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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political ideologies > Socialism & left-of-centre democratic ideologies
In this book, first published in 1989, Ken Post and Phil Wright provide a critical analysis of socialist construction in underdeveloped countries. Pointing out that all the socialist revolutions of the twentieth century have occurred in underdeveloped peripheral capitalist countries, they focus on the relationship between socialism and underdevelopment. They bring together the insights of both development theory and the political economy of socialism, and draw upon their direct experience of the state socialist societies as diverse as North Korea, Yugoslavia, Vietnam, and the Soviet Union.
Guild Socialism Restated is G D H Cole's fullest and most systematic account of his vision of industrial and political reorganization. The introductory chapters of the volume develop the theme of democratic citizenship in relation to industrial society. Cole contends that neither capitalism nor state socialism can adequately meet the fundamental requirements of democracy because neither provides institutions through which active citizenship can be achieved. He insists that the latter can only be realized in the realm of industrial relations. The central chapters of the book develop a view of socialist organization in which citizenship is a vital ingredient in every arena -- from that of the workplace to national policymaking.
This volume was Cole's first major work of political economy in almost a decade and it effectively positioned him as a mainstream Fabian who sought to stabilize capitalism before progressing socialism by essentially statist means. Influenced by J A Hobson and Maynard Keynes the imperative for Cole became the formulation of a strategy which would mitigate the suffering of the masses and lay the basis for socialist advance.
This book studies John Strachey, one of the most important left intellectuals in twentieth century Britain. It provides a detailed exposition of his intellectual evolution set in its historical context, thus highlighting the options, pressures, dilemmas and pitfalls besetting British socialists in the turbulent times of the inter and post-war periods.
Socialism first gained a major foothold in Japan after the revolution and the subsequent Meiji restoration of 1868. Against the background of the rapid development of capitalism in Japan after the revolution, and the accompanying emergence of the working class, this study shows how early Japanese socialists drew on both Western influences and elements from traditional Japanese culture. In the early 1980s most of the world interested in Japan was fascinated by its educational system, industrial policy or low crime rates - things which explained the economic miracle and made it 'Number One'. John Crump, however, was searching for the origins of socialist thought there. Historians of the socialist movement before and since the 1980s have described the thought of those who figure in the dramas Crump describes. What sets his study apart is the degree to which the theoretical debates discussed matter to him. Other authors often lack sympathy with, or seem frustrated by, the importance given to apparently trivial differences that consumed endless debate. However, at the time he wrote this book, the author was still an activist, even though his activity manifested itself mainly in his scholarship. His aim was to do more than give an account of the formation of socialist thought in Japan. He wanted his readers to think more deeply about the development of capitalism in Japan. This book made an original contribution to the study of Japan in the 1980s. Its unique perspective shines a bright light on debates still relevant today.
Flora Tristan was a most remarkable woman. Born at the begining of the 19th century, her short life was packed with adventure and achievement. An illegitimate child, she had a disastrous marriage to a husband who tried to kill her. In vain pursuit of her rightful inheritance, she sailed unchaperoned across the perilous Atlantic to Peru. Returning to France, she became a socialist, and feminist, and commited herself to a life of political radicalism. She recognized that until the economic conditions of the poor were alleviated there was little prospect of female emancipation. Her strategy was to establish a union of workers throughout France to press for socialist measures. However, linking the feminist cause to socialism proved to be fraught with difficulty. Flora Tristan found that working class organizations were indifferent, and even hostile, to the idea of female equality. In short, Flora Tristan exemplifies in her life and work, both the history of feminism, in its phases of optimism, realism and dissillusion, and the tensions between feminism and socialism.
This volume sets forth as simply as possible the theoretical foundations which underlie the practical policies of democratic Socialism. This involves both a repudiation and a refutation of the assumptions of the older classical economists who believed in laissez-faire, and a careful differentiation of the economics of democratic Socialism from the neo-classical doctrines associated with the name of Maynard Keynes.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it appeared that development would be defined by the neo-liberal strategy of integration into the world market. This book investigates alternative strategies for developing countries through case studies of Cuba and Vietnam, and with reference to the experience of China. The essays assess the transitions of the two countries to world market integration, with emphasis on the role of state enterprises, structural transformation, and provision of social welfare.
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Pierre Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865) is one of the most important French social theoreticians of the nineteenth century. George Woodcock's book, first published in 1956, was the first full-scale biography of Proudhon in the English language. Proudhon's influence on the French Socialist movement was immense and he played a great part in the First International and Paris Commune, in French syndicalism and in contemporary movements for currency reform. Proudhon's significance also reaches forward into the contemporary era, when his massive distrust of the state and his teaching of the need for world federation took on a new importance in a world threatened by the explosive rivalries of giant nationalistic states.
This reissued work, first published in 1987, examines the problematic and divisive attitudes which bourgeois and socialist feminists take to the question of the links between patriarchy and capitalism and the importance of class conflict as a major cause of women's subordination. Engels still occcupies a central role in this debate and feminists writing in the hundred years since the publication of The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State frequently turn to this book in an attempt to find validation for their central argument. The contributors to this volume reconsider Engels' theories and review evidence from those societies that have attempted to implement his belief that the key to the emancipation of women lies in their entry to social production.
Unashamedly polemical, this reissue of Freedom & Equality, first published in 1986, presents a strong and persuasively argued case for democratic socialism. In contrast to many recent books justifying conservatism and varieties of Marxism, Keith Dixon defends the two great principles underpinning democratic socialism a " freedom and equality. He aims both to restore the idea of freedom to its proper place in the political vocabulary of the left and to defend a stark version of freedom as absence of constraint. Only this version of freedom, he argues, is consistent with the proper defence of civil liberties. Dixon also defends radical egalitarianism from its critics, who either repudiate its full force or reject it out of hand. He believes that freedom and equality are potentially realizable socialist goals, that democratic socialism is not necessarily linked with fraternalism, and a " above all a " that it should be based upon a firm and consistent conception of individuality.
Rather than contributing to the long-standing discussion about the characteristics of the society that socialism proposes to establish, this Routledge Revival, initially published in 1976, aims to explore the impact of the ?living utopia? of socialism on the development of modern society.
It then explores some possible forms that the socialist utopia might take in the industrial societies of the late twentieth century. Professor Bauman writes for those who want to understand the logic of the historical fate of socialism in the present century, who are concerned about the validity and vitality of socialist ideas on the development of modern society, and who are interested, and perhaps confused, by the cultural and ideological conflicts of the last few decades.
The Twilight of World Trotskyism analyzes the reasons behind the historic failure of the Trotskyist movement around the world. The book begins this assessment by briefly recapitulating the origins of Trotskyism, as a political current within the communist movement, and elaborating its major elements, before describing the historical development of Trotskyism in the four countries where it has sunk the deepest roots and which house the clear majority of the world's Fourth Internationals: Argentina, Britain, France and the USA. It then proceeds to map the current state of the global Trotskyist movement. Whatever their current size and status, Trotskyist organizations aspire to become mass political parties and lead revolutionary seizures of power. It is therefore appropriate to examine them through the metrics applied to mainstream parties, namely organization, membership and political influence. The author looks at the dynamics of the Trotskyist movement, focusing in particular on the supposedly harmful effects of the communist movement before then turning to examine the role of Trotskyist organizations in the many revolutionary situations that have appeared since the 1920s and in the various 'cycles of protest' that have occurred in the latter half of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st century. The final section examines the two success stories frequently cited in Trotskyist literature, namely the cases of Bolivia and Sri Lanka. The book concludes by setting out and examining a wide variety of explanations for the chronic and sustained weaknesses of the Trotskyist movement, including its flawed appraisals of contemporary politics and economics, ultra-radical programmes and policies, failures in understanding the dynamics of protest and the baleful legacy of Soviet communism. It is argued that these weaknesses are rooted in Trotskyist doctrine and are therefore integral, not peripheral, features of world Trotskyism. This volume will be essential reading for activists and scholars interested in the transnational history and politics of the radical left.
This book, originally published in 1949 (but here re-issuing the second edition of 1966) presents a history of international socialism, not just from the political but also the economic standpoint.
The failure of the left in Britain to achieve its objectives in
the past, and the rapidly changing nature of popular involvement in
politics in recent years, both suggest the need for a reappraisal
of socialist strategy in the 1980s. The Popular and the Political
explores the need to redefine socialism in terms which extend
beyond 'statism', which has been the mark of both the social
democracy of the last two Labour government and the Marxist left,
and which reflect the changing nature of contemporary
Britain. The essays presented here consider social policy in a wide range of fields, health, housing, energy and economic planning, as well as the broad questions of democratic involvement in the political process.
Is it possible to evolve a form of socialism which, while promoting industrial development, will be merciful to the ideals of democracy? This book attempts to answer this question: first the author deals with the differing conceptions of socialism and democracy and discusses co-operative socialism. The he turns to the problem of industrialization; the need for leadership in economic transition and the role of the concept of property; the capitalist solution; decentralization; and finally industrialization within the democratic framework.This book raises issues which are as important now as when it was first published in 1962.
This book explores the political and legal institutions necessary for a democratic socialism in advanced industrial societies. It argues that a democratic socialist society needs a firm framework of public law, and a formal constitution. Populist conceptions of direct democracy and informal justice are argued to be inadequate as the primary means of democratic control in a complex society; likewise Marxist views of the "withering away of the state" are challenged as utopian. The book maintains that radical reforms in political institutions are necessary in order to effect social change.
Dr. Borkenau discusses the ideals of international socialism in the light of the realities of a world of strife and struggle. He maintains that socialist internationalism of the old type has little relation to the problems of the present. The world has become much more nationalist, and the labour movements of all countries have had to give in to the forces of nationalism. He is sceptical of the revival of liberal-democratic internationalism in the League, and the attempt to revive the League in the shape of a Federal Union. He believes however, that powerful forces are working in the direction of the growth of supernational units, and points to symptoms of an impending sudden collapse of nationalism which would enable Labour to put itself at the head of an Anglo-American peace similar to the Roman piece which for centuries gave quiet and prosperity to the world.
Transnational Socialist Networks in the 1970s argues that western European socialist parties' transnational cooperation across national borders significantly influenced politics and policy-making in what was the European Communities (EC). It focuses on the network-like informal structures that characterised transnational cooperation between the party members and leaders of different socialist parties involved in European affairs. Taking the example of two case studies, namely EC development aid policy and EC southern enlargement policy, the book demonstrates that the socialist parties strengthened their informal transnational network structures for the purposes of debating ideological and programmatic issues and finding policy solutions to common challenges in both policy fields. Moreover, it shows that the networks developed various functions to influence European governance. Against this background, the analysis in this book makes not only a significant contribution to the study of transnational networks of western European socialist parties and the history of European integration, but also adds to the understanding of the role of transnational networks in European politics and policy-making.
Although there is an abundance of scholarly inquiry into the effects on the Soviet socialist system of the historic reforms under GorbacheV's administration, relatively little attention has been paid to the impact these reforms might have on socialism outside the Soviet Union. This book makes a preliminary assessment of the impact of glasnost, perestroika, and related Soviet reforms on selected socialist countries. The sampling of socialist countries studied are roughly representative of the types of socialist states in existence today. The countries studied include Poland, Czechoslovakia, China, Cuba, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and North Korea. The contributors to this volume approach their topics from varying perspectives, each singling out and examining different areas in the individual governments where the impact of Soviet reforms is likely to be strongest. The result is a number of varying conclusions regarding the effects of glasnost and perestroika on the socialist community. In some cases, the impact might be intentional and direct, part of a conscious policy adopted by the Soviet Union. In other cases, the impact may be indirect and even unintentional, given the complex and interdependent nature of world politics and economics. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in comparative politics, international relations, and communist studies will find this book a source of stimulating ideas about the rapidly changing face of socialism.
Opinion about the Webbs has emphasised their personal idiosyncrasies to the exclusion of their literary and institution building accomplishments. In this account, Sidney is shown to play a more important role than Beatrice in the literary output and there is emphasis on their promotion of working class democratic experience. In providing this analysis of the Webbs, "the oddest couple since Adam and Eve" Harrison shows that Sidney thought a good marriage should be a partnership while Beatrice maintained that a man should always make the important decisions and the women the less important ones, and she should determine which were which!
Get a frontline look at the field of corrections with Maroun/Siegel/Bartollas' CORRECTIONS TODAY, 5th EDITION. This more concise, visual paperback alternative to hardback Introduction to Corrections texts is ideal for readers who are interested in real-world concepts and applications. It examines the field of corrections through the lens of students -- perhaps like you -- who are giving serious thought to a career in the field or who are working in corrections while seeking an advanced degree in order to be promoted or switch job paths. Updated with new professional profiles and insightful coverage of restorative justice, special offender populations, the use of private prisons, COVID-19 impact and many other timely topics, this edition offers a practical, engaging, career-focused and authoritative introduction to corrections.
During the past decade, life in post-socialist states has been fraught with instability and conflict. This book focuses on changing rural-urban relations - and growing divisions between them - in the context of the reforms. Contributions to this volume explore responses to capitalist-oriented policies and reasons for rural disenfranchisement. The work takes an ethnographic approach to exploring how 'global' processes engage with local, rural concerns in the post-socialist world.
This book responds to recent events by proposing a radical reshaping of Marxist theory. Taking the core problem as that of the historical subject, it conceptualises human life in terms of four interrelated practices. It explores these in turn in the context of a capitalism divided into 'centre' and 'periphery', primarily through nine 'theoretical reconstructions', which attempt to meet such problems as the labour theory of value, the nature and role of the state, and consciousness. |
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