Roots of English Socialism

The dust jacket of this book sales-mindedly describes it as one of "real interest for the general reader . . ." By and large it is not. But, though it will never replace the Hymarx for Government 1, this book does fill a long-felt need for a largely impartial analysis of the theoretical roots of the British Labour Party.

Assistant Professor Ulam's first chapter, on the practical effects of political theory, will probably be of the greatest interest to general readers of this book. The middle four chapters are detailed analyses of the various strands of philosophic and political thought that were synthesized in the Labour Party, from 19th century British idealism to contemporary socialist theory. The last chapter is a discussion of the psychology, practical politics, and economics of contemporary British socialism. It is somewhat less thorough than the rest of the book.

Though Ulam frankly disclaims any attempt to analyze the present policies of the Labour Party, this reviewer would like to have seen more discussion of them. Just how the theories that Ulam discusses are reflected in actual present-day Labour policies is a problem that could well bear further analysis. As he points out, "The power of a philosopher lies in that he can stir up great waves of feeling and agitation. The philosopher's helplessness is due to his inability to control the farther waves of his thought." Thus the "general reader" of Ulam's book is left wondering at the end how much the carefully analyzed political theories currently affect Labour policy. No doubt they were of vital importance during the days when the party was out of power, but one wonders if the necessities of practical politics may not have pushed aside theoretical niceties now that Labour faces the problems of Government.