much energy into moderate policy-making in order to win a few more votes
from non-radical voters means that the party ceases to be a real representative
of the working classes. It is also often claimed that a process of ‘co-option’takes
place, in which the socialist leaders are taken to the heart of the ruling class,
given authority and privilege, and cease to understand, or really care for, their
working-class constituents. Once a socialist becomes a member of a parliament
or government they tend to have more in common with fellow parliamentar-
ians and government members than with their party’s mass support; in
technical political science this thesis is known as theiron law of oligarchy.
Another line of argument against parliamentary socialism is that the problems
of capitalist economies simply cannot be solved by legislation, which can only
tinker symptomatically with problems, and that what is required is a total
revolution. Some socialists have assumed an intermediary position of sup-
porting parliamentary activity, but urging that as soon as a socialist majority
took power it should pass an enabling act, abolishing the entire system and
giving the government authority to make all necessary law. Supporters of
parliamentary socialism rely on the argument that in a democracy there is no
choice but to follow the established rules, because the masses will otherwise
not give their support. They believe that the process of fighting elections, even
if it means a long series of defeats, is the only effective way of educating the
electorate out of theirfalse consciousness. A version of this thesis, derived by
Gramsci, was responsible for transforming the Italian Communist Party from
a revolutionary movement into a reformist parliamentary party. The effective
collapse of more moderate socialism in Western politics may, ironically, renew
interest in this more extreme version which has no need to be electorally
competitive with centrist parties and can attract all those who despair of
consensual politics.
Parti Communiste Franc ̧ais (PCF)
The Parti Communiste Franc ̧ais was formed in 1920 when the majority of the
SFIO, the French Socialist Party (seeParti Socialiste), left to form a
communist party modelled on theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union
(CPSU). For most of its history, and certainly well into theFifth Republic, it
was one of the mostStalinistcommunist parties in the West (seeEuro-
communism). It was, however, electorally very popular until the mid-1970s.
During theThird Republicit joined in thepopular frontelectoral alliance
that won the general elections in 1936, thus preventing a collapse of the
republic into what had threatened to be a bitter clash between French fascists
and the left. Significantly it only entered this alliance becauseStalin, hoping to
divert the threat from Nazi Germany away from the Soviet Union, had called
for communists everywhere to unite with other left-wing groups. During the
Parti Communiste Franc ̧ais (PCF)