Les Johnston – författare

This book, first published in 1986, presents a radical challenge to socialist orthodoxy, subjecting a key component of that orthodoxy – Marxism – to sustained criticism. Les Johnston argues that Marxism cannot provide the foundations for a rigorous socialist theory or an effective socialist politics. A fundamental element of this criticism is the suggestion that the problem of ‘reductionism’ which has preoccupied Marxists is a red herring. Marxism’s problem is not its reductionism but its theoretical incoherence. Marxism is not ‘deterministic’, for there is invariably an indeterminate relationship between the materialism it invokes and the forms of politics it adopts. However, materialism is an obstacle to socialist theory. The contradictions and failures of Marxist class analysis suggest that the class concept is inadequate to the demands that socialists continue to place on it. It is not merely class which is problematic, however, but the conception of political interests which is associated with it. Even recent Marxist ‘revisionists’ who dispense with class primacy are unwilling to come to terms with the question of how socialist political interests are constituted. Socialist theory has to recognise the varied forces and interests on ‘the left’, and an effective socialism will have to be a pluralistic one. This means there can be no general theory of socialism, since a pluralistic socialism has to be able to adjust to varying social conditions.

This book, first published in 1986, presents a radical challenge to socialist orthodoxy, subjecting a key component of that orthodoxy – Marxism – to sustained criticism. Les Johnston argues that Marxism cannot provide the foundations for a rigorous socialist theory or an effective socialist politics. A fundamental element of this criticism is the suggestion that the problem of ‘reductionism’ which has preoccupied Marxists is a red herring. Marxism’s problem is not its reductionism but its theoretical incoherence. Marxism is not ‘deterministic’, for there is invariably an indeterminate relationship between the materialism it invokes and the forms of politics it adopts. However, materialism is an obstacle to socialist theory. The contradictions and failures of Marxist class analysis suggest that the class concept is inadequate to the demands that socialists continue to place on it. It is not merely class which is problematic, however, but the conception of political interests which is associated with it. Even recent Marxist ‘revisionists’ who dispense with class primacy are unwilling to come to terms with the question of how socialist political interests are constituted. Socialist theory has to recognise the varied forces and interests on ‘the left’, and an effective socialism will have to be a pluralistic one. This means there can be no general theory of socialism, since a pluralistic socialism has to be able to adjust to varying social conditions.

Innovative Possibilities: Global Policing Research and Practice brings together observations that reflect upon the state of police (and policing) across the globe and associated forms of policing scholarship with inputs from Africa, Australia, South and Central America, China, Europe, and the USA. Following the introduction the book begins with a review of the nature of the relationship between policing research and practice with the Victoria Police in Australia and moves on to Britain where the focus is on how the National Improvement Strategy for Policing (NISP) is developing and how research is being used to design, define, monitor, and develop its strategic interventions using a series of case studies. In the United States the complex American terrain of the police is examined -- in particular this chapter examines how crime statistics are used to rationalize, justify, and account for their actions. In Latin America a comprehensive review of research on police reform in Latin America during the last two decades is given. Africa provides a complex and diverse social terrain which needs to be understood in relation to its plural policing landscape. Police scholarship in China looks at the historical development and current status of police scholarship in China, together with the emerging issues arising from it. The overarching concern of all these reflections is with bridging the deep seated tensions that exist between scholarship and practice within policing across the globe and the call for a new relationship of mutual respect that is committed to exploring better ways of governing security.This book was published as a special issue of Police Practice and Research.