'Making reform the instrument of revolution': British social democracy, 1881-1911

Historical Journal

Volumn 43, Issue 4, 2000, Pages 977-1002

  Johnson, Graham ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF HULL   (United Kingdom)

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EID: 41549089148     PISSN: 0018246X     EISSN: 14695103     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0018246X0000145X     Document Type: Article

References (243)

1. There is a useful summary of this process in Donald Sassoon, One hundred years of socialism: the west European left in the twentieth century (London, 1996), ch. 1. For the peculiarities of Britain's development see Walter Kendall, The revolutionary movement in Britain, 1900-1921: the origins of British communism (London, 1969), pt 2;
2. Andrew Thorpe, '"The only effective bulwark against reaction and revolution": Labour and the frustration of the extreme left', in Andrew Thorpe, ed., The failure of political extremism in inter-war Britain (Exeter, 1989);
3. David Marquand, The progressive dilemma (London, 1992), pp. 40-5;
4. Ross McKibbin, 'Why was there no Marxism in Great Britain?', English Historical Review, 94 (1984), pp. 297-331.
5. V. I. Lenin, 'Left-wing' communism, an infantile disorder (Beijing, 1970).
6. For an introductory overview see James Joll, The Second International, 1889-1914 (London, 1974). ch. 4.
7. Their role within the Socialist International is considered in Douglas J. Newton, British Labour, European socialism and the struggle for peace, 1889-1914 (Oxford, 1985), pp. 42-9
8. and chs. 7 and 8, passim. In the interests of consistency, and to avoid confusion, the organization is referred to here as the SDF: it was formed in 1881 as the Democratic Federation, changed its name to the Social Democratic Federation in 1884, and to the Social Democratic party in 1907 (although it continued to be known as the SDF). It dissolved itself into the newly formed British Socialist party in 1911. The literature on the SDF is extensive; there is a review of recent writings in Jeffrey Hill, 'Requiem for a party?: writing the history of social-democracy', Labour History Review, 61 (1996), pp. 102-9. The most recent full length study is Martin Crick, The history of the Social Democratic Federation (Keele, 1994), but this does not entirely supersede the biography of the organization's leader: Chushichi Tsuzuki, H. M. Hyndman and British socialism (London, 1961).
9. SDF', Annual conference report, 1894 (London, 1894), pp. 28-30;
10. SDF, Annual conference report, 1895 (London, 1895), p. 11.
11. See also SDF, Annual conference report, 1908 (London, 1908), p. 22;
12. H. Quelch, 'The Socialist International and the British trade unions', Social-Democrat, 11 (Sept. 1907), pp. 521-8.
13. Newton, British Labour, pp. 40-2 and 196-201;
14. Chris Wrigley, 'The ILP and the Second International; the early years, 1893-1905', in David James, Tony Jowitt, and Keith Laybourn, eds., The centennial history of the Independent Labour party (Halifax, 1992).
15. The SDF affiliated to the Labour party on its formation in 1900, but left a year later. The most accessible study of the Labour party and the relationships between these different organizations in the build-up to its formation is Henry Pelling, The origins of the Labour party, 1880-1900 (London, 1965).
16. The fullest study of the early years of the ILP is David Howell, British workers and the Independent Labour party, 1888-1906 (Manchester, 1983).
17. See also James, Jowitt, and Laybourn, eds., Centennial history; R. E. Dowse, Left in the centre: the Independent Labour party, 1893-1940 (Evanston, 1966), ch. 1.
18. For Fabianism see A. M. McBriar, Fabian socialism and English politics, 1884-1918 (London, 1962);
19. E. J. Hobsbawm, Labouring men: studies in the history of labour (London, 1964), ch. 14.
20. There is a useful modern synthesis in John Callaghan, Socialism in Britain since 1884 (Oxford, 1990), chs. 1-5.
21. See also Stanley Pierson, Marxism and origins of British socialism: the struggle for a new consciousness (London, 1973), passim; Keith Laybourn, The rise of socialism in Britain, c. 1881-1951 (Stroud, 1997), chs. 1-2.
22. Newton, British Labour, pp. 44-5.
23. Perry Anderson, Arguments within English Marxism (London, 1980), p. 177.
24. For a discussion of socialist strategies and the use of 'reformism' in this sense see Ralph Miliband, Marxism and politics (Oxford, 1977), ch. 6.
25. There is a useful discussion of these concepts as they developed in the Marxist tradition in Tom Bottomore, ed., A dictionary of Marxist thought (Oxford, 1983), pp. 409-10, 425-8.
26. For its origins and development see Raymond Williams, Keywords (Glasgow, 1977), pp. 226-30.
27. H. M. Hyndman, The economics of socialism (London, 1909), p. 4;
28. H. Quelch, 'Reform and revolution', Social-Democrat, 11 (June 1907), p. 332.
29. This is discussed at length in Graham Johnson, 'Social democratic politics in Britain, 1881-1911: the Marxism of the Social Democratic Federation' (Ph. D. thesis, Hull, 1989), pp. 125-36.
30. Times, 9 Jan. 1909. The articles were later published as a booklet: The socialist movement in Great Britain (London, 1909).
31. The SDF's interpretation of economic theory and the question of imperialism also have a bearing on the nature and timing of the transition to socialism. The emphasis here is upon the reform/revolution dichotomy. These subjects (to which I intend to return) have been explored in Johnson, 'Social democratic politics', chs. 2 and 5.
32. For a list of 'English language editions of Marx and Engels' with publication dates see Stuart Macintyre, A proletarian science: Marxism in Britain, 1917-1933 (Cambridge, 1980), pp. 91-2;
33. Dona Torr, Tom Mann and his times (London, 1956), p. 326;
34. Frank Jackson, 'Marx's works available in Britain before 1900', Marx Memorial Library Bulletin, 9 (Jan./Mar. 1959), pp. 2-3.
35. See also Kirk Willis, 'The introduction and critical reception of Marxist thought in Britain, 1850-1900', Historical Journal, 20 (1977), pp. 417-59.
36. H. M. Hyndman, England for all (London, 1973), p. 6.
37. Speech by Hyndman reported in Justice, 19 Jan. 1884, p. 7.
38. H. M. Hyndman and William Morris, A summary of the principles of socialism (London, 1884), p. 58.
39. Hyndman in his chairman's address to the 1894 annual conference, SDF, Annual conference report, 1894, p. 5.
40. H. W. Lee, A socialist view of the unemployed problem (London, 1902), p. 14;
41. E. Belfort Bax and H. Quelch, A new catechism of socialism (London, 1902), p. 4.
42. Theodore Rothstein, 'The coming of the state', Social-Democrat, 5 (Dec. 1901), p. 361.
43. Debate between E. Belfort Bax and George Bernard Shaw in Wilshire's Magazine, Nov. 1902;
44. J. B. Askew, 'Socialism and parliamentarism', Social-Democrat, 12 (Feb. 1908), pp. 54-5.
45. There is a detailed discussion of the differences between the Fabian Society and the SDF regarding the nature of democracy and the role of public officials in Logie Barrow and Ian Bullock, Democratic ideas and the British labour movement, 1880-1914 (Cambridge, 1996), pp. 30-43, 146-53, 162-77.
46. Askew, 'Socialism and parliamentarism', pp. 54-5.
47. E. Belfort Bax in Wilshire's Magazine, Nov. 1902, pp. 88-9.
48. Askew, 'Socialism and parliamentarism', pp. 54-5.
49. H. Quelch, 'Socialism and soldiering', Social-Democrat, 11 (Oct. 1907), pp. 590-1;
50. see also H. Quelch, 'Parliamentarism, anti-militarism and direct action', Social-Democrat, 13 (Oct. 1909).
51. Democratic Federation, Socialism made plain (London, 1883), pp. 3-4;
52. see also Mark Bevir, 'The British Social Democratic Federation, 1880-1885: from O'Brienism to Marxism', International Review of Social History, 37 (1992), pp. 207-29.
53. See the report of the meeting held on 11 Jan. 1884 in Justice, 19 Jan. 1884, p. 7;
54. H. W. Lee and E. Archbold, Social-democracy in Britain (London, 1935), p. 57.
55. Justice, 2 Feb. 1884, p. 5;
56. see also H. M. Hyndman, The coming revolution in England (London, n. d. [1883?]), pp. 23-5.
57. Justice, 9 Aug. 1884, p. 7.
58. Cited by Tsuzuki, Hyndman, p. 69.
59. For 'Tory gold' see Lee and Archbold, Social-democracy, ch. 12;
60. Tsuzuki, Hyndman, pp. 70-2;
61. Pelling, Origins, pp. 40-1.
62. Hyndman's biographer Tsuzuki suggests that there was dissent over the question in 1888 because a manifesto was issued which committed them to support only candidates who were willing to wage the class war in parliament, but the sense of division in his account derives from a misunderstanding of the notion of the class war as inherently violent. Tsuzuki, Hyndman, p. 83. For the exact meaning of the 'class war' within the SDF see Johnson, 'Social democratic politics', ch. 6.
63. H. M. Hyndman, 'Social-democrat or socialist?', Social-Democrat, 1 (Aug. 1897), p. 229;
64. Barrow and Bullock, Democratic ideas, pp. 9-17.
65. Joll, Second International, p. 71.
66. 'L'affaire Dreyfus', Social-Democrat, 2 (Dec. 1898), p. 358.
67. For Dreyfus and the French left see Aaron Noland, The founding of the French socialist party, 1893-1905 (New York, 1970);
68. Harvey Goldberg, The life of Jean Jaurès (Madison, WI, 1962).
69. Challenge, 20 Mar. 1901;
70. H. M. Hyndman, 'Democracy', Social-Democrat, 5 (Feb. 1901), pp. 38-41.
71. See for instance the programme and rules printed in SDF, Annual conference report, 1895, p. 25.
72. SDF, Annual conference report, 1894, p. 15.
73. Cd 5163/1910, Royal commission on foreign electoral systems, minutes of evidence, pp. 129-35 [493-9].
74. C. Tsuzuki, 'The "impossibilist revolt" in Britain', International Review of Social History, 1 (1956), pp. 377-97;
75. Raymond Challinor, The origins of British bolshevism (London, 1977), pp. 19-26;
76. Robert Barltrop, The monument: the story of the Socialist party of Great Britain (London, 1975), pp. 6-8.
77. H. Quelch, 'Socialism and parliamentarism', Social-Democrat, 10 (Aug. 1906), p. 462.
78. H. Quelch, 'Social-democracy and political action', Social-Democrat, 12 (May 1908);
79. idem, 'Parliamentarism, anti-militarism'.
80. SDF, Annual conference report, 1901 (London, 1901), pp. 15-19.
81. E. Belfort Bax, 'Treacherous toleration and faddist fanaticism', Social-Democrat, 4 (Jan. 1900);
82. J. B. Askew, 'Treacherous toleration and faddist fanaticism', Social-Democrat, 4 (Feb. 1900);
83. E. Belfort Bax, 'Factitious unity', Social-Democrat, 6 (Feb. 1902);
84. J. B. Askew, 'Bernstein and the German party', Social-Democrat, 6 (Mar. 1902);
85. E. Belfort Bax, 'Bernstein and the German party', Social-Democrat, 6 (June 1902);
86. J. B. Askew, 'Bernstein and the German party', Social-Democrat, 6 (July 1902);
87. E. Belfort Bax, 'Last words on the Bernstein question', Social-Democrat, 6 (Aug. 1902);
88. Editorial brevity, 'The end of revisionism', Social-Democrat, 8 (Sept. 1904);
89. J. B. Askew, 'The International Congress and revisionism', Social-Democrat, 8 (Sept. 1904);
90. H. Quelch, 'The rout of revisionism', Social-Democrat, 9 (Jan. 1905);
91. H. M. Hyndman, Wilshire's Magazine, Jan. 1902.
92. Secretary's report to 1892 annual conference, Justice, 6 Aug. 1892, p. 3;
93. SDF, Annual conference report, 1895, p. 5.
94. SDF, Annual conference report, 1910 (London, 1910), pp. 13-15;
95. Frederick M. Boyd, 'Palliatives, politics, and the socialist vote', Social-Democral, 14 (June 1910);
96. J. Addison, 'The survival of the fittest in politics', Social-Democrat, 14 (July 1910).
97. H. Quelch, 'Our electoral policy', Social-Democrat, 3 (Nov. 1899), pp. 327-8.
98. SDF, Annual conference report, 1898 (London, 1898), pp. 20-4;
99. H. M. Hyndman, 'The socialist vote and the Liberal party', Social-Democrat, 2 (Apr. 1898);
100. D. Amos, 'A contribution to the question - what shall we do with our vote?', Social-Democrat, 2 (July 1898).
101. SDF, Annual conference report, 1899 (London, 1899), pp. 22-5.
102. Ibid., p. 25.
103. SDF, Annual conference report, 1900 (London, 1900), pp. 7-9.
104. The policy was also attacked by Theodore Rothstein, 'Our policy', Social-Democrat, 4 (June 1900);
105. H. Quelch, 'Our policy', Social-Democrat, 4 (July 1900).
106. For SDF opposition to the Boer War see Johnson, 'Social democratic politics', pp. 194-205;
107. Bill Baker, The Social Democratic Federation and the Boer War (London, 1974);
108. Norman Etherington, 'Hyndman, the Social Democratic Federation and imperialism', Historical Studies, 16 (Apr. 1974), pp. 96-9;
109. Crick, History, pp. 158-64.
110. SDF, Annual conference report, 1910, p. 13;
111. Boyd, 'Palliatives, politics, and the socialist vote'; Addison, 'The survival of the fittest'.
112. Justice, 22 Apr. 1911, p. 5.
113. John E. Ellam, 'Our policy', Social-Democrat, 2 (Aug. 1898), pp. 239-40.
114. H. M. Hyndman, The social reconstruction of England (London, n. d. [1884?]), p. 22;
115. Theodore Rothstein, 'Why is socialism in England at a discount?', Social-Democrat, 2 (Mar. 1898), pp. 69-70.
116. Johnson, 'Social democratic politics', pp. 240-2;
117. Rothstein, 'Socialism at a discount?', pp. 69-70;
118. Hyndman, Social reconstruction, p. 22;
119. see also Hyndman quoted by Hubert Bland in Practical Socialist, 1 (Oct. 1886).
120. E. P. Thompson, William Morris: romantic to revolutionary (London, 1955), pp. 390-5;
121. Tsuzuki, 'The "impossibilist revolt"'; H. Russell Smart speaking at the socialist unity conference, Socialist unity conference (London, 1969), p. 10.
122. Democratic Federation, Socialism made plain, pp. 5-6.
123. See programme and rules printed in SDF, Annual conference report, 1903 (London, 1903), pp. 26-8.
124. Cf. Dona Torr, Tom Mann and his times, 1: 1856-1890 (London, 1956), pp. 212-13, who suggests that they were.
125. See for instance Hyndman's address to the 1894 annual conference: SDF, Annual conference report, 1894 (London, 1894), p. 7;
126. Hyndman, Economics of socialism, p. 252;
127. Joseph Chatterton, The practicability of social-democracy (London, 1896), pp. 21-2.
128. Johnson, 'Social democratic politics', pp. 66-8.
129. John Ward, Socialism, the religion of humanity (London, n. d. [1888?]), p. 14.
130. Bax and Quelch, New catechism, p. 34.
131. E. C. Fairchild, Arms for the workers (London, 1909), pp. 6-7.
132. See also Democratic Federation, Socialism made plain, p. 6;
133. Quelch's speech to the 1889 annual conference in favour of palliatives, reported in Justice, 10 Aug. 1889, p. 3;
134. 'Socialism and the future of England', Social-Democrat, 2 (Feb. 1898).
135. Askew, 'The international congress and revisionism', p. 531.
136. 'The month', Social-Democrat, 14 (Oct. 1910), p. 463.
137. But cf. H. W. Lee's report to the 1891 annual conference reported in Justice, 8 Aug. 1891, p. 3, and Fairchild, Arms, p. 15, both of whom welcome all social reforms regardless of their origins.
138. Bax and Quelch, New catechism, p. 34;
139. J. Hunter Watts, State maintenance for children (London, 1904), p. 10.
140. Fairchild, Arms, pp. 15-16.
141. Ibid., p. 16.
142. Tsuzuki, Hyndman, pp. 73-9;
143. K. D. Brown, Labour and unemployment, 1900-1914 (Newton Abbot, 1971), passim; Alan J. Kidd, 'The Social Democratic Federation and popular agitation amongst the unemployed in Edwardian Manchester', International Review of Social History, 29 (1984), pp. 336-58;
144. H. Quelch, 'The unemployed', Social-Democrat, 8 (Dec. 1904), pp. 715-17.
145. See for instance the SDF submission to the royal commission on the poor laws, Cd 4755/1910, royal commission on the poor laws and relief of distress, appendix vol. m, minutes of evidence, pp. 61-78;
146. A. A. Watts, 'The proposed break-up of the poor law', Social-Democrat, 13 (Mar. 1909), p. 104. Some of George Lansbury's schemes were particularly harsh with regard to 'malingerers', see George Lansbury, 'Social-democrats and the administration of the poor law', Social-Democrat, 1 (Jan. 1897), pp. 16-17;
147. idem, 'The position of the poor law in the problem of poverty', Social-Democrat, 9 (Mar. 1905);
148. Gareth Stedman Jones, Outcast London (Harmondsworth, 1976), p. 289.
149. D. Campbell, The unemployed problem (London, 1892);
150. Arthur Hickmott, Socialism and agriculture (London, 1897);
151. A. A. Watts, 'The unemployed', Social-Democrat, 8 (Dec. 1904), pp. 719-20.
152. Editorial brevity, 'Useful work versus useless toil', Social-Democrat, 9 (Dec. 1905), pp. 709-10;
153. SDF submission to the royal commission on the poor laws; Watts, 'The proposed break-up', pp. 102-4.
154. Two members came up with a vast and elaborate scheme for the production of 'A national highway for military and motor traffic', A. P. Hazell and W. Cook, Work for the unemployed! (London, n. d. [1909?]).
155. H. Quelch and George Lansbury, The poor law minority report: a debate (London, 1910), p. 12.
156. Quelch, 'The unemployed', p. 715.
157. Quelch and Lansbury, Minority report, p. 13.
158. Ibid., p. 15.
159. 'Our representatives. IV. G. H. Wilson', Social-Democrat, 3 (July 1899), p. 198.
160. Ibid..
161. see also 'Our representatives. VI. C. J. Scott', Social-Democrat, 3 (Sept. 1899), pp. 260-1;
162. 'Our representatives. XIII. Harry Majer', Social-Democrat, 4 (Aug. 1900), pp. 228-9;
163. G. M. Hale, 'Feeding and clothing of school children', Social-Democrat, 14 (July 1910).
164. Hunter Watts, State maintenance, p. 10.
165. 'Our representatives. XIV. A. A. Brooks', Social-Democrat, 4 (Nov. 1900), p. 324.
166. Ibid..
167. Raymond Postgate, The life of George Lansbury (London, 1951), pp. 63-4;
168. 'Our representatives. X. George Lansbury', Social-Democrat, 4 (Jan. 1900), pp. 5-6.
169. 'Our representatives. X. George Lansbury', p. 6.
170. 'Our representatives. VIII. Mary Gray', Social-Democrat, 3 (Nov. 1899), p. 325.
171. John Moore, 'Tom Whittaker of Rochdale', Social-Democrat, 15 (May 1911), p. 230.
172. H. Quelch, 'The prevention of destitution', Social-Democrat, 14 (Aug. 1910), pp. 338-40.
173. Quelch and Lansbury, Minority report, pp. 4-6.
174. C. W. White, 'Municipal elections', Social-Democrat, 1 (Oct. 1897), p. 306.
175. Fairchild, Arms, p. 11;
176. Editorial brevity, 'Socialist municipalism', Social-Democrat, 8 (Nov. 1904), pp. 643-4.
177. T. H. Roberts, 'The municipality up to date' (three articles), Social-Democrat, 2 (Oct. 1898);
178. (Nov. 1898);
179. (Dec. 1898).
180. Dan Irving, The municipality, from a worker's point of view (London, n. d. [1907?]), pp. 7, 14.
181. Ibid., pp. 10-11.
182. James Leatham, The most important thing in the world (Peterhead, 1903), p. 10.
183. SDF, Annual conference report, 1904 (London, 1904), pp. 22-4.
184. John E. Ellam, 'Political democracy', Social-Democrat, 7 (Mar. 1903), p. 143.
185. Ibid..
186. Editorial brevity, 'Socialist municipalism', p. 644.
187. Ibid..
188. Theodore Rothstein, 'Municipal socialism', Social-Democrat, 7 (Apr. 1903), p. 208.
189. Ibid., pp. 209-10.
190. Ibid., p. 211.
191. Irving, The municipality, p. 15.
192. Editorial brevity, 'Reform and revolution', Social-Democrat, 8 (Sept. 1904), p. 515.
193. H. Quelch, 'Reform and revolution', Social-Democrat, 11 (June 1907), p. 337. '
194. The Cause alone is worthy... 'is from William Morris, see Thompson, William Morris, p. 368.
195. See for instance E. B. Bax on 'Dynamite in England', in Justice, 8 Mar. 1884, p. 4.
196. SDF, Annual conference report, 1901, p. 18.
197. H. M. Hyndman, Darkness and the dawn of May-day, 1907 (London, 1907), p. 15.
198. SDF, Annual conference report, 1900, p. 22.
199. SDF, Annual conference report, 1900, pp. 21-3;
200. SDF, Annual conference report, 1910, pp. 23-5;
201. H. Quelch, Social-democracy and the armed nation (London, 1907);
202. idem, 'Socialism and soldiering', Social-Democrat, 9 (Oct. 1907);
203. Robert Edmondson, The national citizen force bill (London, n. d. [1908?]);
204. Lee and Archbold, Social-democracy, pp. 280-3.
205. Thomas Kennedy, 'The citizen army', Social-Democrat, 11 (June 1907), p. 346;
206. see also Guy Bowman speaking at the 1910 annual conference: SDF, Annual conference report, 1910, p. 23.
207. John E. Ellam, 'The lack of economic knowledge', Social-Democrat, 6 (Nov. 1902), p. 329;
208. W. G. Veals, 'The case for socialism v. individualism', Social-Democrat, 11 (Jan. 1907), p. 36.
209. See n. 46 above;
210. H. Tudor and J. M. Tudor, eds., Marxism and social democracy: the revisionist debate, 1896-1898 (Cambridge, 1988).
211. James Leatham, The class war, p. 10, cited by J. Ellis Barker, British socialism (London, 1908), p. 78.
212. For the ILP see Howell, British workers, pp. 355-6.
213. Howell, British workers, pp. 360-1, for ILP views.
214. For the latter, see Barrow and Bullock, Democratic ideas, pp. 30-43, 146-53, 162-77. The other disputes are considered at length in Johnson, 'Social democratic politiCs', passim.
215. Patricia Pugh, Educate, agitate, organise: 100 years of Fabian socialism (London, 1984), p. 44. Although Shaw said of this that it was 'a string of platitudes hiding a disagreement as to methods at a time when the whole concern of the Socialist movement was with methods'. Cited by Tsuzuki, H. M. Hyndman, p. 100;
216. Justice, 12 Aug. 1893, pp. 5-6.
217. See for instance Pugh, Educate, agitate, organise, pp. 65-6;
218. SDF, Annual conference report, 1897 (London, 1897), pp. 12-13.
219. McBriar, Fabian socialism, p. 310;
220. Report of the conference on labour representation, 1900 (London, 1900), p. 14.
221. And, suggests Hobsbawm, the further they drew away from the rest of the British labour movement and the British radical tradition. Hobsbawm, Labouring men, p. 253.
222. Paul Thompson, Socialists, liberals and labour: the struggle for London, 1885-1914 (London, 1967);
223. Pat Thane, 'Labour and local politics: radicalism, democracy and social reform, 1880-1914", in Eugenio F. Biagini and Alastair J. Reid, eds., Currents of radicalism (Cambridge, 1991);
224. Keith Laybourn and Jack Reynolds, Liberalism and the rise of labour, 1890-1918 (London, 1984);
225. David Clark, Colne valley: radicalism to socialism (London, 1981);
226. Bill Lancaster, Radicalism, co-operation and socialism: Leicester working class politics, 1860-1906 (Leicester, 1987);
227. Mike Savage, The dynamics of working-class politics: the labour movement in Preston, 1880-1940 (Cambridge, 1987);
228. Peter Wyncoll, The Nottingham labour movement, 1880-1939 (London, 1985);
229. Jeffrey Hill, 'Working class politics in Lancashire 1885-1906: a regional study in the origins of the labour party' (Ph. D. thesis, Keele, 1971);
230. Geoffrey Trodd, 'Political change and the working class in Blackburn and Burnley, 1880-1914' (Ph. D. thesis, Lancaster, 1978).
231. Duncan Tanner, 'The development of British socialism, 1900-1918', in E. H. H. Green, ed., An age of transition: British politics, 1880-1914 (Edinburgh, 1997);
232. idem, 'Ideological debate in Edwardian labour politics: radicalism, revisionism and socialism', in Biagini and Reid, eds., Currents of radicalism, pp. 275-86.
233. Tanner, 'British socialism', pp. 49, 51-2, 65-6;
234. idem, 'Edwardian labour politics', pp. 275-86.
235. The relationship between these two bodies is explored at length in Graham Johnson, 'Social democracy and labour politics in Britain, 1892-1911', History, 85 (2000), pp. 67-87.
236. For details see ibid.
237. An alternative way of viewing this might be that, as with European socialist parties, 'entrenched Marxist traditions... encouraged comparatively moderate policies to be wrapped in Marxist rhetoric'. Tanner, 'British socialism', p. 65.
238. Cf. Crick, History, pp. 295, 299. In my doctoral thesis I stated that: 'In SDF theory and strategy, there was a dialectic of reform and revolution lacking in their more theoretically rigorous successors.' I have not repeated this assertion here because the phrase was 'borrowed' - without acknowledgement, and without following through its implications - in Crick's introduction (see p. 10).
239. Johnson, 'Social democratic politics', p. 302.
240. Harry McShane and Joan Smith, Harry McShane: no mean fighter (London, 1978), p. 39.
241. This is true of the whole of the socialist tradition, not just elements of British socialism. See for instance the reconsideration of the work of Kautsky in Peter Wollen, 'Our post-communism: the legacy of Karl Kautsky', New Left Review, 202 (Nov./Dec. 1993), pp. 85-93.
242. See also Robin Blackburn, 'Fin de siècle: socialism after the crash', in Robin Blackburn, ed., After the fall: the failure of communism and the future of socialism (London, 1991).
243. E. J. Hobsbawm, Revolutionaries (London, 1977), p. 13.