What is the difference between the third way economy & mixed economy? Are they the same?

Question

What is the difference between the third way economy & mixed economy? Are they the same?

Answer 1

Obviously the present-day economy is not as efficient as it could be. Looking how rapidly the natural sciences and technologies improve, trade globalises and people become smarter, it is well-founded to expect a reasonable improvement to just everyone’s life. Yet the poor get poorer even in the most developed countries and the condition of the nature gets worse in quite too many places. It seems that free capitalism does not work like it is supposed to. On the other hand socialism is doing even worse. How could their mixture do better?

No wonder some people are looking for a third way. However, so far the finds are poor. I have read tens or hundreds of books and articles emphasising the need to get rid of the right-left ideological model, to find a new way to regulate the market economy, to teach people to think global and act local, to generate an ethical model of economy, to produce a new mixture of market sector and non-profit sector etc. But I haven’t seen a single writing about what is the functional difference between the third and the second or the first way; not a single writing containing any kind of theoretical analysis defining third way economic procedures.

If we take seriously the question about a third economic way – I really believe we should – we have to neglect the present political and ideological tinkering and focus on a simple theoretical question: can we define capitalism and socialism so that also a non-capitalist and non-socialist economy is functionally defined. That is the only essential question to find a third way.

A "Mixed" Economy

A "mixed" economy is a mix between socialism and capitalism. It is a hodgepodge of freedoms and regulations, constantly changing because of the lack of principles involved. A mixed-economy is a sign of intellectual chaos. It is the attempt to gain the advantages of freedom without government having to give up its power.

A mixed-economy is always in flux. The regulations never produce positive results, because they always force people to act against their own interests. When a particular policy fails, it is propped up by other regulations in the hopes that more control will produce better results. Sometimes the results are so destructive they must either be removed, or the people must be violently oppressed to make them accept it.