Harrington and Democratic Socialism

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at Harrington's beliefs about democratic socialism and how they differed from the views of the leftist radicals who emerged on U.S. college campuses in the 1960s. The paper examines the future Harrington predicts for modern capitalism and evaluates Harrington's concept of economic democracy. The paper shows how Harrington differs from the liberalism which was prevalent prior to 1963. The paper is of the opinion that a critique of Harrington's work reveals a thinker with uncommon insight.

From the Paper:

"To begin with, Harrington's views with regards to democratic socialism are different from the leftist views espoused by 1960s radicals - and this is a good thing as we shall see. Most notably, when Harrington tried to convert the new campus radicals of that decade to democratic socialism (a mode of thinking which appears to favor local and community involvement in economic decision-making as well as a sort of participatory democracy wherein people take control of the "means of production" at the local and individual level), they informed him that they found the "unnecessary historical baggage" of Harrington's brand of socialism unappealing; they also informed him that the new liberal radicalism being championed by baby-boomers sought a new diction and politics and was uncomfortable with the anti-communism and statism that dominated Harrington's more "traditional" social democracy. In the same vein, the New Left of the 1960s haughtily dismissed the Old Left's alliance with Democratic Party liberalism and trade unions (Dorrien, para.10 and 28). The schism between Harrington and the young student leaders of the 1960s reflects his wisdom and their folly."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dorrien, Gary. "Michael Harrington: Socialist to the End." Religion Online. N.d. Religion-online.org. 19 Oct. 2006 <http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1969>
• Golatz, Helmut J. "The Twilight of Capitalism (Book Review)." Labor Studies Journal, 3.2 (1978): 191-92.
• Thompson, Grahame, & Ciaran Driver. "Stakeholder Champions: How to Internationalize the Corporate Social Responsibility Agenda." Business Ethics: A European Review, 14.1 (2005): 56-66.

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