Pluralism on and off Course

Pluralism on and off Course explains the concept of pluralism as a trend that strives to restrict centralism. The book classifies as pluralistic every trend that opposes uniformity, both in social and political structure and in the sphere of culture, the uniformity that centralism inevitably breeds. Organized into six chapters, this book particularly tackles pluralism in France, Britain, Germany, and United States. This text also describes the pluralistic elements in the socialist reconstruction of society. The rationality of pluralism is lastly discussed.

Preliminary Explanations

Part I

1 Pluralism in France

1.1 The Sources: de Tocqueville

1.2 Comte and Proudhon

1.3 Academic Pluralism (Durkheim, Duguit)

1.4 Pluralistic Thought in the Worker Movement After Proudhon

2 Pluralism in Britain: the Fabians and Guild Socialists

A. The Fabians

B. The Fronde of the Guild Movement

3 Academic Pluralism in Germany and in Britain

3.1 Preliminary Remarks

3.2 Otto von Gierke and His Influence upon Pluralists in Britain

3.3 A Tentative Synthetic Evaluation of the Issue

3.4 The Views of Walther Rathenau

3.5 Harold Laski: The First Period of Activity

3.6 Harold Laski in his Mature Period of Activity

4 Pluralism in the United States

4.1 From Ontological to Group (Social and Political) Pluralism

4.2 The Work of A.F. Bentley

4.3 Mary Parker Follett

4.4 Pluralism after Bentley: the First Clash between Elitists and Neo-Pluralists

4.5 Controversy between Elitists and Pluralists (Continued)

Part II

5 Pluralism and Marxism

Introduction

5.1 Marx and Engels on Jacobinism

5.2 The Controversy with the Anarchists (Pluralistic Elements in Marx's and Engel's Historical Writings)

5.3 Marx's and Engels' Programmatic Studies and Kautsky's Attitude towards Pluralism

5.4 Bolshevism versus Jacobinism and Anarchism

5.5 Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Kautsky on the Soviet Revolution in Russia

5.6 Brief Remarks on Endeavors to Organize the Soviet Systems outside Russia

6 Pluralistic Elements in the Socialist Reconstruction of Society

6.1 The New Economic Policy (NEP) as seen against the Background of the Volution of Soviet Society

6.2 Pluralistic Elements in Socialist Transformations after World War II: Poland

6.3 Symptoms of Abandonment of the Totalitarian Model of Socialist Societies in Western Political Sociology

6.4 Elements of Pluralism in Yugoslavia

6.5 Pluralism Represented by Communist Parties in Latin Europe

Conclusion: The Rationality of Pluralism

Postscript

Index