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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political ideologies > Socialism & left-of-centre democratic ideologies
Contrary to much Marxist thought, the author does not view socialism as an antithesis to capitalism, and in this text argues that socialism is, among other things an objective development of capitalism. As capitalism develops it creates the premises for social development which are also the bases for a socialist and democratic construction of society. Drawing on economics, urban geography, political theory and Marxism, the text examines the evolution of capitalism from its early industrial to its present urban and global forms. How Marx understood the economy as a unity of production, distribution, exchange and consumption engaged in social reproduction is also considered. The contradictory evolution of US corporations and urban development from 1945 to the present is explored. The author argues that urban space involves requirements for social and individual reproduction which extend well beyond limits inherent in transnational corporate private appropriation. Using his arguments, the author makes the case that economic expansion can now best be secured by forms of development that take us beyond the limits of capitalism and point towards a democratic and socialist society.
In this introduction to the subject, the author argues that the contradictions within socialism arise from the absence of a single socialist tradition - despite Marxist attempts to claim the title of the "true" socialism. Rather than seeking to reconcile socialist differences in an all-embracing unity, it is important to recognize the diversity of socialism. Disagreement and tensions within the socialist movement can then be accepted as the subject matter of different kinds of socialism, each of which may be more or less plausible, appropriate, or desirable. The volume develops this theme through an analysis of socialist ideas and movements, revealing how socialists have differed fundamentally about both the nature of socialism and the means of its achievement.
In this introduction to the subject, the author argues that the contradictions within socialism arise from the absence of a single socialist tradition - despite Marxist attempts to claim the title of the "true" socialism. Rather than seeking to reconcile socialist differences in an all-embracing unity, it is important to recognize the diversity of socialism. Disagreement and tensions within the socialist movement can then be accepted as the subject matter of different kinds of socialism, each of which may be more or less plausible, appropriate, or desirable. The volume develops this theme through an analysis of socialist ideas and movements, revealing how socialists have differed fundamentally about both the nature of socialism and the means of its achievement.
The life and works of William Morris continue to excite the imaginations of fresh generations of scholars working in many traditions, from the history of art and design to literary criticism and the history of socialism and socialist thought. This book concentrates on Morris's social and political acheivements as well as his artistic talents.
Now fully revised and updated for the second edition, this unique and authoritative account of the party systems in Eastern Europe examines their development from the revolutions of the late 1980s to the present day. The New Democracies in Eastern Europe presents a genuinely comparative perspective on the old and new party systems. Featuring detailed assessment and analysis of the situation in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, the volume draws upon research and opinion from a distinguished group of European scholars. Recognising that many of the social and political problems of the inter-war period continue to make themselves felt, the authors contend that the breakdown of the old authoritarian system was a by-product of a built-in and progressively worsening legitimacy crisis. Despite the great progress made by some East European countries, recent events confirm the view that authoritarianism has not lost its appeal. As an up-to-date and comprehensive survey of political change and development in Eastern Europe - rapidly produced to present the most recent information - this book will be welcomed by researchers, teachers and students.
The Labour governments of 1945-51 are among the most important and controversial in modern British history, and have been the focus of extensive research over the last fifteen years. In this study, Robert Pearce makes the results of this research available in a concise and accessible form, whilst encouraging students to formulate their own interpretations. He looks at the main political personalities of the period, sets their work in the context of Labour history since 1900, and examines their domestic, foreign and imperial achievements.
Vastly underestimated by the very movements that claim Kierkegaard
as a source, Kierkegaard presents a highly refined picture of the
self in progress. In "Selves in Discord and Resolve," Edward Mooney
examines the Wittgensteinian and deconstructive accounts of
subjectivity to illuminate the rich legacy left by Kierkegaard's
representation of the self in modes of self-understanding and
self-articulation. Contending that Kierkegaard's philosophy poseses
powerful alternatives to contemporary accounts of moral conviction
in an uncertain world, Mooney situates Kierkegaard in the context
of a post-Nietzschean crisis of individualism.
First published in 1983, this book is concerned with the prospects for socialist politics in contemporary Britain, in particular with the limitations of political analysis produced both by Marxist socialism and the non-Marxist socialism of the Labour left. The author suggests ways in which socialist political analysis and strategic thinking should be reconstructed if socialism in Britain was to survive political as a force. The major Marxist debates on, and the limitations of, socialist politics under conditions of parliamentary democracy are examined, as well as what is involved in a politics of democratisation. The dominant forms of strategic thinking on the Labour left are also analysed.
First published in 1990, this book was intended as a counter to the rising and continued strength of the New Right and an attempt to bolster the perceived weakness of the opposition - providing a critical discussion of New Right ideology and also of the more influential Left reactions to them. The contributors scrutinise the attempts to reconstruct the idea of socialism in the 1990s, and pinpoint the relation of socialism to freedom, equality and the market. In the course of this searching evaluation, they also take up issues relating more directly to specific policy areas such as monetary policy and international finance, secondary education, social welfare, and race relations.
First published in 1985, this book examines how workers theatre movements intended their performances to be activist - perceiving art as a weapon of struggle and enlightenment - and an emancipatory act. An introductory study relates left-wing theatre groupings to the cultural narratives of contemporary British socialism. The progress of the Workers' Theatre Movement (1928-1935) is traced from simple realism to the most brilliant phase of its Russian and German development alongside which the parallel movements in the United States are also examined. A number of crucial texts are reprints as well as stage notes and glimpses of the dramaturgical controversies which accompanied them.
Written two years after the commencement of the Second World War, the chapters in this book succinctly put forward the case for reorganizing the foundations of the social order, by rejecting capitalism and historical equilibrium, both in Europe and further afield in the British Empire, in favour of building a Socialist civilization.
In this book, first published in 1992, the author examines the polemic fought by German Social-Democratic Party leaders and intellectuals Karl Kautsky and Eduard Bernstein against what they perceived to be misunderstandings of Marxism propagated by members of the Social-Democratic Federation (SDF) in England and by the socialist leader Wilhelm Liebknecht in Germany. The debate raised basic questions of socialist theory, including whether the program of Marx and Engels called for scholarly study, parliamentary democracy, and gradual social evolution, or for Utopian speculation, economic collapse, and violent rebellion.
"Marxism Beyond Marxism" is a collection of essays that critically
rethinks Marxism at time when its practice and theory has been
seemingly taken to task by the events in 1989 in Eastern Europe and
the former Soviet Union. Containing essays from a group of
internationally distinguished writers and intellectuals, this
collection addresses Marxism as a cultural-political problematic.
Nine specialists from four continents address the following questions: is China moving toward the type of developmental state and sophisticated economic powerhouse associated with the East Asian miracle? does China's Leninist political system and the heritage of a state-run-heavy-industrial sector present too great a burden for successful transformation? and what is the likelihood that China's party-state will ultimately collapse in a fashion similar to the Leninist governments of Europe? The findings and analyses should prove interesting to followers of China, East Asia as a whole, and the European postcommunist transition.
This title, first published in 1987, is a study of the appeals of socialism for the educated middle and lower classes in the nineteenth century, and explores the role of the educated middle classes during this formative period for major modern socialist organisations and movements. This title will be of interest to students of history and politics.
In this collection, contributors discuss a central theme which is both theoretical and practical - the role of the state in achieving social justice in modern market systems from a socialist perspective. They reject the cult of choice and of rational egoism.
This volume reveals how a fledgling Fabian journal came to play a key role in the growth of the modern Labour Party. Placing the early New Statesman in the context of its eight turbulent decades as a flagship of the Left, the book compares the magazine's first journalists with later generations of editors and writers. By drawing upon interviews with survivors, and a wide range of public and personal papers, the author rediscovers the early - and lasting - importance of the British Left's best-known and most resilient magazine.
Nine specialists from four continents address the following questions: is China moving toward the type of developmental state and sophisticated economic powerhouse associated with the East Asian miracle? does China's Leninist political system and the heritage of a state-run-heavy-industrial sector present too great a burden for successful transformation? and what is the likelihood that China's party-state will ultimately collapse in a fashion similar to the Leninist governments of Europe? The findings and analyses should prove interesting to followers of China, East Asia as a whole, and the European postcommunist transition.
"Democracy in Britain "includes a rich and varied selection of key writings, from the debates around Britain's representative and democratic institutions, from constitutional commentary and diaries to poetry and fiction; from Locke and Burke to Dryden and Auden; and from Magna Carta to "Spycatcher."Provides the best resource available for the understanding and study of Britain's system of representative democracy The editors have made efforts throughout to make the material selected accessible to non-specialists Rather than following one side of the debate on British democracy, this presents the reader with both sides of the argument Sponsored by the British Council, the book will receive special advertising and promotion
Socialist Register 2013 seeks to explore and clarify strategy for the Left, in the light of new challenges, and new opportunities. Socialists today have to confront two realities - that they cannot avoid the question of reforms and a gradualist path out of capitalism; and that the organizational vehicles for socialism will most likely have to abide by different structures and principles than those that dominated left politics in the 20th century. Though solutions are not obvious, Socialist Register 2013 will interrogate these dilemmas and will the critique of some unhelpful radical thinking that obstructs the reconsideration of socialist strategy for the 21st century. * How have the occupations of public squares around the world changed the political scene? * What are the most useful forms of political organization in the new conjuncture? * Which features of past organizational models should be retained? And which discarded? * How can working class organizations be revitalized and changed so as to develop socialist political capacities?
"Marxism Beyond Marxism" is a collection of essays that critically
rethinks Marxism at time when its practice and theory has been
seemingly taken to task by the events in 1989 in Eastern Europe and
the former Soviet Union. Containing essays from a group of
internationally distinguished writers and intellectuals, this
collection addresses Marxism as a cultural-political problematic.
The rise to dominance of marginalist economics coincided with a major increase in the spread of socialist ideas. As many socialist and Marxist thinkers were preocuppied with economic questions, this was scarcely a development they could ignore. Socialists either had to defend Marxist economics against marginalist criticism or show that socialism and marginalism were compatible. This volume explores the varied socialist responses in a number of major European countries, including Italy, France, Russia and German-speaking countries. |
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