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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

8/10/2019 VOL01_NO1_3

2/48

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

8/10/2019 VOL01_NO1_3

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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

4

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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

7

5

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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

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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

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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

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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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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

8/10/2019 VOL01_NO1_3

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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

82

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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

3

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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

84

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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

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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

86

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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

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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