Peter Lamb – författare

The third volume includes a range of pamphlets, lectures and other documents which help illustrate the intellectual and political activities and environment which shaped the British mainstream left of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The early concerns and activities of the Fabian Society since its foundation in the 1880s are illustrated in the selection, as are the concerns, problems, events and opportunities leading to the formation and early development of the Labour Party in the years from the turn of the century to the outbreak of the First World War. Also included are writings of members of the Independent Labour Party (ILP). Formed in the 1890s, the ILP not only became a key player in the formation and early development of the Labour Party but also served as a more radical alternative. The concerns and activities of these two parties and the Fabian Society overlapped one another and some of the key figures of British socialism were members of more than one of these three key organizations. As the volume illustrates, together the Fabians, ILP and Labour constituted the foundations of contemporary British social democracy.

The third volume includes a range of pamphlets, lectures and other documents which help illustrate the intellectual and political activities and environment which shaped the British mainstream left of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The early concerns and activities of the Fabian Society since its foundation in the 1880s are illustrated in the selection, as are the concerns, problems, events and opportunities leading to the formation and early development of the Labour Party in the years from the turn of the century to the outbreak of the First World War. Also included are writings of members of the Independent Labour Party (ILP). Formed in the 1890s, the ILP not only became a key player in the formation and early development of the Labour Party but also served as a more radical alternative. The concerns and activities of these two parties and the Fabian Society overlapped one another and some of the key figures of British socialism were members of more than one of these three key organizations. As the volume illustrates, together the Fabians, ILP and Labour constituted the foundations of contemporary British social democracy.

Socialism has made a dramatic comeback in the 21st century. In the wake of financial crisis, mounting inequality and social decay, it seems more relevant than ever. Nobody who seeks to understand contemporary politics can ignore it.   In this book, leading scholar Peter Lamb identifies the key ideas and principles of socialism and explores different (often conflicting) interpretations that have appeared in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, from the early nineteenth century until today. He explores the different ways that socialist thinkers have conceptualised community, equality and liberty and shows how, despite overlap with other traditions, socialists have combined these ideas in common and distinct ways that make the socialist tradition uniquely valuable. Lamb goes on to trace the recent re-emergence of these ideas, and explain what will be required for such a revival to be popular, powerful and sustained.   This book will be invaluable to any student or scholar interested in political theory, socialism, communism or political ideologies, as well as to general readers striving to understand contemporary politics throughout the world.

This book examines Harold Laski’s relationship to Marxism. Laski was a reluctant Marxist; he had been a pluralist, democratic socialist who wanted to reach a better society by means of parliamentary, constitutional and associational channels. In fact, he never abandoned these early aspirations. In the 1930s and 1940s he wove them into a distinctive Marxist position as he gradually came to believe that there was no answer to Marxist philosophy on history, social change and the prospects for socialism. It is the incorporation of his earlier political thought into his later work that makes his Marxism so fascinating and his work raises important questions.

Harold Laski’s Marxism aims to bring a relatively forgotten political theorist back into the spotlight. Peter Lamb provides an overview to Laski’s political thought in the 20th century and explores his connections to essential foundations of Marxist thought. He ends with a discussion of ways in which Laski’s Marxism is of lasting significance and can contribute to more recent Marxist and neo-Marxist debates.