CAPITALISM AND SOCIAL DEMOCRACY

THIS IS A STUDY OF THE CHOICES FACED BY SOCIALIST MOVEMENTS AS THEY DEVELOPED WITHIN CAPITALIST SOCIETIES. PROFESSOR PRZEWORSKI EXAMINES THE THREE PRINCIPAL CHOICES CONFRONTED BY SOCIALISM WHETHER TO WORK THROUGH ELECTIONS; WHETHER TO RELY EXCLUSIVELY ON THE WORKING CLASS; AND WHETHER TO TRY TO REFORM OR ABOLISH CAPITALISM. HE BRINGS TO HIS ANALYSIS A NUMBER OF ABSTRACT MODELS OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC STRUCTURE, AND ILLUSTRATES THE ISSUES IN THE CONTEXT OF HISTORICAL EVENTS, TRACING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIALIST STRATEGIES SINCE THE MID-NINETEENTH CENTURY. SEVERAL OF THE CONCLUSIONS ARE NOVEL AND PROVOCATIVE. PROFESSOR PRZEWORSKI ARGUES THAT ECONOMIC ISSUES CANNOT JUSTIFY A SOCIALIST PROGRAMME, AND THAT THE WORKERS HAD GOOD REASONS TO STRUGGLE FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF CAPITALISM. THEREFORE, THE PROJECT OF A SOCIALIST TRANSFORMATION, AND THE FIGHT FOR ECONOMIC ADVANCEMENT, WERE SEPARATE HISTORICAL PHENOMENA.