Examines the social policies associated with 'third ways' in European social democracy. It focuses on the Third Way in terms of discourse (e.g. a rhetoric of reconciliation), values (e.g. solidarity, equity), and policy goals and mechanisms (e.g. maximizing employment; containing public spending and strengthening the social investment component of welfare states). Our main conclusion is that the current position is best represented by one-third way with several variants, and that there is greater similarity on the level of policy content than on values or discourse.
Keywords: employment, European social democracy, policy goals, policy mechanisms, public spending, social investment, social policy, Third Way, discourse, values,