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Socialist Political Economy in an Age of Affluence: The Reception of J.K. Galbraith by the British Social-democratic Left in the 1950s and 1960s

N. Thompson, Noel Thompson

Twentieth Century British History, Volume: 21, Issue: 1, Pages: 50 - 79

Swansea University Author: Noel Thompson

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DOI (Published version): 10.1093/tcbh/hwp052

Abstract

The article considers the impact of the political economy of J.K. Galbraith on the British social-democratic Left in the 1950s and 1960s. It argues that Galbraith had much to offer the Left but that his work was unpacked in ways that were determined by the ideological predilections of those who enga...

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Published in: Twentieth Century British History
ISSN: 0955-2359 1477-4674
Published: Oxford University Press 2010
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa6141
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spelling 2018-01-02T14:50:53.8951154 v2 6141 2011-10-01 Socialist Political Economy in an Age of Affluence: The Reception of J.K. Galbraith by the British Social-democratic Left in the 1950s and 1960s 751555962294a6c2284a9fbb88ff62f6 Noel Thompson Noel Thompson true false 2011-10-01 SMT The article considers the impact of the political economy of J.K. Galbraith on the British social-democratic Left in the 1950s and 1960s. It argues that Galbraith had much to offer the Left but that his work was unpacked in ways that were determined by the ideological predilections of those who engaged with it. In the case of Crosland there was an empathy with the notion of private affluence and public squalor as something which could be used against those who opposed investment in public services. At the same time Crosland reacted against Galbraith’s conception of the malleable private consumer, which he saw as reinforcing a tendency on the Left to privilege public over private consumption. Crossman applauded Galbraith for just that reason, while lamenting his seeming unwillingness to embrace public ownership and planning as a way of rectifying the public/private imbalance which he had identified. The New Left similarly warmed to Galbraith’s portrayal of a private consumer prey to corporate manipulation, while regretting his failure to engage critically with the fundamentals of capitalism. For Strachey, Galbraith strengthened his argument that fundamental tensions still existed in contem orary capitalism: tensions in particular between democratic governments and growing corporate power which could only be resolved by the exertion of control by the former over the latter. If not all things to all men, Galbraith was many things to many on the Left and the way in which his work was assimilated and used reflects this. Journal Article Twentieth Century British History 21 1 50 79 Oxford University Press 0955-2359 1477-4674 31 12 2010 2010-12-31 10.1093/tcbh/hwp052 COLLEGE NANME Senior Leadership Team COLLEGE CODE SMT Swansea University 2018-01-02T14:50:53.8951154 2011-10-01T00:00:00.0000000 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - History N. Thompson 1 Noel Thompson 2
title Socialist Political Economy in an Age of Affluence: The Reception of J.K. Galbraith by the British Social-democratic Left in the 1950s and 1960s
spellingShingle Socialist Political Economy in an Age of Affluence: The Reception of J.K. Galbraith by the British Social-democratic Left in the 1950s and 1960s
Noel Thompson
title_short Socialist Political Economy in an Age of Affluence: The Reception of J.K. Galbraith by the British Social-democratic Left in the 1950s and 1960s
title_full Socialist Political Economy in an Age of Affluence: The Reception of J.K. Galbraith by the British Social-democratic Left in the 1950s and 1960s
title_fullStr Socialist Political Economy in an Age of Affluence: The Reception of J.K. Galbraith by the British Social-democratic Left in the 1950s and 1960s
title_full_unstemmed Socialist Political Economy in an Age of Affluence: The Reception of J.K. Galbraith by the British Social-democratic Left in the 1950s and 1960s
title_sort Socialist Political Economy in an Age of Affluence: The Reception of J.K. Galbraith by the British Social-democratic Left in the 1950s and 1960s
author_id_str_mv 751555962294a6c2284a9fbb88ff62f6
author_id_fullname_str_mv 751555962294a6c2284a9fbb88ff62f6_***_Noel Thompson
author Noel Thompson
author2 N. Thompson
Noel Thompson
format Journal article
container_title Twentieth Century British History
container_volume 21
container_issue 1
container_start_page 50
publishDate 2010
institution Swansea University
issn 0955-2359
1477-4674
doi_str_mv 10.1093/tcbh/hwp052
publisher Oxford University Press
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - History{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - History
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description The article considers the impact of the political economy of J.K. Galbraith on the British social-democratic Left in the 1950s and 1960s. It argues that Galbraith had much to offer the Left but that his work was unpacked in ways that were determined by the ideological predilections of those who engaged with it. In the case of Crosland there was an empathy with the notion of private affluence and public squalor as something which could be used against those who opposed investment in public services. At the same time Crosland reacted against Galbraith’s conception of the malleable private consumer, which he saw as reinforcing a tendency on the Left to privilege public over private consumption. Crossman applauded Galbraith for just that reason, while lamenting his seeming unwillingness to embrace public ownership and planning as a way of rectifying the public/private imbalance which he had identified. The New Left similarly warmed to Galbraith’s portrayal of a private consumer prey to corporate manipulation, while regretting his failure to engage critically with the fundamentals of capitalism. For Strachey, Galbraith strengthened his argument that fundamental tensions still existed in contem orary capitalism: tensions in particular between democratic governments and growing corporate power which could only be resolved by the exertion of control by the former over the latter. If not all things to all men, Galbraith was many things to many on the Left and the way in which his work was assimilated and used reflects this.
published_date 2010-12-31T03:07:34Z
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score 11.012678

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