Let us choose a "liberal polity"

Commentator John Lloyd, writing in the NewStatesman, contends that "the challenge for those who wish to retain a liberal polity, and also to gain public support for increased assistance to the world's poor, is to frame policies that will undercut the appeal of the populist right". 

I agree.  Indeed I regard the "retention of a liberal polity" as the key political challenge of the coming century.  Much has been recently written about the failure of both Roy Jenkins and Tony Blair to re-unite the Labour and Liberal "interests" (for example, the excellent Martin Kettle). 

But that is not the right formulation.  I believe that a synthesis will emerge, although not at Party or organisational level, where the tensions and suspicions  are too great, too corrosive, too deep-seated.  The synthesis will emerge from within socialist analysis itself, and will grow to attract a growing range of traditional "Liberals".  It will be essentially an intellectual synthesis, which will gradually acquire popular momentum.

For the primary engine of contemporary socialism is emerging as the human rights movement itself.  During 20th century the primary engines of socialism were organisational and collective - the cooperative movement, socialist "States", collective farms and other enterprises, the trade union movement - and the story was the same throughout the world.  That collective impetus has delivered much, often little recognised by the rightwing.  Socialism has generated all the primary ground-rules of contemporary civic society, even in countries pretending to other values.  The personal passion of the new Brazilian President ...... Lula is a socialist one - to ensure that every Brazilian can eat three times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.  From him, this vow came from the heart, a real commitment to basic equality of essential provision throughout Brasil - that is socialism. 

The development of functional human rights (work, housing, education, health) to supplement the conventional process rights of the English libertarian position, has changed the grammar of the human rights movement.   At the heart of the double-negative of anti-discrimination lies the socialist assertion of equality, the equal dignity of all mankind. The assertion of universal human rights is now the most effective way of communicating the essential perceptions of socialism. 

It is in this synthesis that the "liberals" and the "socialists" will march together - not by way of a reunion, for the marching columns come from different directions - but in a growing recognition that the logic of their positions was leading them, intellectually, in the same direction. 

I know that I will be accused of excessive intellectualism - but I am an intellectual, after all!   I believe that many issues dividing mankind have intellectual dimensions, and that they must perforce be addressed and resolved.  And at least I have told you what my game-plan is...  That was my underlying reason for pressing forward with the formation of the Socialist Civil Liberties Association, last year - see SoCLA.  It's a vision thing...