Municipal socialism
Encyclopedia
Municipal socialism refers to various historical movements to use local government
to further socialist aims. The term has been used to describe public ownership of streetcar lines, waterworks, and other local utilities, as was favored by "Progressives" in the United States in the late 1890s/early 1900s. The term Sewer Socialism
was also used to describe the pragmatic reformist policies of Emil Seidel
, Daniel Hoan
and Frank Zeidler, Milwaukee's three Socialist
mayors in the 20th century.
It is also used to describe the local government-led social reform developed in the United Kingdom in a similar period. This includes the reforms initiated by Joseph Chamberlain
as mayor
of Birmingham
between 1873 and 1875. Chamberlain's reforms included rendering gas and water supplies public services, controlled by the government, clearing slums and the introduction of a city park system. Chamberlain's reforms were influential on Beatrice Webb
, one of the leaders of the Fabian
movement.
The Fabians were influential in the London County Council
and London School Board
, as well as in some other local authorities, through the newly formed Labour Party
. A more radical expression of the municipal socialist movement was Poplarism in Poplar
, east London, led by George Lansbury
More recently, the term refers to the attempts in the 1980s in British cities by hard left
activists in the British Labour Party to win control of local authorities and use them to develop left-wing
policies on a local level, in opposition to Margaret Thatcher
's right-wing
Conservative
central government. Examples include the Greater London Council
under "Red" Ken Livingstone
, Lambeth
council under "Red" Ted Knight and Linda Bellos
, Liverpool
council under Derek Hatton
and Sheffield
council (sometimes referred to as "the People's Republic of South Yorkshire
") under David Blunkett
. These authorities were often derided as "loony left
" by Conservative supporting tabloid newspapers.
was sharply critical of municipal socialism when the idea was taken up by Russian Mensheviks in the early twentieth century:
The Marxist left was also critical of its 1980s incarnation. For example, the Revolutionary Communist Group has argued that:
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
to further socialist aims. The term has been used to describe public ownership of streetcar lines, waterworks, and other local utilities, as was favored by "Progressives" in the United States in the late 1890s/early 1900s. The term Sewer Socialism
Sewer Socialism
Sewer Socialism was a term, originally more or less pejorative, for the American socialist movement that centered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and existed from around 1892 to 1960...
was also used to describe the pragmatic reformist policies of Emil Seidel
Emil Seidel
Emil Seidel was the mayor of Milwaukee from 1910 to 1912. He was the first Socialist mayor of a major city in the United States, and ran as the Vice Presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America in the 1912 presidential election....
, Daniel Hoan
Daniel Hoan
Daniel Webster "Dan" Hoan was a United States lawyer and politician. He became the second Socialist mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and his tenure is generally considered to be the longest continuous socialist administration in U.S. history...
and Frank Zeidler, Milwaukee's three Socialist
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
mayors in the 20th century.
It is also used to describe the local government-led social reform developed in the United Kingdom in a similar period. This includes the reforms initiated by Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain
Joseph Chamberlain was an influential British politician and statesman. Unlike most major politicians of the time, he was a self-made businessman and had not attended Oxford or Cambridge University....
as mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
between 1873 and 1875. Chamberlain's reforms included rendering gas and water supplies public services, controlled by the government, clearing slums and the introduction of a city park system. Chamberlain's reforms were influential on Beatrice Webb
Beatrice Webb
Martha Beatrice Webb, Lady Passfield was an English sociologist, economist, socialist and social reformer. Although her husband became Baron Passfield in 1929, she refused to be known as Lady Passfield...
, one of the leaders of the Fabian
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
movement.
Details
Beatrice's husband, Sidney Webb in Socialism in England, published in 1890s, wrote:It is not only in matters of sanitation that this 'Municipal Socialism' is progressing. Nearly half the consumers of the Kingdom already consume gas made by themselves as citizens collectively, in 168 different localities, as many as 14 local authorities obtained the power to borrow money to engage in the gas industry in a single year. Water supply is rapidly coming to be universally a matter of public provision, no fewer than 71 separate governing bodies obtaining loans for this purpose in the year 1885-86 alone. The prevailing tendency is for the municipalities to absorb also the tramway industry, 31 localities already owning their own lines, comprising a quarter of the mileage in the Kingdom.
The Fabians were influential in the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
and London School Board
London School Board
The School Board for London was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London....
, as well as in some other local authorities, through the newly formed Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. A more radical expression of the municipal socialist movement was Poplarism in Poplar
Poplar, London
Poplar is a historic, mainly residential area of the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is about east of Charing Cross. Historically a hamlet in the parish of Stepney, Middlesex, in 1817 Poplar became a civil parish. In 1855 the Poplar District of the Metropolis was...
, east London, led by George Lansbury
George Lansbury
George Lansbury was a British politician, socialist, Christian pacifist and newspaper editor. He was a Member of Parliament from 1910 to 1912 and from 1922 to 1940, and leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935....
More recently, the term refers to the attempts in the 1980s in British cities by hard left
Hard left
Hard left is a name often given to an internal tendency within the British Labour Party. Similar terminology is used also in the context of the Australian Labor Party....
activists in the British Labour Party to win control of local authorities and use them to develop left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
policies on a local level, in opposition to Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's right-wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
central government. Examples include the Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
under "Red" Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
, Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
council under "Red" Ted Knight and Linda Bellos
Linda Bellos
Linda Bellos OBE is an English ex-politician and current businesswoman and activist for gay rights.-Personal life:Bellos was born in London to a Jewish mother, Renee Sackman, and a Nigerian father, Emmanuel Adebowale, who came from Uzebba and joined the merchant navy during the Second World War...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
council under Derek Hatton
Derek Hatton
Derek 'Degsy' Hatton is a broadcaster, businessman and after-dinner speaker. He won celebrity status as a local politician in Liverpool during the 1980s, where he was deputy leader of the city council, and a supporter of the Trotskyist Militant Tendency.-Early life:He attended Liverpool Institute...
and Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
council (sometimes referred to as "the People's Republic of South Yorkshire
People's Republic of South Yorkshire
The People's Republic of South Yorkshire or The Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire, is a satirical reference to Sheffield. It refers to the left-wing Labour administration of Sheffield City Council during the 1980s, under the leadership of David Blunkett.The expression is said to have been...
") under David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
. These authorities were often derided as "loony left
Loony left
The Loony Left was a pejorative label used in the campaign for the United Kingdom general election, 1987, and subsequently, both by the Conservative Party and by British newspapers that supported the Conservative Party. The label was directed at the policies and actions of some Labour Party...
" by Conservative supporting tabloid newspapers.
Criticisms
Vladimir LeninVladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
was sharply critical of municipal socialism when the idea was taken up by Russian Mensheviks in the early twentieth century:
The bourgeois intelligentsiaIntelligentsiaThe intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
of the WestWestern worldThe Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
, like the English Fabians, elevate municipal socialism to a special “trend” precisely because it dreams of social peace, of class conciliation, and seeks to divert public attention away from the fundamental questions of the economic system as a whole, and of the state structure as a whole, to minor questions of local self-government. In the sphere of questions in the first category, the class antagonisms stand out most sharply; that is the sphere which, as we have shown, affects the very foundations of the class rule of the bourgeoisie. Hence it is in that sphere that the philistine, reactionaryReactionaryThe term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
utopiaUtopiaUtopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
of bringing about socialism piecemeal is particularly hopeless.
The Marxist left was also critical of its 1980s incarnation. For example, the Revolutionary Communist Group has argued that:
‘Municipal socialism’ became an avenue that Labour used to retain the allegiance of the new labour aristocracy from the public sectorPublic sectorThe public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
. Many jobs and ‘non-jobs’ were given to this already privileged layer as the left feathered its own nest. Spurious community groups, housing schemes, race relations and ethnic minority units for tiny privileged layers of black and Irish people were set up and paid for. They were all designed to foster the interests of those who found jobs and funding through them, with little benefit to those who were really suffering the onslaught of ThatcherismThatcherismThatcherism describes the conviction politics, economic and social policy, and political style of the British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, who was leader of her party from 1975 to 1990...
. Even when ‘municipal socialism’ took on a popular and widely supported position, its limitations were quickly exposed. The Fare's Fair dispute of 1982 showed this at an early stage, after the Law Lords overruled an attempt to introduce cheap fares on London transport, and Ken Livingstone's Greater London Council did not make a serious fight of it. In reality, Thatcher destroyed ‘municipal socialism’ by continually restricting local democracy and the rights of local authorities to raise and spend money.
Further reading
- Gutav Cohn "Municipal Socialism" The Economic Journal 1910
- Municipal Socialism in Europe, by G. Fiamingo The Journal of Political Economy 1898
- Sheldrake, J., Municipal Socialism, Avebury, 1989