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Here we explore socialism – an ideology that, uniquely, sprang from the industrial revolution and the experience of the class that was its product, the working class. Though a more coherent ideology than conservatism, socialism has several markedly different strands. In order to appreciate these, and the roots of socialism in a concrete historical experience, we explore its
9780719081033_2_C13.qxd 1/20/10 9:09 Page 274 13 Socialism and liberalism Historians who have wanted to emphasise the limited ambitions of organised labour in modern Britain have developed the notions of ‘labourism’ and subordination to the established order to encompass not only Victorian Liberalism but also the formative years of the Labour Party. Thus they have seen twentieth-century trade unionists as having a degree of autonomy and assertiveness in the economic sphere, possibly even increasing as their organisations grew in strength. However, they have
11 Progressivism to democratic socialism: the special case of Dr Christopher Addison Kenneth O. Morgan David Marquand’s lengthy career and prolific writings have been mainly devoted to championing a mighty cause – uniting and mobilising the forces of centre-left progressivism and thus overthrowing the Conservative dominance of post-1918 British politics. David once termed it ‘a marriage of Tom Paine and William Morris’, which might have been as stormy as Morris’s marriage in real life. It is what Roy Jenkins and the Blairites in the mid-1990s called ‘the
4 Rethinking socialism and education Education towards Revolution seems to me to express in three words what our policy should be; towards that New Birth of Society which we know must come, and which, therefore, we must strive to help forward so that it may come with as little confusion and suffering as may be. (William Morris 1886)1 Radical struggles over education These are the words of William Morris, British writer, designer, artist and socialist. He joined the newly formed Democratic Federation in 1883, though an early split resulted in the foundation of
change. The period also witnessed the emergence of collectivism as a hotly debated topic in political circles. Often used synonymously with ‘socialism’, collectivism became a topic of interest for individuals from across the political spectrum, many of whom engaged in fierce discussions, at both local and national level, about the merits and feasibility of using the state to alleviate unemployment, low pay, long working hours, poverty in old age and other social ills. Working-class radicals actively participated in these debates and often took the lead in organising
Based on a single interviewee's comment that the Acton firefighters’ benefit gig of 2002 was more of a ‘socialist’ act than supporting an anti-racist campaign by playing RAR in April 1978, Bedford ( 2014 : 62) commented: ‘[Strummer] became, if anything, more radical at the end of his life.’ This is a thin argument for it also does not consider a welter of other material, quite apart from incorrectly treating union struggles as synonymous with socialism (given non-socialists do support union struggles) and equating socialism with economism
2 The character of Spanish Socialism: a historical overview, 1879–1982 The PSOE is acutely mindful of its history and traditions and this awareness of the past is a key element in the contemporary party’s self-affirmation (Gunther, 1986: 10; Tezanos, 1989: 436; Juliá, 1990: 270; Maravall, 1992: 7; Heywood, 1994a: 3). In order to analyse today’s PSOE it is necessary to consider the party’s historical legacy. Indifferent to electoral politics during the first three decades of its existence following its establishment in 1879, the PSOE emerged – electorally – as
Socialism, suffering, and religious mystery 9 •• Socialism, suffering, and religious mystery: Margaret Harkness and Olive Schreiner Angharad Eyre In 1888, in To-day, Margaret Harkness published an allegory, ‘The Gospel of Getting On’, which suggested that socialists were the only true nineteenth-century Christians. She dedicated the allegory to Olive Schreiner, the South African author famous for The Story of An African Farm (1883), whom she had met during the 1880s in London. Harkness encountered Schreiner’s writing within a wider context of a society that
… they’re breaking the unity of the people [ waḥda ash-shaʽb ].” “Unity [Waḥda]?!” replies Bilal, gesturing to our surroundings, “My darling, Unity, Liberty, Socialism [ Ya Habibi, Waḥda, Ḥurrīya, Ishtirākīya ].” Bilal’s tone is sarcastic, and his recitation of the Ba’ath party’s motto almost camp in style. While he succeeded in defusing the
1 Consumer and consumerism under state socialism: demand-side abundance and its discontents in Hungary during the long 1960s György Péteri1 Can consumption in state-socialist societies constitute a relevant field for the student of social issues related to overflow situations? So skeptical readers may wonder, and I cannot blame them. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about these societies is shortages rather than excesses, insufficiency rather than plenty, a lack of almost everything rather than abundance. Indeed, shortages and their