As Irving argues (p. xxi), Christian democracy shares conservative
values of individualism, respect for property, anti-communism and
dislike of excessive state intervention. However, unlike British
Thatcherites they have favoured ‘concertation’ – consultation
between government, industry, the trade unions and other interest
groups. Couple this with an enthusiasm for Europe and the simi-
larities with the more moderate wing of the modern UK Conservative
Party are evident
Socialism and social democracy
We have already seen that both Marxists and many anarchists regard
themselves as socialists. Millions of people, however, remain
committed to socialism without regarding themselves as disciples of
Marx or opponents of the very concept of a state. Nor does being
influenced by Marxist ideas necessarily mean an admiration for the
Soviet Union. For many socialists the doctrine is the opposite of
totalitarianism – it is a commitment to values of equality and justice
for all. An interesting survey of British Labour MPs showed the book
which had most influenced their political thinking was George
Orwell’s 1984 – a novel satirising the Stalinist approach to politics.
In a Fabian pamphlet Tony Blair wrote of two socialist traditions: a
Marxist economic determinist and collectivist tradition and another
‘based on the belief that socialism is a set of values or beliefs –
sometimes called ethical socialism’ (Blair, 1994: 2). These values he
defines as ‘social justice, the equal worth of each citizen, equality of
opportunity, community’ (p. 4). This latter tradition he sees as
predominant in ‘European Social Democracy’ and appropriate to the
contemporary Labour Party.
Historically it does seem that a strain of indigenous radicalism
often associated with the non-conformist churches and stretching
back to John Ball is more important than Marxism in the British
socialist tradition. The non-conformist churches trained many
Labour speakers in the skills of oratory and social organisation.
Apparently Tony Blair is a member of a formal Christian Socialist
group. Certainly more important than Marxism has been the
influence of a strong trade union and co-operative movement, which,
in England, pre-date both Marx and the Labour Party. The Labour
Party originated early in the twentieth century as the Labour
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