Introduction / 1. The Rise and Fall of Market Socialism / 2. Revisionism Revised: Social Democracy and Freedom / 3. Reclaiming the State: Social Movements and Pluralism / 4. ‘Comrade Hayek’? Liberalism Divided / 5. Responses to the New Right
Simon Griffiths is senior lecturer in politics at Goldsmiths University of London. He was previously a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Political Ideologies in Oxford. He divides his time between academia and public policy and was formerly Senior Policy Advisor at the British Academy and Senior Research Fellow at the Social Market Foundation. He has written numerous policy reports and published journal articles in Contemporary Politics and Journal of Political Ideologies.
This book makes an original and valuable contribution to our
understanding of the complex ideological history of the twentieth
century. It is well written and manages to combine clear exegesis
of the relevant ideas with pointed discussions of the context in
which they emerged. [I]t will prove insightful and useful to those
interested in the study of political ideologies and in the history
of British political thought, as well as to students of Hayek’s
work.
*Contemporary Political Theory*
[A]n important work that shows the challenge but also the great
value of genuine intellectual engagement across ideological
boundaries. The discussion of the four thinkers’ engagement with
Hayek provides significant insights into the development of
contemporary socialism and social democracy. Although the book is
centered on the British experience, it will have value for all
those interested in the ideological and empirical
political-economic debates of the twentieth century and how they
will inform the political economy of the twenty-first century.
*The Review of Austrian Economics*
[T]his work, made of six concise but straightforward chapters,
offers an engaging argument about the liberal roots of contemporary
left thought. It not only narrates a recent history of socialist
ideas, but also attempts to show how ideas and political thinkers
may have a concrete impact on policies of their time. [It] brings
new perspectives to questions that many left thinkers constantly
raise, notably when attempting to understand the ambiguous path
that many European so-called left governments have taken in recent
years.
*LSE Review of Books*
Hayek has long been regarded as the exclusive property of the
political right. But as Simon Griffiths shows in this important and
insightful study, Hayek also attracted the attention of some on the
political left, who used his ideas to rethink some long-standing
positions on markets and the role of the state. Griffiths provides
a searching critique of this engagement, and asks whether it still
has relevance in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash. He
provides a fresh and illuminating perspective on how ideas
influence contemporary politics.
*Andrew Gamble, University of Cambridge*
Simon Griffiths’ book illuminatingly and innovatively opens up the
debate on Hayek. Hayek claimed to be a liberal, and his critics
asserted that he was a conservative. Yet, as Griffiths intriguingly
shows, Hayek’s aversion to planning was absorbed in diverse ways by
British left-wing intellectuals and political activists, who came
to acknowledge the role that markets and spontaneity had to
play. The result is a subtle and inventive study that explores the
broad reach of Hayek’s towering influence in his later years. Not
least, one of its most important findings is to demonstrate the
permeability of conventional ideological fault-lines. In so
doing, Griffiths locates himself firmly amidst a new
generation of scholars who understand the intrinsic adaptability of
political ideas.
*Michael Freeden, Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of
Oxford*
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