Paul Hollander
FURTHER EXPLORATIONS IN THE
THEORIES AND PRACTICES OF SOCIALISM
Books on the theories and contemporary incarnations of
socialism continue to come forth in a seemingly endless stream.
They fall into several categories. There are, to begin with, authors
limiting themselves to the theories of socialism (usually Marxism of
some variety and interpretation) and averting their eyes from existing
socialist societies, or at any rate, societies which claim to be socialist
and have succeeded, by and large, in making Western public opinion
accept the claim. Writers of this type are capable of discoursing on
the fine points of theory and its conflicting interpretations, as if the
practices followed in the name of the theory raised no questions
whatsoever about the validity or relevance of the theory in our times.
Books in this group are permeated by at least an implicit belief in
socialism which, however, need not have an identifiable historical or
geographical locus or incarnation. At the same time, many authors
of this persuasion are motivated by fervent anticapitalist sentiments,
take the desirability of socialism for granted (undisturbed by the
problems of its attempted introduction) and seek the transformation
of their own Western society along socialist lines.
Another approach , by contrast, focuses on particular countries
or social systems which claim the socialist credentials and seeks to
understand the degree of correspondence with or divergence from
the original socialist ideals, and it may offer explanations of the gap
between theory and practice.
There are several explanations of the persisting interest in the
theories and ideals of socialism associated with Marxism. The first
may well be the continued, nagging discontent felt by many Western
intellectuals with their own societies and their recurring attempts to
transform them, to find alternatives . The second explanation is the
very existence of societies which are supposedly socialist and the
disputes generated by their characteristics, and especially their
deviations from the ideals of socialism. Ever since the establishment
of the Soviet regime in 1917 until the recent rise of "Nicaraguan
socialism," the expectation has been that the latest incarnation of the
socialist ideals with be
the
authentic one; each time the collapse of
such hopes has led to a renewed search for a new incarnation. This
