by Edoardo Vaccari
Can exploring the history of socialist thought help us critically examine the current state of the international left? In what ways have contemporary challenges reshaped our understanding of socialism? How can we reevaluate the role of European socialism and engage with its legacy in the context of the left’s diverse global histories? These questions were at the heart of the conference titled “Socialist Ideas of Europe in the World, 1871-1968,” held on June 14th, 2024, at the London School of Economics (LSE). Organized by myself and Tanroop Sandhu in partnership with the Department of International History and the Knowledge Exchange and Impact (KEI) initiative at LSE, alongside the Another Europe is Possible and Manifesto di Londra movements, the event brought together scholars, students, and activists from around the world. The presenters engaged with key intellectual traditions and figures in socialism, from Saint-Simon to Trotsky and M.N. Roy, sparking new inquiries into how their ideas continue to influence academic debates and political practices.
The day began with a provocative keynote address by Donald Sassoon, titled “Social Democracy: What Did it Achieve?” Sassoon began by reminding the audience that for much of the nineteenth century, socialism was a relatively marginal force, represented mainly by thinkers rather than organized political movements. It wasn’t until the establishment of the Second International that socialism began to take shape as a political force. However, the actual strength of socialist parties before World War I varied significantly, often disconnected from the national size of the working class. Finland, for example, had the largest Socialist Party in Europe with industrial workers making up only 20% of its population.
The real advance of social democracy only occurred after 1945, particularly in Western Europe, where socialist parties contributed to the creation of the welfare state. While significant reforms were indeed secured—most notably by the first postwar Labour government—these reforms were largely of liberal origin rather than socialist, and some had already been implemented in Denmark and Germany in the nineteenth century. The British Labour Party was even accused of “stealing other people’s clothes”—which was not always a bad thing, Sassoon remarked with irony, “especially if you haven’t got good ones of your own.”
Despite these accomplishments, Sassoon painted a rather bleak picture of contemporary socialism, which has not only largely stopped generating innovative ideas but also refrains from borrowing them from reformers of other political persuasions. Moreover, he noted that as parties achieved greater electoral success and governmental responsibilities, they became structurally and inextricably tied to domestic concerns. Socialists entrenched themselves within the nation to shield their constituencies from the destabilizing effects of the transnational capitalist economy. As a result, the internationalist commitments of socialism have gradually eroded, while capitalism has remained inherently internationalist in form. The inability to construct a solid theoretical foundation for global reform has led to its overshadowing by neoliberal and nationalist forces.
This erosion of internationalist ideals is precisely what made the theme of the conference so timely and crucial. The opening panel discussed the historical connections between anti-fascist resistance and international solidarities. Francesca Tortorella highlighted how anti-fascist ideals, rooted in values of justice and freedom, transcended national borders. The Western European resistance movements of the left, spearheaded by the Italian Giustizia e Libertà group, contributed to the conceptualization of a united European homeland, emphasizing the ethical and humanistic foundations that predated political Europeanism. Charlie Thomas presented on the 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia, drawing parallels between the global resistance against Italian fascism and contemporary solidarity movements for Palestine. For Thomas, the Hands Off Ethiopia campaign was an early example of internationalist anti-colonial resistance, emphasizing the continuity of anti-imperialist struggles across time and their relevance to current geopolitical conflicts. David Klemperer focused on the French socialists’ response to the rise of fascism, highlighting the internal ideological divisions within the SFIO. The party was split between those who viewed fascism as an existential threat requiring a military response and the pacifists who believed it could be managed with economic and diplomatic means. This division had significant implications for the party’s position during World War II, as a substantial number of pacifist socialists supported the collaborationist Vichy Regime and ultimately endorsed collaboration with the Nazis. When asked about parallels with the war in Ukraine, Klemperer pointed out the similarities in the dilemmas faced by the contemporary left: Torn between ideological commitments to pacifism and the practical demands of responding to aggression.
The morning session concluded at the LSE Library Gallery, where Andrea Pisauro led the audience through the transcripts of the preliminary inquest into Giacomo Matteotti’s murder, smuggled to London by Italian anti-fascists in 1926. The conference was timed to coincide with the anniversary of Matteotti’s assassination, underscoring its lasting significance in European history. Pisauro explained how the killing of the Italian socialist leader marked a decisive turning point towards totalitarianism under Mussolini, foreshadowing the rise of authoritarian regimes across the continent.
The second panel focused on the complex historical relationship between socialism and imperialism. According to Udeepta Chakravarti, the Permanent Revolution was both a strategy and a worldview that allowed the Bolsheviks to overcome the Eurocentrism present in Marxism. Trotsky believed that industrially underdeveloped countries could transition to socialism without following the traditional stages of economic development. As a result, the Comintern facilitated the entry of activists from many colonized countries into its global network of communists. For Chakravarti, one of Stalin’s greatest faults was reversing this “decolonial turn” in Marxism. Lucas Poy discussed the Second International’s Eurocentric and exclusionary approach to migration in the early 1900s in an attempt to bridge the gap between histories of socialism and histories of the “global color line.” The SI’s practices reflected tensions between the ideals of international solidarity and racial divisions. Many socialists in richer countries addressed the migration problem by creating a dichotomy between a desired migrant and an unorganizable migrant, treating them as objects rather than subjects of the conversation. Lorenzo Costaguta connected Chakravarti and Poy’s analyses by exploring the prehistory of anti-colonial debates during the Second International. Early discussions on the role of colonies in the socialist project laid the groundwork for later anti-colonial discourses under the Third International, while the non-communist Labour and Socialist International failed to address this issue throughout the 1920s. Finally, Charles C. H. Lee examined British socialists’ engagement with China, focusing on how figures like Joseph Needham attempted to understand China’s inability to develop modern science when compared to Europe, despite having reached advanced technological and scientific achievements before the 15th century. Lee highlighted how these intellectuals used their studies of China to develop their critiques of capitalism but also challenged Eurocentric views by recognizing China’s rich history of scientific and technological advancement, pushing for a more pluralistic understanding of modernity.
Helen Williams opened the third panel (“Europe, Socialism, and Nation”) by discussing how the politics of George Orwell and Sylvia Pankhurst exemplified the struggle in socialism to balance national identity with internationalist and anti-colonial principles. Orwell’s patriotism conflicted with his socialist and anti-imperialist beliefs, while Pankhurst remained dedicated to international socialism and anti-colonialism, often facing opposition from the nationalist and patriarchal elements present in British socialism. Alexander Zevin looked at the historical connections between liberalism and socialism in the nineteenth century to challenge the conventional narrative of socialist betrayal when World War I broke out in 1914. European socialists proved willing to support their national governments during World War I, viewing it not as a betrayal but as a continuation of their struggle against oppression and for democracy—values they shared with radical liberals. For Nick Devlin, nationalism created unresolved contradictions within Marxist theory. Dedicated internationalists, such as Luxemburg and Trotsky, faced challenges in devising a viable strategy to achieve their objectives—who would achieve the revolution, and what kind of revolution would it be? Meanwhile, Marxists who tried to reconcile national and socialist aspirations (Kautsky, but also Gramsci) did not fully tackle the complexities of national concerns and how they would ultimately influence the course of socialist politics.
The Roundtable discussants, chaired by Dina Gusejnova, had the difficult task of tying together the ideas and questions that emerged during the day. Marzia Maccaferri used Gramsci’s perspective to emphasize the importance of integrating political theory with history and highlighted the role of less-examined cases such as Italy and the Italian Communist Party in a broader narrative of European socialism. Reacting to the historical pessimism of Sassoon, Rida Vaquas encouraged the room not to discount the global impact of European socialism, noting how the Second International was a beacon for people worldwide seeking to make sense of their struggles. Vaquas also stressed the need for a clear moral justification for socialism in the present day, stressing that historical inevitability can no longer be relied upon as a basis for opposing capitalism. Finally, Matt Broomfield shared his firsthand experiences of living in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), presenting it as a vivid, contemporary example of socialist praxis. He illustrated how the Kurdish movement actively engages with and adapts longstanding socialist ideas and debates to confront the unique challenges they are facing. Broomfield’s account underscored the enduring relevance and applicability of the socialist concepts discussed throughout the day, bridging past theories with present realities and challenging the idea that the history of socialism is a closed episode.
As a whole, the presentations showcased the remarkable vitality of socialist themes within the social sciences and humanities. Perhaps most importantly, this conference demonstrated the value of an outward-facing approach to the study of socialism. As the global left faces new challenges, the insights gained from this conference will undoubtedly contribute to ongoing debates about the direction not only of socialist studies but also of socialist movements.
Today, socialism is no longer tied to a teleological theory of history, but it still holds onto a moral ideal: the pursuit of real freedom rooted in social justice and equality while aiming to eradicate economic and political privileges. This is what Italian writer Ignazio Silone referred to as “a hope that is constantly let down, but a hope that never dies” (49). Freed from the rigid ideological divisions that characterized the twentieth century, scholars and activists should follow the path marked out by this conference by bringing together the diverse facets of socialist histories and theories without fear of eclecticism and without being bound to any dogmatic truth.
Edoardo Vaccari is a PhD candidate in International History at the London School of Economics. His research focuses on the intellectual history of “Third Force” socialism between the 1930s and 1950s. He is one of the conveners of the History of Political Ideas—Early Career Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research.
Edited by Artur Banaszewski
Featured Image: Delegates to the 1907 International Socialist Congress in Stuttgart, Germany, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
