1974-1978: the Social Contract [print version]
Heightened class struggle in the early 1970s was neutered by a Labour government and trade union establishment working in tandem…
Social democracy
Social democracy
1974–78: the Social Contract, trade unions and the Labour government
27 October 2022
Struggles erupted in the early 1970s, notably the engineering union’s destruction of the 1971 Industrial Relations Act and the miners’ fight over pay. The new Labour government preached class conciliation in exchange for moderation of wages.
The failure of social democracy
The founder of Labour Leave has written a fascinating, often illuminating but ultimately unconvincing analysis of Labour’s woes…
Social democracy’s great failure
Apart from the odd rhetorical flourish, the Second International never aspired to be a revolutionary organisation, unlike the First. It left no worthwhile legacy.