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r i t i c a l
et r os pec t i ves
et r os pec t i v es
l a r i t i que
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Canadi an J our nal
of
P o l i t i c a l and
Soci al
Theor yl Revue canadi enne de
l a t hebri e pol i t i que et s oc i al e Vol 1 No I i l i nt erl Hi ver
1977
Edi t or s Note
Thef ol l owi ng
a r t i c l e
wi l l appear as part of a
f or t hcom ng book ent i t l ed
Taki ng Si des The Col l ect ed Soci al
andP o l i t i c a l
Essays of I rvi ng Layt on
Mos ai c Pressl Val l ey
Edi t i ons
Oak vi l l e
Ont ar i o)
A p r i l
1977,
edi t ed
andwi t h
an
i nt roduct i on
by
Howard
As t er The a r t i c l e s an edi t ed v e r -
s i o n
of
I rvi ng
Layt on s
A
The s i s C r i t i c a l
Exam nat i on
of Laski s
P o l i t i c a l
Doct r i nes s u b m t t e dt o McG l l Uni vers i t y i n
1946
H ROL LASKI
THE
P R OXES
OF
LI BERALMARXST
I rvi ng Layt on
Few i vi ng
pol i t i c al t hi nker s
ar e bet t er known
than
Prof essor Harol d
Laski
Educated
at Oxford, hecam
to t h i s conti nent duri ngWorld
War
I
and
taught f i r s t at
McGl l
and
afterwards at Harvard At
both
uni ver-
s i t i e s
he promptl y got
i n t o hot water
wth
the
aut hori t i es
f or
publ i cl y
expressi ng t o
them
obj ecti onabl e
opi ni ons
Recei vi ng
an
appoi ntmnt
as l ect urer at
the London School
of
Economcs,
Laski
returned t o
Engl and
i n 1920 r ol i f i c wri t er, he
has
bui l t
up
a
s o l i d andenvi abl e
reputati on
f or
exact
schol arshi p
a l l whohave
met
or heard Laski
t e s t i f y
t o
hi s
phenomnal mmory
b r i l l i a n t
rhet ori c
and
complete
s i nc er i t y
f orc ef ul
and
el oquent
speaker he has
r ecei ved
t h i s century s
most
pos i t i ve
acco adeof
famhi s
speeches
are
reported
Today, the chai r-
man
and
i nf l uent i al
spokesmn,
he
i s al s o
somtims
r ef er r ed t o as the
one-man
brai n t rust
of
the
Br i t i s h
Labour Party
I n
1939
Laski el evated
a
number
of
eyebrows, academc and ot her -
wi s e, by c al l i ng himel f
a
Marxi st
i n
an
a r t i c l e wri tten
especi al l y
f or the
Amri can l i beral weekl y, The Nat i on, whi ch
was then runni ng
a
seri es
under
the
headi ng of Li vi ng Phi l osophi es
There he
wrote
t hat
the
peri odi c wars cri ses, general i ns ec ur i t y and
stagnati on
of our c a p i t a l i s t i c
era
had al l
convi ncedhimt hat , broadl y speaki ng,
the
phi l osophy
of
Marx
was unanswerabl e Ours i s t hat age , he
as s er t ed,
the comng
of
whi chwas
f oreseen
by
Marx, i n whi ch the
rel at i ons of
producti on are
i n contradi cti onwth
the es s ent i al f or c es
of
producti on
and
t hat
at
the
hi st ori cal
stage
we
have reached,
the
wi l l
of the
peopl e i s unabl e
t o
use the
i ns t i t ut i ons of c api t al i s t
democracy
f or democrati c purposes
For
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I RVINGL YTON
at
t h i s stage
democracy
needs
t o
transformc l ass
rel at i ons i n
order
t o
af -
f i rmi t s e l f
and i t w l l
not
be al l owedt o
doso
i f
theowni ngc l ass
i s abl e
t o prevent that achi evement
.
I n
t hi s t hesi s
have
undertaken
an examnati on of Laski s pol i t i cal
doctrines wth
a
view t o determni ng t o what ext ent , i f
any, Laski
i s
j u s t i f i e d i n thinkingof himel f and i n gettingothers t o thi nk of hims
a Marxist
have, that i s to say, taken Laski at hi s
ownword
and di l i -
gentl ysought f or the
evidence
to
val i dat e
hi s cl aim n themai n bodyof
hi s workwhich i ncl udes books art i cl es , brochures as wel l as i n the
pub-
l i c
pronouncements
he
has made
f romtime
t o
time have
compared
what
f ound
therein
wth the
wri t i ngs
of
Marx
and
Engel s
the
founders
of
thebody
of
doctri ne
known
as
Marxism andwth
those
of
Lenin
whom
r i ght l y
or
wrongl y
regard
as
t hei r successor and
bes t di s ci pl e
The
conclusi on
which
I havereached i s
t hat
Laski s cl aim s ut t er l y l ack-
i ng i n
foundati on
andmust
be disregarded by
any
al ert
and wel l -
i nformed
student of
the
subj ect
Thi s conclusi on
my
t hes i s ) i s
what
I
have undertaken t o defend i n
the fol l owng
pages
More than tha t ,
have al so t r i ed t o
set
forth the reasons for my conviction that Laski , by
empl oying
Marxian
termnol ogy f or hi s
own
purpose
has
robbed
Marxi smof i t s
revol utionary
content thereby
compl etel y
emascul ati ng
and di s t or t i ng
i t
That
purpose bel i eve,
was
t o
graf t
hi s
ear l i er pol i t i -
cal
doct r i nes,
hi s
i ndi vi dual i s t i c
pl ural i sm upon the
vigorous
tree
of
Marxi sm and the
resul t , have t r i ed
t o show
i s
the
r at her spongy
f r ui t
Soci al Democracy
Laski s
f i r s t book
TheProbl emof Soverei gnt y
appeared
i n 1917
Thi s
was
fol l owed
at two-year
i nt erval s
byAut hori t y
i n
t heModern
State
and
Foundat i ons of Soverei gnt y andOther
Essays
Wth
these
books
Laski
emerged
al ongsi de
J
Nevi l l e
Fi ggi s ,
D
Li ndsay
and
D
.H
Col e
as
an erudi te and el oquent champi on of
pol i t i cal pl ural i sm
a point of
vi ewwhich chal l enged the reigningmoni sti c
concepti on
of the s t a t e as
uni tary and omni -competent
Laski
argued that, i n pract i ce, thedoc-
t r i ne of a sovereign
s t a t e
was untenabl e
s i nce
pr i vat e groups
had
f rom
time
t o
time
success f ul l y res i s t ed government
encroachment upon t hei r
powers of
i nner j ur i s di ct i on
and
sel f - cont rol
For proof
of
t h i s
he
point-
ed t o
the
determned res i s t ance of three
great
eccl esi ast i cal groups i n
the
nineteenth-century
agai nst
s t a te
i nt erf er ence and t hei r tri umphant
asser t i on
of
extensi ve
r i ght s
despi te
theopposi ti on
of
the
Br i t i s h Gov-
ernment .2Agai nst
Leviathan
Laski uphel d the cl aimof thei ndividual
consci ence,
assert i ng
that
the
basi s of obedi ence i s consent
Fur-
thermore thestate, he affi rmed didnot dare t o range over the
whol e
areaof humanl i f e Hemeant by t h i s that s t a te andsoc i et y
coul dnot
72
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H ROLD
LASKI
be equated s i nce every soci et y was composed
of
var i ous
nat ur al
and
vol unt ar y
organi zat i ons
w t h
cl ai ms
t o
t he
l o y a l t i e s
of
t hei r
members
as
maj est i c
as
t hat
of
t he state
i t s e l f
The
s t a t e does not
exhaust
t he
associ at i ve i mpul ses of men The group i s r e a l
i n t he same
sense t hat
t he s t a t e i s real
Possessi ng
physi cal super i or i t y, t he
state
coul d
crush
group
oppos i t i on
by
brute force
;
such
act i on, however ,
di d
not
est abl i sh
r i ght Et hi cal l y t he
state
competed on
equal t erms
w t h
trade
uni ons , chur ches,
p o l i t i c a l
par t i es,
co- oper at i ve
associ at i ons
and
f r i end-
l y
soc i et i es
f or
t he i ndi vi dual s al l egi ance The onl y
ground f or
s t a t e -
success i s where t he purpose
of
t he
state
i s
moral l y
superi or t o
t hat of i t s
opponent
4
Laski hel d t hat
hi s theory
of t he s t a t e
was
more r eal i st i c
t han t hat
of
p o l i t i c a l
moni st s A car ef ul
r eadi ng
of
Laski s wri t i ngs,
however ,
w l l
showtwo t hi ngs
1
t hat
hi s
attacks
upon t he
p o l i t i c a l moni st s ( Bodi n,
Hobbes
Aust i n)
are
based
upon
a
si mpl e
msunderstandi ng
and
i i
t hat
he i s not sel f - consi stent My reasons f or
t hi nki ng
so
ar e set out at
some
l engt h
i n
t he f ol l ow ng
pages
My
convi c t i on
t hat i t
was
mainl y
an
out r aged
sense
of
j u s t i ce whi ch exci t ed Laski s
ant i - s tat e doct r i nes
From
t he
very
begi nni ng
he
was
awar e
t hat some
groups
i n soci et y,
especi al l y those who can l i v e onl y by t he
sal e
of
t hei r
l abour - power ,
were
di sadvant aged
by
t he
s t a t e s
operat i ons
Undoubtedl y
too,
hewas
gr eat l y i nf l uenced by t he t heor i es
of
t he French
Anar chosyndi cal i st s
Si nce what he real l y wantedwas t he di f f us i on
of
sover ei gnt y r at her
t han
i t s
di sappearance,
I
woul d consi der
t hat
phase of Laski s
pol i t i cal
thought
as
Neo- Anar chi st ,
as Anarchi sm
domest i cat ed
and
made
pal at abl e f or Engl i shmen
Looked at f rom
anot her
angl e,
Laski s
ear l y
doct r i nes were an extreme but
l ogi cal l y perm ss i bl e
ext ensi on of
ni ne-
teenth
century
l i ber al i sm
And
t he
t ru th
t hat
bot h
l i ber al i sm
and
anar chi sm have t he same
soci al roots i n
t he
m ddl e- c l ass
Wth
t h i s
i mportant
di f f er ence,
however
Li beral i sm
i s t he
expr essi on
of
a
conf i -
dent , sel f - assured mddl e- cl ass, wher eas anarchi sm
expr esses t hei r
bew l derment i ncomprehensi on
and rage bef ore
t he advance of
mono-
pol y
capi t al i sm Anarchi sm
t he pol i t i cal
phi l osophy
of t he
f r i ght ened
pet i t - bour geoi s
I t appeal s
t o
t he smal l
shopkeeper , whi t e
col l ar
work
e r s
c i v i l
servants, cl erks
and
even makes i nr oads i n t o t he i mmature
sect i ons of t he prol et ar i at I t s pr i mar y
and
di s t i ngui shi ng feature i s
a
whol esal e i gnor ance
of t he necessary l aws
of
capi t al i st devel opment On
i t s gr avest one (s i nce anar chi sm
t oday
i s no l onger a pol i t i cal f or ce) i s
engraved
a
s i ngl e
wor l d,
I l l us i on
Laski s pr evi ous
t heor i es,
s a y
s i mpl y m r r or ed
or were t he
rat i onal i zat i on
of t he
bewl derment
and
f rus t rat i on
of
t he
pet i t - bour geoi s
Not t he
capi t al i s t
c l as s not t he
cap-
7 3
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I RVIN LAYTON
i t a l i s t system
was r esponsi bl e f or thei r
s oc i a l
andeconomc
predi caments
but
t he
ev i l s t a t e
Abol i sh
t he
state
or
i mprove
i t
so
r an
t hei r
c r y ,
and
J ust i ce
wi l l
oncemore
dwel l
i n t he l and
Laski s
doct r i nes,
t hen,
were hardl y r eal i st i c They were i f
any-
th i ng
r omant i c,
extr avagant
and
doctr i nai r e
They f l e w
i n
t he f ace of
t he f a c t s
moreover
Laski f a i l ed t o real i ze
that
t he
moni st i c
concept i on
of t he
state
was t he t heoret i cal j ust i f i cat i on
f or
t he
t r ansf er of
power
f rom
t he
f eudal
and
l and-owni ng
c l a s s to t he merchants
and
burghers,
who had
establ i shed
t hemsel ves
as
t he
domnant c l a s s i n
soci et y s As
a
consequence, an
ai r
of unreal i ty cl i ngs
to
Laski s
earl i er
vol umes whi ch
nei t her
hi s b r i l l i a n t
r hetori c
nor
hi s
cogent
r easoni ng
ever
seem
qui t e
abl e
to
di spel Time
that
gr eat i r o n i s t , has
i n f act so managed
i t that
t he more sol emn
and ear nest t he argument
I say i t qui t e respect-
f u l l y
t he more
baroque
i t appears
Fert i l i zed
by
i l l usi ons Laski s
vol umes were t he col ossal
mscarr i age
of
an erudi te br a i n
They were
el abor ate gestures of
f u t i l i t y
whi ch mght
i ntr i gue
hi s
pr of essi onal
c ol -
l eagues
or
move them
to
r epl y but
whose
t o t a l ef f ect
upon t he
s t a t e s
i mpregnabl e
purpose
was
exactl y
ni l
I n a f i t of
hi gh academc scorn
Laski
mght
a s s e r t
that
i t
woul d
be of
l ast i ng
benef i t
t o pol i t i cal
sci ence
i f
t he whol e concept of
sover ei gnt y
were
sur r endered ,
6 but i t
was
as
i f a
mumm had
heaved
a
si gh
out of
a
moment of eternal
Si l ence e
mght
i ndeed go on
to
argue that the State i s obvi ousl y
a
publ i c servi ce
cor por at i on
or
that the State i s t he bodywhi ch seeks
so to
or gani ze t he
i nterests
of t he
consumers
that they obt ai n t he
com
modi t i es of whi ch they have
need
but
to
the cyni cal r e a l i s t i t merel y
si gni f i ed
that Laski
was drunk
w t h
a
sense
of
hypot het i cal
power
Somethi ng
was evi dent l y
l acki ng,
c a l l i t
real i sm i f you wi l l , whi ch
coul d
conver t
t he
moul d
of
er udi t i on
and
l ogi c
i nto
genui ne
pol i t i cal
pen i c i l l i n
That somethi ng
bei ng
absent ,
those vol umes ar e
al r eady, I
suspect,
museumpi eces
Si nce,
however ,
m
ai m
has
been al so t o i ndi cate a basi c cont i nui t y
i n
Prof essor
Laski s
outl ook
despi t e
hi s
announced
conver si on
to
Marx-
i sm I shal l set
down
wthout apol ogy
two rather l ar ge excerpts
f rom
one
of
hi s ear l i est
books
I n
doi ng
so
I hope
t o
br i ng
i nt o
sharper
f ocus
one
or
two
per si stent
probl em whi chhave conti nued to
agi tat e
Laski up
t o
t he present
t i me Reader s
of
hi s The
State i n Theory
andPracti ce
w l l
i mmedi atel y recogni ze the
ancestor
of
many
passages
i n
that
book
i n
t he f ol l ow ng
excerpts
No
pol i t i cal democracy can
be
real
that
i s not
as
wel l
t he ref l ect i on
of an
economc
democracy
; f or the
7
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H ROL L SKI
busi ness of gover nment
i s s o
l a r ge l y i ndus t r i a l
i n
nature
as
i nevi tabl y
t o
be prof oundl y
a f f e c t e d _
by
t he
vi ews
and
purposes
of
those
who hol d t he keys of
economc
power
That
does not
necessari l y
mean that
gover nment i s consci ousl y
perverted
t o
t he ends of
any
c l a s s
wi thi n the s t a t e
So
t o
argue
i s
to proj ect i n-
t o hi story amal i gnant
tel eol ogy
f romwhi ch i t i s
i n
s o smal l
degree
f r e e
ut
when
power
i s a c t u a l l y
exerted
by any secti on of the
communi t y i t i s onl y
natural t h a t i t shoul d l ook
upon
i t s
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c
vi ews as t he equi val ent
of
s o c i a l
good
?
overnment
i s
i n
t he hands f or t he
most
p a r t , of
those who wi el d
economc power The
dangers
of
authori t y become i ntens i f i ed
i f
the supreme power
be
col l ected
and
concentrated
i n an i n s t i t u t i o n whi ch
cannot be
r e l i e d
upon
uni quel y
to f u l f i l i t s theoreti c
purposes
That i s
why
t he
mai n saf eguard
agai nst
economc
oppressi on
i s
t o
prevent
the
s t a t e
f rom
t hrowi ng the bal ance of i t s
wei ght
i n t o
the
s i d e
of t he
establ i shed order
I t
i s
to
prevent i t
from
cryi ng peace
where
i n
f a c t
t he
true
i s s u e i s war
For i mport ant as
may be
the process of
consumpt i on
i t i s i n
nowi se
c l e a r t ha t
t he
s t a t e
t r e a t s equal l y
those
who ar e
benef i t ed
by t he process
t i s by
no means certai n
t h a t
the
standard
of
l i f e
of
the worker
i s
not
better
saf eguarded by
hi s
trade
uni onthan by t he s t a t e
Made
aware
by t he
i mpact
of events of
t he
ext remel y academc nature
of
hi s vi ews L a s k i s et about
t o
s a v e
them
n
the best wayhe
coul d nd
t o
say t he
l e a s t ,
the devi ce he
empl oyed was both
i ngeni ous
and
si mpl e
t
merel y consi sted of
r i g i d l y
segregat i ng t he t wo mai n and i ncom
pati bl e el ement s of
hi s
p o l i t i c a l
doct ri nes whi ch had
hi thert o been
i nextr i cabl y bound together s ee
t he above e x c e r p t s i deal i sm
and
real i sm
and gi vi ng
t o
them
separate and extensi ve
t reatment
Thi s
was
accompl i shed i n he State i n Theory
andPracti ce abook
whi ch ap
peared
i n
1935
and whi ch was hai l ed
by
some
as an authori tati ve
di scussi on of
t he
Marxi an theory
of t he
s t a t e
I t was of course
not hi ng
of
the
s o r t At t empt i ng t o transform
a
def ect i nto
a v i r t u e ,
Laski
deci ded
that
i f hi s
e a r l i e r doctr i nes were
f u t i l e
they
coul d at
l e a s t be
made
phi l osophi cal
hence
i n t he f i r s t chapter
of
t h i s
vol ume
he
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I RVING
L
YTON
developed
hi s phi l osophi c concepti on
of thestate Thi s t i me however,
hi s
pl ur al i st i c arguments
(modi fi ed,
t o
be
sure,
to
square
wth
hi s
Marxi sm)
were
arrayed
agai nst
the
phi l osophi cal
i deal i sts wth
Hegel
as
whi ppi ng-boy Here
agai n, as i n hi s
controversy wth the pol i t i cal
moni sts,
I
have t r i e d t o
show
i
t hat
he
has
msunderstood,
or ,
at
any
rate,
has gi ven a msleadi ng
pi cture of Hegel s teachings and i i t hat
Laski
i s
himel f too f ar
commtted t o
i deal i sm
t o cry thi ef
Granti ng
that
many
of
Laski s
arguments
agai nst
Bosanquet and
the
other phi l -
osophi cal
i deal i sts
are shrewdl y
madeI
s t i l l f eel that he
andBosanquet
ar e
merely
on the
opposi te si des of
the
onepasture
l ooki ng f or thesame
mthi cal
f our l eaf cl over
I
cannot, t hat i s t o say, persuademsel f t hat
Laski s
di f f er ences wth
the
phi l osophi cal i deal i st s
are
of any pr act i cal
or even t heor et i cal s i gni f i cance
The,
second
chapter of t hi s vol ume i s s i gni f i cant l y
t i t l e d
State
and
Government
i n the
Real World
I t i s
here
i f
anywhere, that
di l i gent
seeker s of Laski s Marxism
must l ook i f
they
hope t o
f i nd
i t And, t o
speak
t r ut hf ul l y,
there
i s
much
i n these
pages
to
convi nce
theunwary
reader
that
hereat l ast i s
the
authenti c a r t i c l e I f
I
maybe forgi ven
a
per-
sonal
note
I
msel f
was
taken
i n
by
them
i ve
year s
ago
Thi s
of
course,
was
sever al
years beforeadeeper
acquai ntance
wth
the
Marxi an
cl assi cs
had taught me t o di f f er ent i at e
the spuri ous a r t i c l e
f rom
the
genui ne
For
Laski
i s an
ecl ect i c who
has
t r i e d
t o marry i n hi s career as a
pol i t i cal
t hi nker )
an
i neradi cabl e
st r ai n of
i deal i sm
f i r s t t o Pragmati smandl a t -
t e r l y
to Marxi smThe f i r s t marri age was i f anythi ng, the more suc-
cessf ul
of the
two
si nce
Pragmati sm as i t s subsequent career
has
shown)
can qui te
easi l y accomodate the pol i t i cal or the r el i gi ous i deal i st But
not so
wth
Marxi smMarxi sm
s c r i t i c a l , revoluti onary
and
materi al -
i s t i c
i t
i s ,
i f
I
may
empl oy
a
vi ol ent
metaphor,
a
bl azi ng furnace
whi ch
rapi dl y
consumes as so
much
rubbi sh al l t el eol ogi es,
al l perfecti oni sm
i t s
the
decl ared and
uncompromsi ng enem
of absol uti sm i n any
form
of
al l
et hi cal
and
i deal i st i c
hankeri ngs
I t seeks for anexpl anati on
of
what
men thi nk
i n t hei r
pr act i ce
; and i t examnes
t hat pr act i ce
t o
di scover
general
l aws whi ch men
may
afterwards use as l ever s f or
changi ng
the
worl d i n
whi ch
they
l i v e
I n
br i ef ,
Marxi sm
purports t o be
a sci ence, a
gui de
to
ef f ect i ve
acti on
I t i s , however, apparent t o even
themost
casual reader
of
Laski that
hi s
soci ol ogi cal concerns
are
et hi cal rather than
sci ent i f i c
From
the
very
outset
f romi ndeed
hi s f i r s t book on, Laski has
attempted
t o di scover
the
moral l y unshakeabl e
foundati ons f or
pol i t i cal authori ty I t i s thi s
et hi cal and i deal i st outl ook whi ch
Laski
has attempted t o
uni te
t o
Marxi sm
wth
the
most
unfortunate
consequences t o both Ther esul t
76
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H ROLD
LASKI
of t hi s
ecl ect i ci sm
has
been
ambi gui ty, confusi on
and
sophi stry as
wel l
as
the
unavoi dabl e
di s tor t i on
of
Marxi sm Marxi sm
w l l
si mpl y
not ac-
comodatepeopl ewhot a l k abst ract l y about J ust i ce, Moral i ty Ri ght et c
i ngl e exampl e
of
the
ki nd
of confusi onwhi ch
resul t s
when the
at -
tempt i s made t o combi ne i deal i smwth Marxi smw l l i ndi cat e what I
mean Thus
Laski argues
that
the
f u l l
expl oi t at i on
of ( the means of
producti on) does
not
necessari l y mean
aJust
expl oi t atz on That
depends
uponwhether the
cl ass-r el at i ons
whi ch thesystemof ownershi p
i nvol ves
permt an
equal
response
t o the cl ai m made
upon
theproduct t o
be
d stri buted
9
Myi t a l i c s Seeki ng
j usti ce
(and
Laski has
been
a di l i -
gent and unti ri ng
seeker
f or
almost t hi r t y years )
Laski
has sai d
some-
thi ng whi ch
i s
ei t her
meani ngl ess
or
contradi ctory
For
a
moment s
ref l ect i on i n fact, someof Laski s
own
words w l l convinceanyone that
so
l ong
as
cl asses
are i n
exi st ence
( there
can
be no
cl ass - rel at i ons
wthout
cl asses)
the
system
of
ownershi p
cannot and, what i s more, does
not al l ow
the
equal
sat i s f act i on
of
cl ai m
upon the soci al product
Thi s
mght be
possi bl e i f
the system
of
ownershi p
were publ i c,
but
then
cl asses, andwth themcl ass-r el at i ons, w l l
have
ent i rel y
d sappeared
Here,
then
appropri atel y I
mght
expl ai n
the use
of
the
term
noumenal
andphenomenal whi ch appear i n thefol l owngpages
I t
oc-
cured
t o me as
I
proceeded t o study Laski s
wri t i ngs
that
hewas
the v i c -
ti mof a
cri ppl i ng
ambi val ency Hei nhabi t s ,
that
i s t o say, two
sharpl y
di st i nct
worl ds
whi ch permt of no
bri dgement
One i s the
worl d
of
reason,
truth anddecency
theother the
worl d
of
unreason, of
brutal
and
ter r i f yi ng
f act
Thef i r s t
I
have
chosen
t o c al l
the
noumenal
worl d
the second, the phenomenal
I nto
Laski s
noumenal
worl d
I
have
somewhat arbi t r ar i l y unl oaded
hi s i deal i sm hi s
i ndi vi dual i s t i c pl ur al -
i sm
and
other
vari ous
odds
and
ends
of
hi s pol i t i cal
doctri nes
whi ch
coul d
not
be consi dered as deri vabl e f romcontemporary pol i t i cal f act
The
phenomenal worl d
I
t hi nk, i s
sel f - expl anat or y
I t i s I
bel i eve, preci sel y because Laski
suf f ers f rom
sel f - di vi s i on that
hi s
wri t i ngs
possess t hei r
arr est i ng
qual i ty
Profoundl y democrati c and
humani tari an, Laski i s al so actuel y aware of the
harsh nature of our
pol i t i cal and soci al i nvol vements,
whi ch j eopardi ze
at every
turn the
appeal
t o
humani ty
and
decency
Hmel f
a
reasonabl e
man, he i s
haunted
by
a
senseof i nevi t abl e di saster as men
seem
del i berat el y t o
choose the
paths
of unreason and
vi ol ence
Havi ng the i nt el l ect ual s
l ove of
order,
he
f ears whatever may
i nterrupt or
destroy
i t
theword
that
most
frequentl y drops
f rom
hi s
pen
i s catastrophe Here, and
here
al one must be
sought
Laski s repeated y
expressed
al armat the
possi bi l i ty of
a prol etari an
r evol ut i on,
and
hi s
ef f or t , as
a
pol i t i cal
77
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IRWNG
L
YTON
t hi nker , t o
per suade an
ar oused wor ki ng- cl ass
t o
t ake t he i nof f ensi ve
andconst i t ut i onal pat h
of
Soci al Democracy
L as k i s
schemat i sm i s
a devi ce whereby he
can cement , can
j o i n
t o -
get her hi s two s t a t e s , t he noumenal and t he phenomenal I t i s t he br oad
pl at f or mwhi ch
enabl es
t he i d e a l i s t and
mat e r i a l i s t ,
t he
p l u r a l i s t
and
t he
Mar xi an,
t he
manof
acti on and t he
er udi t e
s c ho l a r ,
t o
embr ace
s
a
sheer
i n t e l l e c t u a l achi evement , i t i s
br eat h- t aki ng
i n
i t s
i mpr essi ve-
n e s s ,
and
convi nces
as
much
by
t he
neat ness
of
i t s
execut i on
as
by
t he
spl endour
of
i t s f i n a l const r uct i on Of
cour se t her e ar e
some
hyper -
c r i t i c a l
cyni cs
who
w i l l decl ar e t hat
i t
was done by a
t r i c k
and w i l l even
i n s i s t upon
exam ni ng
f or
t hemsel ves t he t i mber wi t h
whi ch
t he p l a t -
formwas
constructed
such
f el l ows
ar e
evi dent l y l ack i ng i n
ae s t he t i c
appr eci at i on
Dul l f el l ows
they
ar e
gi ven beaut y
and
they
demand
l o g i c
But f i r s t t he s t a t e must be sent t o t he
cl eaners
t o have
any
t a i n t of op-
pr essi on
removedf rom
t
nd
now et
us
consi der
t he
f ol l owi ng def i ni t i ons of t he s t a t e whi ch
Laski makes
i The s t a t e s a
l e ga l
i nst r ument f or maki ng t he cl ai ms of pr i vat e
owner s
t o t he r esour ces of
pr oduct i on domnant over
ot her
cl ai ms f r om
those
who
do
not own
11
i i Thi s
st at e- power , as
have
al r eady poi nt ed
out , has
t o
be
e x e r -
c i s e d
by men and
t hose
who ar e
entrusted
wi t h i t s
e xe r c i s e
const i t ut e
t he
gover nment
of
t he
s t a t e
Thei r
busi ness
i s
t o
use t he st at e- power
f o r
t he
pur poses
f o r whi ch i t was i n s t i t u t e d , andt hese,
have ar gued,
may
be summari zed by
sayi ng
t hat t he endof t he
s t a t e
i s
t he
s a t i s f a c t i o n ,
at
t he hi ghest possi bl e
l e v e l , of
i t s
s ubj e c t s demands
2
The or di nar y
p h i l i s t i n e , not
educat ed t o
under st and d i a l e c t i c a l
sub-
t l e t i e s ,
may
be
f or gi ven i f he st ands conf used bef or e what at
f i r s t
bl ush
appear s t o be
a
cont r adi ct i on
He i s t o l d t ha t
t he s t a t e s
a
c l as s weapon
and
s i nc e t hat appear s t o
hi m
a
r easonabl e
vi ewpoi nt
he has no
d i f -
f i c u l t y
i n
assi ml at i ng i t
Yet amoment
l a t e r ,
i ndeed wi t h
t he
same
br eat h,
Laski
assur es hi m
t hat t he
s t a t e e x i s t s t o
promote
t he
greatest
possi bl e
s a t i s f a c t i o n
of t he
c i t i z e n s demands
One can under st and
hi s
bewi l der ment But l e t
us
hast en
t o
a s s i s t
hi mWemust expl ai n
t o
hi m
t hat Laski i s here speaki ng of t wo s t a t e s ,
t he
i d ea l
and t he act ual
The
i d ea l
or
noumenal s t a t e i s si mpl i ci t y
i t s e l f
I t s f unct i on i s
t o
ensur e t he
8
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H ROL
LASKI
f ul l est us e of t he
i ns t r ument s
of pr oduct i on ( the Marxi an br i dge) and t o
di s t r i but e
t hei r
product s
i n j us t measure
t o a l l
i t s
ci t i zens
Un-
f or t unat el y
t he hi st ori cal devel opment
of
t he
pr oduct i ve
f orces has
engendered
cancerous c l a s s
di vi si ons i n
soci et y whi ch prevent t he
noumenal s ta te
from
car ryi ng
out i t s
t heoret i c
purpose
Fal l en
from
i t s heavenl y
dwel l i ng- pl ace
i t devel ops
a
secul ar
bi as
i n
f avor
of
t he
owners of t he means
of
product i on,
t he
r ul i ng
c l a ss
i n
every
soci et y
t
begi ns t o squi nt ,
and
i nst ead of i deal j us t i ce
we h ve c l a s s
j us t i c e, t hat
i s
i nj us t i ce
i nst ead
of equal i t y,
i nequal i t y
i nst ead of
harmony
con-
f l i c t The noumenal s t a t e ,
t emporar i l y
covered
wi t h
uns i ght l y
c l a ss en-
crust at i ons,
appear s
as
t he
phenomenal
state
The
l a t t e r , f ar
f rom
espousi ng
j us t i c e,
equal i t y,
or
t he happi nes s of i t s
ci t i zens,
i s
never
neut ral
i n
t he
st ruggl e
waged between t he poss ess i ng
and
non
poss ess i ng
c l a s s es , i s
const ant l y f avor i ng
t he
one
as agai ns t t he
ot her
Sover ei gnt y,
i
. e
supreme
coerci ve power ,
i s now
ef f ect i vel y
possessed
by owners of t he product i ve
i nst r ument s- and
i s nothi ng
el se
but t he
w l l
of
t he rul ers enf or ced by
a
s t andi ng
army,
pol i ce,
pr i sons
and
al l t he
ot her machi nery of coerci ng t he t rucul ent
l ower
orders t o obedi ence As
f or
t he
government
i t
t oo has
su f f e r ed
a
decl ensi on and,
i nst ead
of
serv-
i ng
t he
noumenal
st at e- purpose,
now
a c t s as
t he
agent ,
as
t he execut i ve
commttee of t he
rul i ng
c l a s s
i n power
Fur t hermore,
si nce l w i s t he
w l l
of t he government t hat i s t he
r ul i ng
c l a ss , i t al so i s severed f rom
t s
noumenal abode
j us t i c e
and
never
t r anscends t he par t i cul ar c l a s s i n-
t e r e s t
t o promote
t he wel f are of
soci et y
as
a
whol e Soverei gnt y, govern-
ment
and
l aw, e ch has f a l l e n b ck a s tep, but
t hey
h ve done
so
i n
good order, pr eser vi ng l i k e
wel l -dr i l l ed
sol di ers
nequal
and uni form
di st ance
between
t hemel ves
and
t hei r i deal count erpar t s
I n
b r i e f ,
Laski
has
i nvent ed
n
i ngeni ous
paral l el
const ruct i on
whi ch
enabl es hi m
t o s t ep eas i l y
from
one
ki ngdom
t o
anot her
I f
however ,
hi s
person
be examned a curi ous document w l l be found
t
i s
hi s
pass-
por t , t he term
soverei gnt y
One si de of t he document bears t he
stamp
S ta te
Purpose t he ot her , The
Rul i ng
Cl ass t
I s ,
mai nt ai n,
th i s
s emant i c mbi gui tywhi ch
conf er s upon
Laski t he
ri ght s
of ci t i zen-
shi p
i n
t he
two separat e s t a t e s , t he phenomenal nd t he noumenal
Yet
( and
th i s
i s
t he
whol e, i ndeed
t he very
crux of
t he mat t er ) t he
two
states t u rn
out
t o
be not
so
very
di f f erent
af ter al l For observe t hat t he
noumenal
purpose
has
been
def i ned
as
t he
sat i s f act i on
of
maxi mum
demand t hrough t he f u l l e s t po s s i b l e us e
of
t he
product i ve f o r c e s And
t he act ual hi st ori cal
mss i on
of t he phenomenal
st at e ( af t er
fumg ti on
at
t he
cl eaners )
t urns
out
t o
be nothi ng el s e but t he
success i ve embodi -
ments
or
real i zat i ons
of
t he noumenal purpose
as def i ned
bove The
7 9
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I R
VING
LA
YTON
phenomenal state
that i s t o say
act ual i zes
accordi ng t o
Laski
a
porti on
of the
i deal
at
every
moment
of
i t s
hi s tor i cal
career
I t
f ul f i l l s the
noum
enalpurpose
conti nuously, and wth each successi ve advance, each
successi ve
growh, there
t akes
pl ace a
corresponding growhof j us t i ce
f reedom
and equal i t y
a l l
cl ose t o
the heart of the
pl ura l i s t and
the
i deal i s t
4
Th s -this i s noth ng
other
than
evoluti onary
democrati c
s oci al i sm but i n
a
di sgui se
so
i ngenous, so
r esour cef ul and so
b r i l -
l i a n t l y
; executed
as t o
be
al l
but
i mpenetrable
But a l l
the same i t i s
democrati c
soci al i sm
andnot Marxi sm
To complete
the
di sgui se however, one
further msrepresentati on,
one
more
di s t or t i on and f a l s i f i c a t i o n of a
Marxi an
tenet
was
necessary
Andth i s
was
accompl i shed i n
thefol l owng
passage
where
Laski
wr i t es :
Thi s i s the truth i n the
Marxi an
argument tha
i n
a
cl assl ess soci et y the
state as we
know
t
w l l w ther away
For
the
s t a t e as
we
knowt
has
always
had
the
functi on
not
of preservi ng
l aw
and order as
absolute
goodsseeni n thesame
broadway
by al l membersof
the
s ta te ;
the
func-
t i o n of the
s ta te
has
always
been t o
preserve
that
l aw
and that
order
whi ch are
i mpl i ci t
i n thepurposes
of
apar t i cul ar
cl ass - soci et y. My
i t a l i c s
The
t r i cky
and
msleadi ng
words
are
the
s t a t e
as
we
know
i t
Thestate
as
weknow
t w l l
not wther
away Th s f a t e i s
reserved
accordi ng t o Marx
and Engels,
f or the
D ctatorshp
of the
Prol et ar i at
wh ch, as they poi nted
out
f romt ime
to
time, had
ceased
t o be
a
s t a t e
i n thetrueand
essent i al
meani ng
of that word
si nce
The
f i r s t act
of
the
State i n whi ch
i t
r eal l y act s
as
the representati ve
of
the
whole of
Soci et y namely,
the
assumpti on
of
control over themeans of
produc-
ti on on behal f
of
soci et y i s
al s o
i t s
l ast act as a
s t a t e
16
I t i s not
the
s ta te as we know
i t
whi ch
wthers
away
but
the
most complete
democracy
As
Len n
puts
i t
:
The
capi t al i s t
State
does
not wther
away but i s
destroyed by
the
pr ol et ar i at i n
the
course
of
the
revol uti on
Onl y
theprol etari an
State or
sem-Statewthers
away
a f te r
the
revoluti on
But revoluti on
and
the
pro l et ar i an
s ta te
ar e the
l a s t thi ngs i n the
worl d
that
Laski
wants
t o t a l k about
What
bet ter
way
t o
camouflage
t h i s
rel uctance
thanby
a
reference
t o
a
cl assl ess
soci ety
whoseMarx-
i an r i ng sounds so
muchl ess menaci ngsi nce i t comes
f rom
sucha
con-
venently
remote
di stance?
Today i t i s a
more d i f f i c u l t matter t o di s t or t
Marxi sm
si nce
i t
r equi r es
f or
i t s
achi evement
acombi nati on
of vi r t ues
andpowers
possessed by few people
h gh-mndedness, erudi t i on,
marked
cont r overs i al gi f t s and
a
cool
unfl i nchng
i mpudence
Yet
i t
must be
acknowedged that Laski
usi ng a
Marxi an
termnology
f or j us t
that
very
purpose,
has
al l
but
succeeded Nevertheless,
I
submt
that
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H ROL
LASKI
L as k i s
i d e a l i s t i c s o c i a l democr acy
and e c l e c t i c hodge- podge
have
not hi ng
i n
common
wi t h
Marxi sm
whi ch
ri gorousl y
eschews
al l
e t h i c a l
and
t e l e o l o g i c a l presupposi t i ons
in i t s at t empt
t o
eval uat e
s oc i a l phen-
omena s c i e n t i f i c a l l y L as k i s w sh
t o
envel ope Mar x
i n
t he same e t h i c a l
f og
i n whi ch
he
hi mel f habi t ual l y
dwel l s
hi s
nai ve
e f f o r t
t o
equat e Das
Kapi t al
wi t h
the
Sermon
on t he Mount
exchange val ue
wi t h t he
Categor i cal I mperat i ve hi s
magni f i cent
z e a l t o present hi s t e l e o l o gi c al
i deal i sm i n t he
gui se
of
Marxi an
d i a l e c t i c s ar e, t o one
who
has
st udi ed
t he Marxi an c l a s s i c s ,
as
f u t i l e
as t hey
ar e pathet i c But t he
w sh
t he
e f f o r t , and t he z e a l ar e l l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of present - day Soci al Demo-
cracy
For t he Marxi st t he bas i c ant agoni sm i n modernsoci et y i s t h a t
whi ch
e x i s t s bet ween the bourgeoi si e and t he prol etari at
Laski
subst i t utes
f o r
t h i s t he opposi t i on
bet ween capi t al i sm
anddemocr acy
The
assump-
t i o n s of capi t al i sm he a f f i r ms ,
cont radi ct
t he i mpl i cat i ons of
democracy
.
i s
By
t he
assumpt i ons
of
capi t al i smLaski
mans
t he
subor-
di nat i on
of
t he
product i ve
mchan sm
o t he prof i t - seeki ng
mot i ve
whi ch ne ce ss ar i l y l i m t s
wel f are
andhappi ness t o t he pr i vi l eged f ew
who
cont rol t he
i ns t r ument s of
product i on Democracy on
the
other hand
i mpl i es
equal i t y
Theuni on of capi t al i smanddemocr acy was due t o an
h i s t o r i c a l acci dent whi ch
requi red
of the mddl e- cl asses t o
grant
c e r t a i n
concess i ons
t o t he urban pr o l e t a r i a t and t he
peasant ry
t o wn t h e i r sup-
port
i n t he
st ruggl e
agai nst f eudal i sm The
of f spri ng of t hat marr i age
was
t heref ore
not economc but p o l i t i c a l , t h a t i s f ormal democr acy
Laski poi nt s
out
t h a t
p o l i t i c a l
democracy
whi ch
hel d
out
t o
t he masses
t he
promse
of t he
event ual el i mnat i on
of s oc i a l
abuses and
i nequal -
i t i e s , worked
qui t e
wel l as l ong as capi t al i smwas i n i t s expandi ng
phase
Capi t al i smwas t hen progressi ve due
e n t i r e l y
t o the
f a c t t h a t i s
prosper-
ous advance enabl ed i t
t o af f ord
certai n concessi ons
as
t he
necessary
p r i c e
f or
t he avoi dance of s oc i a l
s t r i f e
Now
however capi t al i sm
i s
no
l onger progressi ve
i nst ead
of
expandi ng i t has begun
t o
cont ract
t he
c a p i t a l i s t
syst em has
ent ered upon
t h a t
extremty f oretol d
f o r i t by
Marx
i n whi ch t he
r e l a t i o n s
of
product i on ar e
i n
cont radi ct i on
w th
t he
i ndi spensabl e
f o r c e s of product i on
s
a
consequence
of
t h i s si tuati on
capi t al i sm has begun t o
revoke i t s
f ormer generosi t y
and t o f avor
r e -
pressi on
as
a mans f o r deal i ng
wi t h
t he
l egi t i mate cl ai m of
t he d i s -
advantaged secti ons
of t he popul at i on
Event ual l y
t h a t i s
t o s ay ,
t he unst abl e
equi l i br i um
est abl i shed by t he
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French
Revol ut i on
of
1789 must
gi ve
way, and ei t her
capi tal i sm or
democr acy t r i umph
For
t he
e t h i c
of
t he
one
i s
unal t er abl y
opposed
t o
that of t he
other
Capi t al i sm
r e s t r i c t s econom c
and
p o l i t i c a l advant age
t o
t he
owner s
of
property,
whi l e democr acy, Laski
t hi nks, i s a
one- way
s t r eet t o equal i t y
Between t he t wo no
compromse
i s
possi bl e
ndt he
l esson
of
Fasci sm
Laski i n s i s t s
i s
that t he
property-owners
w i l l
not
h e s i t a t e
t o
suspend
t he democrat i c processes t he
moment
they
r e a l i z e
that t he proper t yl ess
are prepared t o make use of
them
o
i ncrease t h e i r
share
of t he
s o ci a l
pr oduct Wth Fasci sm t he c l a s s
st r uggl e does
not
come
t o an end; i t i s
mer el y transferred t o anot her
pl ane
Fasci sm
i s
t he
use
o f
unrest r ai ned
vi ol ence agai nst
t hose gr oups,
mai nl y
t he
prol e-
t a r i a t whi ch a s p i r e t o
chal l enge
t he supr emacy or t o destroy t he p r i v i l
eges of t he rul i ng c l a s s I t
i s
f i r s t
of
a l l
a d i r e c t a s s aul t
upon
t he l i v ing
st andards
of
t he masses ;
and
t o
that
end t he dest r ucti on
of
al l t h e i r
def ence or gani zati ons trade
uni ons,
workers
cl ubs
andnewspaper s ,
et c
as wel l as t he dest r uct i on of
represent at i ve
i n s t i t u t i o n s
i n
general
a r e es s en t i a l prerequi si t es
Whenever
t h a t
i s t he c a p i t a l i s t
c l a s s
f e e l s
i t s e l f threatened
i t
w i l l use the power of t he s t a t e t o
crush
democr acy ;
i n
doi ng
s o
i t
must
r e s o r t
t o
t e r r o r and
cont i nue
t o
mai nt ai n
i t s
aut hor -
i t y
by naked r epressi on
Fasci sm i s
t he open di ct at or shi p of t he
bour-
geoi si e 9
Thi s, br oadl y
speaki ng,
i s t he
d l emma conf r ont i ng
al l
c a p i t a l i s t
democr aci es
;
andnoone
has
argued
wi t h greater t r enchancy than Laski
t he si gni f i cance
of that
d l emma
f or
our
t i me
As
adescri pt i on
of
one
of
t hemaj or s o c i a l t ensi ons of t oday
i t
i s
be l i e v e
l a r g e l y
t r u e
No
one, t o
be
s u r e
can s e r i o u s l y
di sagree wi t h Laski when
he argues
as f ol l ows
I R
hIN
L YTON
I n
a
c api t a l i s t s oc i et y
t heref ore,
l i b e r t y
i s
a
f uncti on
of t he possess i on of property,
and
those
who possess
property
on
any consi der abl e s c a l e are
smal l
i n
numers
There
i s
al ways, t heref ore, a per pet ual
cont est
i n
such a s o c i e t y f o r t he
extensi on
of t he
pri vi l eges of
property
t o
those who
do not enj oy i t s
benef i t s
There
i s f r om
t h i s angl e,
a pr of ound con-
t radi ct i on
bet ween
t he
econom c
and t he p o l i t i c a l
aspects of c a p i t a l i s t
democr acy For
t he
emphasi s
of
t he one i s
on t he
power
of t he
f ew,
whi l e
t he em
phasi s of
t he
other i s
on t he power of t he many
Gr ant ed
onl y s e c u r i t y t h e l e s s t he i nt er f erence
wi t h
econom c aspects by t he p o l i t i c a l power of t he
s o
c i e t y t he
greater w i l l be
t he
benef i t
enj oyed by t he
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H ROL
L SKI
few gr ant ed s ec ur i t y a l s o t he
greater t he
p o l i t i c a l
i nt er f erence
t he
more
w del y
wi l l
econom c
benef i t
be shared
The
permanent dri ve of c a p i t a l i s t
demo
cracy
i s
t heref ore
t owards t he
control
by
t he
s t a t e
of
econom c power i n t he i n t e r e s t of t he
mul t i t ude
2 0
Thi s p i c t u r e
s a y
i s
l a r g e l y true ; but
i t
i s
a l s o
much
t oo si mpl e I t
depends f or
i t s compl ete val i dati on upon
t he const ruct i on of
a model
whi ch i gnores much
of t he e s s ent i a l and c h a r a c t e r i s t i c processes
of
c a p i t a l i s t s o c i e t y
I t c a r r i e s convi ct i on t o t he mnd chi ef l y
because i t i s
present ed
a s
t he
a n t i t h e s i s
of
two
opposed
pri nci pl es
one
of
whi ch i s
by def i ni t i on, good a s t he
ot her
i s
e v i l
I n what sense, f o r exampl e,
i s i t
t r u e
t o say t hat
c a p i t a l i s t democr acy
l eads
on
t o
s o c i a l i s m f or
pr esumabl y
t h a t i s what Laski means
by
t he
control
by
t he s t a t e
of
econom c
power i n t he
i n t e r e s t
of t he
mul t i t ude ?
As an
a bs t r a c t i o n
a s
a
pr i nc i pl e of
good,
a s
a s e l e c t i o n
of
one si ngl e
aspect
from
t he
wel t er
of
s o ci a l phenomena
i t i s
c e r t a i n l y
permssi bl e t o speak of democr acy a s
opposed
t o capi tal i sm
But what
we
a r e deal i ng w th
here
i s not pure
democr acy but capi tal i st democr acy and
t o a s s e r t
of
t he l a t t e r t h a t
i t
has f or
i t s
end
soci al i sm i s
t o say t he
l ea st beggi ng
t he
quest i on
Cer-
t a i n l y such a st at ement
cannot
stand
wi t hout some v e r y ser i ous
q u a l i f i c a t i o n s
and these
q u a l i f i c a t i o n s
as we
s ha l l
s e e a r e such a s t o
throw somedoubt upon
t he
v a l i d i t y
of
Laski s
over- si mpl i f i ed
model
I t
i s f or
i nst ance,
a
pr i me
e ss e nt i a l
t o
t he
e f f e c t i v en e s s
of
L as k i s con-
str uct i on t h a t
capi tal i sm shoul d
y i e l d s e c ur i t y ; but
t h i s both
by
def i ni t i on
and f a c t i s p r e c i s el y what
capi tal i sm
i s
i ncapabl e
of
assur i ng
us
We
may
l egi t i matel y
i d e n t i f y
c a p i t a l i s t
democr acy
w t h par l i amen-
tar i sm
and,
i n
essence,
L a s k i s p r a c t i c a l
programme
shakes down
t hrough
many
s i f t i n g s
t o a
somewhat di f f i dent apol ogi a
f or par l i amen-
t ar i sm t he worki ng- cl ass
can achi eve i t s
emanci pat i on
by
pl aci ng t he
necessary
l e g i s l a t i o n upon
t he s t a t u t e
books
Laski
counsel s
a
r e l i a n c e
upon
const i t ut i onal met hods,
upon
l egal i sm upon t he f ormat i on
of
a
Labour
Party
whi ch w i l l
conf i ne
i t s r evol ut i onary a c t i v i t i e s t o get t i ng
out t he vote
Thi s, of
course, i s
t he
programme
of
So c i a l Democracy
everywhere
The acceptance
of
t h i s
counsel and
i t s appl i cat i on i n prac-
t i c e
were mai nl y
r esponsi bl e
f or
t he
compl ete
degenerat i on
of
t he
once
power f ul
and respected German Soci al
Democr at i c
Party
2 1
I n f a c t
i t i s
not t oo
much
t o say t hat Schei demann and Noske
by i ncessant l y
pr eachi ng
consti t ut i onal i sm
t o
t he German wor ker s unw tt i ngl y
paved
t he
broad hi ghway
upon whi ch
H i t l e r s
tanks
af t erwards
rumbl ed i n t o
8
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t he
wor ki ng- cl ass
d i s t r i c t s of
Ber l i n,
Hamburg
and
Lei pz i g
Wherever
t he
programme
of
So c i a l Democracy has been
t r i e d
i t
has ended i n
di sast r ous
f a i l u r e
or
i n
hum l i at i ng
d e b i l i t y
The exper i ence
of
two
Labour
Governments under
t he l a t e
Ramsay MacDonal d i s i t
goes
wi t hout sayi ng, no except i on
t o t h i s
cons i stent record
of
f a i l u r e
i m
pot ence
and hum l i at i on z z However ,
i t i s unnecessary
t o devel op t h i s
poi nt
further ; hi story
has
al r eady
made
i t s wr y
commentary upon t he
f u t i l e
t a c t i c s of So c i a l
Democracy
I n
pr ai si ng
bourgeoi s democr acy, therefore, Laski
i s
hel pi ng
t o
f o s t e r
those
i l l u s i o n s whi ch
l ed
t o t he def eat
of
t he wor ki ng- cl ass i n
Germany
I t a l y
and
Spai n
He
i s
onl y
r epeat i ng
what
every
bour geoi s
l i k e s t o
hear
That bour geoi s
democr acy i s
better than
no s o r t
of
democr acy i s
of
course, t rue but i t i s
t he ki nd of
t r u t h
whose
utterance
comes
more
gr acef ul l y fromt he
l i p s
of
a l i b e r a l
p h i l i s t i n e
What
t he
Mar xi st ,
ac -
cor di ng
t o
Leni n,
must
s t r i ve t o
convi nce t he
masses i s that
bour geoi s
democr acy
r emai ns
and cannot but
r emai n under capi tal i sm r e s t r i c -
t e d
truncated,
f a l s e andhypocr i t i cal , a
par adi se f o r t he
r i c h
and a
trap
and a
snare
and a decept i on f or t he expl oi t ed,
f o r t he
poor
23
Si nce
Leni n
presented t he quest i on
f r om
t he poi nt
of vi ew of t he
ensl aved
and
oppressed
masses
he
char acter i zed
c a p i t a l i s t
democr acy
as
democr acy
f or t he r i ch , addi ng
t h a t i t
was
p r e c i s e l y
i n t he
most
democr at i c
coun-
t r i e s Amer i ca,
Engl and,
France
and
Swi t zer l and
that
t he
mas ses
wer e
more
decei ved
andm sl ed t han i n
ot her
count r i es The f ol l owi ng
passage
r ev ea l s
qui t e
c l e a r l y t he t r emendous
di f f er ence
i n
approach
t owar ds
c a p i t a l i s t
democr acy
bet ween
aMar xi st and a
Soci al
Democrat
(For
Kaut sky
i n
t h i s
passage si mpl y substi t ut e
L as k i
I R
VIN L YTON
Take
t he bour geoi s par l i ament s
an
i t
be
t h a t
t he
l ear ned
Mr
Kaut sky
has
never hear d t h a t
t he
more
democr acy i s devel oped, t he
more
t he
bour geoi s
par l i ament s f a l l under t he control of t he
St ock Ex-
change and
t he banker s?
Thi s,
of
course,
does not
mean t h a t we must not use
bour geoi s par l i ament s
( the
Bol shevi ks
have
made better use of
them
than
any
otherparty
i n t he wor l d, f or i n 1912- 1914 we
captured
t he ent i re worker s
c u r i a
i n t he
fourth
Duma
But
i t
does
mean
that
onl y
a Li ber al
can
forget
t he h i s t o r i c a l l im ta t i ons and
convent i onal
character of bour geoi s
par l i ament ar i sm
as
Kaut sky
does
Even i n t he most democr at i c
bour geoi s s t a t e s
t he oppressed masses meet at
every
step
t he cry i ng
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H ROL
L SKI
cont r adi cti on between
the f ormal equal i t y
pr ocl ai med by
t he
democracy
of
t he
c a p i t a l i s t s
and t he t housand and one
de
facto
l i mtati ons and
r e s t r i c t i o n s whi ch make
t he
prol etar i ans wage- sl aves
I t
i s p r e c i s e l y t h i s cont radi cti on t h a t
opens t he eyes of
t he
masses t o t he rottenness,
hypocr i sy
and men
daci t y
of
capi t al i sm I t i s t h i s cont radi cti on
whi ch t he
a g i t a t o r s and
propagandi st s of soci al i sm are
con-
stant l y show ng
up
t o
t he
masses,
i n order t o
prepare
them
f o r
t he r evol ut i on
nd nowthat t he era
of
revol ut i on
has
begun,
Kaut sky
turns hi s
back
upon
i t
and begi ns
t o
e x t o l
t he
charms
of
mori bund
bourgeoi s
democr acy ( Leni n' s i t a l i c s
I n t he
l i g h t
of t h i s
passage,
one
i s
si mpl y l e f t wonder i ng
t h a t
Laski
can
s t i l l pose
a s a Marxi st
y a r t f u l l y i gnor i ng t he
pr of ound di f f erences whi ch di vi de com
muni st s
from
s o c i a l i s t s
di f f erences
whi ch ext end
f a r beyond
t he bel i ef
or
l a c k
of
bel i ef
i n t he
r e a l i t y
of
a
const i t ut i onal
vi ct ory
( i ndeed,
t h i s
i s
rather a crude way of st at i ng t he
di f f e r e nc e
Laski f i nds t he
most
dex-
terous
way
of
cover i ng up
hi s
own t r oubl esome v a c i l l a t i o n s and un-
c e r t a i n t i e s
andwoul d l i k e i t woul d
seem
t o
i nvol ve t he communi st s i n
them
I n
f a c t
a s
any Mar xi st
knows,
communi sts
are
not out
t o
demonst r at e
that
reformsm i s
an
i l l u s i o n For a prof essor i t may be
an
academc
quest i on,
but not
f o r
t he workers
who
wi l l
most cert ai nl y
have t o
pay
w t h
t h e i r own l i v e s
f or
t he
mstaken
p o l i c i e s
of
t h e i r
l eaders
Wen
communi st s
o f f e r
t o
fo rmauni t ed front w t h
s o c i a l i s t s
they
do so for a
v e r y p r a c t i c a l reason
t o better t he
l i v i n g condi t i ons
of
t he workers and t o prepare
them
f or t he next round of str uggl e
I n
truth, Laski
seems
unabl e t o
r i d
hi msel f of t he catast rophi c or cl i mac-
t e r i c
pi ct ure of revol ut i on,
of
t hi nki ng
of
r evol ut i on
i n
t erms
of
sudden
upheaval , a s a
spont aneous out br eak of vi ol ence agai nst t he
ol d order
Hi s revol ut i onary
hor i zon ( reveal i ng a l l t he
f e a r s
and i gnorant t e r r o r s
of
t he l i b e r a l p h i l i s t i n e i s
s e ve r e l y
l imted t o
Bl anqui sm
and,
a s we have
seen,
he bends
a l l
hi s
e f f o r t s
t o di ssuade t he
expl oi t ed wage- sl aves
from
pr epar i ng
t h e i r
f ormat i ons
f or
a
possi bl e
attack
upon
t he bourgeoi s
s t a t e
The l essons of t he Bol shevi k revol ut i on
t he
most peacef ul
revol ut i on i n
h i s t o r y
are compl etel y
unassi ml at ed
by
hi mFor
L as k i
therefore, t he
onl y
al t ernat i ve t o r evol ut i on
i s
reform
z s
and i t
i s
t o t he
pat h of
reformsmt h a t
Laski
woul dcommt t heworki ng- cl ass
The Marxi st ,
on t he
c o n t r a r y
whi l e
bel i evi ng
t h a t r ef orms a r e
bot h
8
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I R
hING
L
YT
usef ul
andnecessary i n s i s t s t h a t t he
c a p i t a l i s t
s t a t e
must
be shattered by
a
f ronta l attack
and
i t s
pl ace
taken
by
a
pr ol et ar i an di ct at or shi p
or
a
pr ol eta r i an democ r acy that
s
t o s ay
democ r ac y ; f or
t he
poor bef ore
s oci al i sm
onany br oad andpermanent s c a l e can
be
r eal i zed The s o c i al
r e f o rms t
and
Laski
f or
al l hi s exasperated
i ncer t i t udes must be num
ber ed
among
thembe l i e ve s
t hat capi t al i sm
can
be r ef or med
from
w t hi n
t he Mar xi s t r egar ds r ef or ms as concessi ons whi ch ar e wr est ed
fromt he c a p i t a l i s t
c l a s s
and whi ch enabl e t he pr ol eta r i at t o consol i dat e
i t s f o r c e s
such
a
consol i dat i on
assur i ng t
ul t i mat el y
of
an
e as i e r
and
speedi er
vi c t or y For t he Marxi st therefore
r ef or ms
ar e no t t he
a l t e r -
nat i ve
t o
r evol ut i on
but i n
a
sense
i t s
pr e- condi t i on
t hey hel p
as
al l
concessi ons
wonfromt he c a p i t a l i s t
c l a s s
do to
organi ze
and educate t he
wor ker s f or t he f i n a l e f f o r t
t o
overturn
t he sys tem
whi ch
keeps
them
en-
sl aved
Needl ess t o s ay
h i s t o r i c a l economc and psychol ogi cal con-
s i der at i ons wi l l gr eat l y det er m ne t he d i f f i c u l t y or t he ease wi t h whi ch
t he expl oi t i ng
m nor i t y
wi l l be el i mnat ed
But t he
Mar xi st r e l i e s upon
unr el ent i ng
st r uggl e and pr eaches t
unr emt t i ngl y
t o t he
wor k i ng
c l a s s
The s o c i al r e f o rms t
pr eaches
par l i ament ar i sm and t he
r e l i an c e upon
const i t ut i onal
methods
even
when
as
wi t h
L as k i
he
al r eady
senses
t he
hol l owness and i nsecur i t y of both
The Marxi st then be l i e ve s
t hat i n
a cer ta i n
h i s t o r i c a l
context mght
i s sanc t i f i ed
by
r i ght He therefore accepts
wi t hout
l amentat i on or
despai r
t he pr ol etar i at as t he
ac t i ve
and r evol ut i onar y
agent
f or
changi ng
cont empor ar y
c a p i t a l i s t soc i et y
Thi s s what s meant by s c i en -
t i f i c s oci al i sm
Not
appeal s t o
a b s t r a c t
j u s t i c e or reason or any other
i deal
category
i n t he mnd of t he
p o l i t i c a l phi l osopher but onl y
t he
r evol ut i onar y t emper and
mat ur i t y
of t he pr o l e t a r i a t can abol i sh
i nequal i t y
and expl oi ta t i on and
usher
i n
t he
pr er equi s i tes f or
a
c l a s s l e s s
soc i ety Her e mght d i s g r es s
l ong
enought o
say t hat
t he
t r ansval uat i on
of val ues of whi ch Ni et zsche wr ot e
wi l l
be
acc ompl i shed
by t he t r i u m
phant wor ki ng- cl ass t s not usual
i n
r ad i c a l c i r c l e s
t o
menti onMarx
and Ni etz sche
i n
t he same breath
never t hel ess
am i r m y per suaded
t h a t f u tu re
hi stor i ans and t hi nker s wi l l reckon Ni et zsc he as great an
ant i - bour geoi s as
great an
emanci pat i ng f o r c e as
Marx hi msel f
Ni et zs che was t he poet of t he pr ol eta r i an r evol ut i on as Marx was
i t s
pr ophet
Marx
anal yzed
t he economc f oundat i ons
of
t he ol d soc i ety
and f or et ol d
t he
natu re
of
t he new
f oundat i ons suc ceedi ng
t o
t
;
Ni et zs che w ther i ngl y
di ssect ed
bour geoi s
psychol ogy
andmor al i t y and
wi t h t he i n t u i t i o n of geni us cel ebr ated t he mor al i t y and
conduct
of t he
f u tu re
6
Mor eover both
menwer e dedi cat ed t o t he
f a i t h
that manki nd
can become t he conf i dent master
of
i t s envi r onment
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HAROLDLASKI
Laski s
great obsessi on
i s t h a t
i n
any showdown bet ween
capi t al and
l abour ,
t he
r e s u l t
must
be
t he cur t ai l ment
of
l i ber t y
and
t he
est abl i shment of
e i t he r
a F as c i s t o r
a Pr ol et ar i an di ct at or s hi p
And
as
we have
s e e n ,
Laski
i s equal l y hos t i l e
t o both of them
i n s i s t i n g
that
when men f i ght t o
destroy
e x i s t i n g
aut hor i t y, t he v i c t o r s ar e
bound
t o
embark
upon
an
attack on f reedom i n order t o consol i dat e
t h e i r
power
7
And
s i n c e
i t i s exact l y such a b a t t l e t h a t i s shapi ng up i t i s not
surpr i s i ng
t h a t
t he not e of el egi ac
de s pa i r ,
of
mour nf ul
t hr enody,
mkes i t s
appearance i n
L as k i s
l a t e r vol umes For
as
a l i b e r a l ,
as a s o ci al
democr at , L as k i s
ul t i mat e al l egi ance i s t o t he I deal and
t o
those
ardent
f ew
w t h i n whom
as
w t hi n
hi msel f ,
t he
I deal
has t aken
up
i t s a n t i -
s ept i c r es i dence
Hi s
agony i s caused
by
t he t wof ol d awar eness
that t he
I deal
must s tep down
i n t o
t he
arena
of
mn
there
t o gi ve b a t t l e , and
that i n
any
event t he
I de al i s power l ess
t o ar r es t
or
di r e c t
t he t ur bul ent
passi ons
of
our e r a
Such
sur el y i s t he despai r i ng mod
of
t he
f ol l ow ng
passage
Ther e ar e , Laski ur ges ,
i n
every soc i et y l t t l gr oups
of
devot ed
men andwomenwho
knowt h a t t he s p i r i t
of
e v i l can be
exor-
c i s e d
wher e
there
i s
t he
wi l l
t o f i nd t he t er ms of peace, t he ardour
t o
di scover
t he
condi t i ons
of
f el l owshi p
But
i t
s eems
t he i nexor abl e
l o g i c
of a mat er i al and
unequal
soc i et y t hat t he i r v oi c es shoul d hardl y
be
heard
above
t he passi onat e
c l amour
of ext r emes
I f
wemkej us t i ce an
e x i l e f r om
our habi t at i ons, respect
f or
her advocat es
l i e s
beyond our
power of achi evement
We conf ound
her cl ai ms w t h our
own
we
confuse her pr i nc i pl es w t h our
s e l f - i n t e r e s t
.
28
Not t he mat ur i t y, t he
r evol ut i onar y
t emper , t he pat i ent and resourceful const r uct i on
of
a
wor ki ng- cl ass
party
prepared t o l ead t he
expl oi t ed
mas ses
but
t he
good-
wi l l and i ns i ght
of
t he s e l ec t f ew ; not t he di c tat or shi p
of
t he
prol et ar i at
but
t he
benevol ent
di c tator shi p
of
J u s t i c e
these
al one,
Laski
be l i e ve s ,
my e s t a b l i s h t he s o c i a l i s t
soc i et y
of
t he
future
What i s
t h i s
but a
r e-
s t at ement of t he di scr edi t ed ut opi an
s oci al i sm
agai nst whi ch arxand
Engel s l e v e l l e d t he i r deadl i est and
mos t i r o n i c attacks? L as k i , i t woul d
appear, a c t u a l l y depl or es t he
gr ow ng
strength and
m l i t ancy
of
t he
wor ki ng- cl ass whi ch f i n a l l y
enabl es
i t
t o
chal l enge
t he
r u l e
of t he cap-
i t a l i s t s
f or
hi m i t i s onl y
an
ugl y
i nst ance
of
t he pass i onate
c l amour
of ext r emes , of e v i l s el f - i nt eres t
Laski
t he i d e a l i s t ,
w t h t he
r e-
mar kabl e
i n s t i n c t
of
a homng pi geon, al ways
returns
t o wher e he
s tar ted
f r om
F i n a l l y , s i n c e L as ki a s s e r t s
that
arx
was
over - opt i m s t i c
; t h a t
i s
t o
say ,
u n s c i e n t i f i c , i n
hi s
pr ognost i cat i ons
concer ni ng t he fu tu re ; s i nc e,
mor eover ,
Laski
hi msel f
has never t r anscended
t he narrow
hor i zons
of
bour geoi s j u s t i c e
and bour geoi s r i ght s ; s i nc e ,
al s o,
Laski
bel i eves
8
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I RVINGLAYTON
that
some
ki nd
of
p o l i t i c a l aut hor i t y
w i l l al ways
be
necessar y so l ong as
men ar e or gani zed i n
s o c i e t i e s
and
s i nc e f ur t her mor e,
f o r
Laski
par l i ament ar i sm
and democr ac y
are sacr osanct i d o l s t he
t i mel ess and
i ndeed
i nevi t abl e f orms of
al l
wi se gover nment ,
3 i t
must be stated that
Marx not
onl y
c r i t i c i z e d par l i ament ar y
i n s t i t u t i o n s but
ur ged
t h e i r
super sessi on
by
a
wor ki ng
cor por at i on t h a t
woul d
be
l e g i s l a t i v e and
execut i ve at one and t he same t i me and envi saged,
f o r
a
l a t e r per i od,
t he
di sappear ance of
democr ac y i t s e l f o r
as
Leni n poi nt ed o u t t he
wi t her i ng away of t he s t at e a c t ua l l y means t he
wi t her i ng away of
democr ac y
For democr acy,
Leni n ar gued,
i s
a
State
whi ch
r ecogni zes
t he subj ect i on
of t he
mnor i t y
t o
t he
maj or i t y,
t h a t
i s an
or gani zat i on
f or t he
syst emat i c use of vi ol ence byone
c l a s s
agai nst t he ot her , by one
par t of
t he popul at i on
agai nst
t he
ot her
3
And Marxi st s
s e t them
s e l v es as
t hei r f i n a l ai m t he
t a s k
of t he dest r uct i on of t he S t a t e that
i s
of every
or gani zed and syst emat i c vi ol ence,
every
formof vi ol ence
agai nst
man i n
gener al
3
Under
Communi sm there w i l l vani sh al l
need
f o r
f o r c e f or t he subj ect i on of
oneman t o
anot her ,
of one sect i on
of
soci et y
t o
anot her ,
si nce peopl e
wi l l growaccust omed
t o
obser vi ng
t he
el ement ar y
condi t i ons
of s oc i a l exi st ence
wi t hout force
and- wi t hout
subj ect i on
That i s
wi t hout
that
p o l i t i c a l
aut hor i t y
whose
oper at i on
upon
t he
most
i deal
t erms
i t has been Laski s e f f o r t f r ombegi nni ng t o
end,
whet her
as
p l u r a l i s t
or Marxi st , t o
di scover
Thi s
t a s k concl ude, was t he t a s k
of
a l i b e r a l p h i l i s t i n e
of
one
who
hadnot yet f reed
hi msel f
frombour geoi s pr ej udi ces and r easoni ng of
one
who was f undament al l y
an
i d e a l i s t
i n t emper
and
not
a mat eri al i s t
I t never
was,
and i t
never
coul d
have
been,
t he t a s k of any
genui ne
Mar xi st
Engl i sh
York
Uni ver si t y
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2 Harol d
Laski , Probl emof Sover ei gnty
NewHaven
Yal e
Uni ver s i t y
Press,
1917
Ch
I
and
AppendixA
3 Harol d Laski ,
Aut hor i t y
and
t heModern
State
New
Haven
Yal e
Uni v er s i t y
Press,
1919 p
34
4 I b i d
pp
45, 46
HAROLD
LASKI
Not es
1
Harol d Laski , WhyI amaMarxi st J an
14,
1939 The Nati on
Vol
148, No
3 pp 59- 61
5
See, however, Harol d Laski , Ri se
of Eur opean L i ber al i sm
London
A l en
and
Unwn
1938
6
Harol d
Laski ,
Grammr
o f P o l i t i c s
NewHaven Yal eUni v er s i t y
Press,
1925
p 45
Harol d Laski ,
Aut hor i t y
and
t he
Modern
S t a t e
p
38
8
I b i d
p 92
9
Harol d Laski ,
The
State i n
Theor y andPract i ce
New
York
1935 p 139
10
See
The State i n Theor y
and
P r a ct i c e pp 100, 115, 118, 145,
179 I t
i s r el evant tom
argumnt
t o poi nt out that each ti me
Laski
ventures
an
expl i c i t def i ni t i on of thes t a t e
11
I b i d
p
145
12 I b i d p 138
13
By gi vi ng
the termsoverei gnty a doubl e
mani ng Laski
has taken out an
i nsur ance
pol i c y
agai nst
the f u t ur e
shoul d the bour egoi si e
y i e l d peacef ul l y
anddemocrati c s oc i al i s m
tri umh
Laski can poi nt
t o the r eal i z at i on of t he
st ate- pur pose
; shoul d t hey not, and after a
vi ol ent
r evol ut i on
of the pr ol et ar i at es t abl i s h
i t s
di ct atorshi p, Laski can
i nvol ve
the other, c l ass r ul e
Theambi gui ty, i n
short, i s a r ef l ec t i on of
Laski s
owndi vi dedanddeepl y t r oubl ed
mnd
14 TheState
i n
Theor y and
P r a c t i c e
pp
78,
181,
295
15 I b i d p 181
16
Fr i edr i c h Engel s,
Ant i - Dubr i ng, p
315
17
VI
Leni n,
State andRevol uti on, p
125
18
The
State i n
Theor y
andP r a ct i c e p
111
19 I b i d
pp
136,
289
20
Harol d
Laski ,
Democracy
i n Cn
r i s
London
GeorgeA l en
and
Unwn
1933
pp
205-206
21
Ei s l er , Norder
and Schrei ner , The
Lesson
of Ger many, pp
60- 62,
100-102
22 J ohn Strachey,
The Theor y
andPract i ce
of Soc i al i s m
London Gol l ancz, 1937 pp 440-444
Thepart i a l s oc i al i s t i c
achi evemnts
of the
pr esent
l abour governmnt
under Prim
M ni s t er
At t l ee
shoul d
not
bl i nd
us to the fact that i t s qui te
l i t e r a l l y
the
ex pl oi t ed workers and
89
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23
V
Leni n,
The
Pro l eta r i an
Revol ut i on
andRenegade Kaut sky,
p
26
24
I b i d
pp
28- 28
Nowt h a t
as
a consequence of t he s u c c e s s f u l
war
t o def eat f asci sm t h e
Eur opean masses a r e
begi nni ng
t o t a k e t he revol ut i onary pat h t owar ds t h e i r
emanci pat i on,
Laski
i s
reported t o have t o l d
t he
Fr ench, Bel gi an
and Dutch
s o c i a l i s t s t o
refuse
t he
Com
muni st s pr oposal f o r Uni t ed Act i on
25
The State
i n Theor y andPr act i ce,
p 109
I RVNGLAYT
peasant s of I ndi a, Chi na, Egypt ,
I r a n
Gr eece and
I t a l y who
a r e payi ng
t he
pr i c e f o r them
Thi s
i s noth i ng
ot her t han l abour
i mper i a l i sm
Ni et zsche,
Thus
Spake
Zarathustra,
pp
105- 108
27
Democracy i n r i s i s p 208 Leni n ar gued that under a prol etar i an
di ct atorshi p f r eedomand
democr acy wer e a m l l i o n t i mes gr eat er than
under bour geoi s
democr acy
8
I b i d
p 267
9
Har ol d L a s k i Mar xi sm
After
F i f t y Year s, ( Mar ch,
1937)
Cur r ent H story, Vol
38,
pp 691-
9
30
Har ol d
Laski , Par l i ament ary
Governmnt i n
England
NewYork
1938)
p
77
31
V
Leni n,
The
State
andRevol ut i on,
p
187
32
I b i d
p
187
33 I b i d
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PHLLI P
H NSEN
pr ovi de t he most sophi st i cat ed def ence of
t h a t newl y
emer gent
i n -
s t i t u t i o n a l
c o r o l l a r y
of
mat ur e
capi ta l i sm
l i ber a l
democr ac y
nd
t h i s
i s
exact l y what
he
di d
L e s s
fettered
by
over t l y Ut i l i t ar i an
concept s t han,
f or exampl e,
J ohn
Stuart
Mi l l whos e
vi ews
he
subj ect ed to extens i ve
c r i t i c i s m Green
di scer ned more c l e a r l y than most t h a t
s t r i c t l y Ut i l i t ar i an- Bent hamt e
as sumpt i ons wer e i n some way rel at ed t o t he
depl or abl e
s oc i al
con-
di t i ons of
the B r i t i s h
worki ng
c l a s s For hi m t heref ore,
these
assump-
t i o n s coul d
not form n t hemel ves an adequat e j u s t i f i c a t o r y
base
f or the
mar ket
As a r e s u l t
he
was l ed
to pos i t somet hi ng l i k e
a devel opment al
vi ew of man s essence i n whi ch
mn
top related