The Third Way takes for granted that the state is neither the problem nor the solution, that unfettered markets can cause much havoc and suffering, and that carefully contained markets can be powerful engines of economic growth and employment. So far, all the societies that have adopted the Third Way - though they differ in how they combine the roles of state and market have neglected the third pillar. In my view, they will have to strengthen it if they are to make much further progress. I believe that, in the years to come, communities must shoulder an increasing share of social services, because they do it at lower cost to the public, and with greater humanity, than either the state or the market. In the past, communities were largely residential.
Mutuality is central to communities.
We see mutuality at work in, for example, crime prevention, childcare, care of the sick and in bereavement. The state-citizen relationship also tends to the instrumental. There is a wealth of evidence that people who live in communities benefit, both physically and mentally. In 1988, Wellsburg, in western Virginia, had a particularly high incidence of heart disease - 29 per cent above the national average. Then the community decided to do something about it, organising walks, healthy suppers, aerobics classes and so on.