the concomitant ideology of liberalism. The concept of the Third Way seeks to reform Social Democracy in addressing some issues as well as taking into account contemporary challenges associated with globalisation, individualism, political polarity, the new dialogue with science and technology, ecology and the transformation of values and lifestyles. The positions of a Social Democratic party are measured in a threefold way: by developing a Third Way scale; by using an electorate-oriented scale; and by employing a Left-versus-Right scale. Educational expenditures emerge as being hardly related to the political features of party government. This seems at odds with the political ideas of Social Democracy.
