Liberal Socialism

Liberal socialism, as it say in its is a fusion of both liberal and socialist values. A socialist political philosophy that includes liberal principles within it. Liberal socialism does not have the goal of abolishing capitalism with a socialist economy; instead, it supports a mixed economy that includes both public and private property in capital goods.

Although liberal socialism unequivocally favours a mixed market economy, it identifies legalistic and artificial monopolies to be the fault of capitalism and opposes an entirely unregulated economy. It considers both liberty and equality to be compatible and mutually dependent on each other.

Principles that can be described as "liberal socialist" have been based upon or developed by the following philosophers: John Stuart Mill, Eduard Bernstein, John Dewey, Carlo Rosselli, Norberto Bobbio and Chantal Mouffe. Other important liberal socialist figures include Guido Calogero, Piero Gobetti, Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse, John Maynard Keynes and R. H. Tawney.

Liberal socialism has exercised influence in British politics, especially in the variant known as ethical socialism. A key component of ethical socialism is in its emphasis on moral and ethical critiques of capitalism and building a case for socialism on moral or spiritual grounds as opposed to rationalist and materialist grounds. Ethical socialists advocated a mixed economy that involves an acceptance of a role of both public enterprise as well as socially-responsible private enterprise. Ethical socialism was founded by R. H. Tawney, a British Christian socialist, and its ideals were connected to Christian socialist, Fabian, and guild socialist ideals.

It emphasises the need for a morally-conscious economy based upon the principles of service, cooperation, and social justice while opposing possessive individualism. Ethical socialism is distinct in its focus on criticism of the ethics of capitalism, and not merely criticism of material issues of capitalism. Its founder, Tawney, denounced the self-seeking amoral and immoral behaviour that he claimed is supported by capitalism. Tawney opposed what he called the "acquisitive society" that causes private property to be used to transfer surplus profit to "functionless owners" — capitalist rentiers.

However, unlike some of socialist persuasion, Tawney did not denounce managers as a whole, believing that management and employees could join together in a political alliance for reform. He supported the pooling of surplus profit through means of progressive taxation to redistribute these funds to provide social welfare, including public health care, public education, and public housing. He advocated nationalization of strategic industries and services. Tawney advocated worker participation in the business of management in the economy as well as consumer, employee, employer, and state cooperation in the economy.

Though Tawney supported a substantial role for public enterprise in the economy, he stated that where private enterprise provided a service that was commensurate with its rewards that was functioning private property, then a business could be usefully and legitimately be left in private hands.

It is said, one of the greatest Prime Ministers of the 20th century, Clement Attlee was greatly influenced by Liberal Socialism.

Liberals in Birmingham now have a website which activists are looking to promote and build upon.

Please share and lets get organised - 

Mike Sheridan has lived and worked in our community for many years. 

Please get in touch if you have any ideas, problems or issues you would like Mike and the Liberal Team to take up.

Email
thmindependent@gmail.com

The idea of questioning the need for open ended economic expansion originates from environmental campaigners and first came into the public domain at the end of 2016 but had been simmering for some time.
 
The core idea is that open ended economic expansion at a national level may not be either viable long-term or even desirable. It has impacts on the environment and quality of life, and promotes the depletion of natural resources.
 
Such a view point could well be viewed as ill-liberal, and diametrically opposed to the basic tenant of capitalistic and economic growth which concern themselves with investment and use of human, financial and physical capital.
 
The assumption behind this idea is that there is an optimum level of economic activity and above that level humanity is causing more and more damage to the environment and creating more and more social problems
Each step up in activity consumes more natural resources, more energy and sucks in human labour into an unbreakable cycle of expansion.
 
It could be argued that both the driving force behind the obsession with fracking, and over exploitation of water resources in this country is the ever increasing demands for natural resources.
 
Perpetual economic expansion is driven by the needs to trade both internationally and domestically, to provide employment and raise taxes. A rising population needs employment to keep people economically and socially engaged. A mature economy also needs economic activity to care for and pay for retired generations and to service the national debt.
 
However, each new factory consumes land and generates a need for energy, water, transport links, labour and land consuming housing and roads.
 
The issue does not restrict itself to physical goods but also services. Financial services are labour intensive and suck in a disproportionate number of foreign works, as incidentally does the NHS in the UK.
 
One presumption of such a policy is that a static economy will be able to self-fulfil all its employment needs domestically, without resorting to sucking in external labour as can be argued has happened with the UK.
 
This in turn touches on the policy of full employment, by which the maximum UK nationals are found fulltime employment.
 
There are estimated to be approximately 3 million EU citizens living and working in this country, and it remains a contentious issue how many if any could be legitimately displaced by domestic labour.
 
Economic expansion puts pressure on housing from increased immigration, although demography and an aging population arguably are equally important.
 
Adopting such a policy would mean abandoning of the de facto way of running an economy which is ever increase economic activity and open-ended wealth creation.
 
Such a policy should not be seen as a retreat from expansive capitalism but as a mature response to both national and global over exploitation.

The Liberal Party is a socially inclusive, secular and non-judgemental organisation and applauds the strides made in the nations acceptance of same sex relationships and unions. The party has a long history of supporting LGBT issues and pioneered civic partnership in Liverpool prior to national legislation.
 
It welcomes any form of relationship between consenting adults which provides a deeper, more fulfilling and beneficial personal life and is not exploitative or manipulative.
 
We support any formal or informal coupling, be it heterosexual, same sex or multiple partner without prejudice or comment.
 
Those wishing to have their relationship formally recognised should be able to select the most appropriate framework, be it civil union or marriage.
 
Such relationship should then be fully supported in law so as to guarantee basic rights of liberty, property and security and to ensure none shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.

The Liberal Party notes with grave concern the announcement from Conservative run Northamptonshire County Council that it is facing an imminent financial crisis and has imposed a section 114 notice, banning new expenditure.
 
After almost 8 years of unprecedented cuts to funding for public services, even Conservative run authorities are now reaching the end of their financial viability.
 
Last year saw the spectacle of Conservative run Surrey having to be lead away from a local referendum on increasing council tax beyond the 5% ceiling to allow it to continue funding services.
 
According to media report’s at least 10 other councils in England and Wales are in similar financial straits, with no sign of any acknowledgement from central government as to the long-term damage being done to public services.
 
The Liberal Party condemns the continued running down of the public sector and calls for proper and sustainable funding for council’s across the nation.

In the wake of the Carillon liquidation, the Liberal Party notes many company pension schemes are suffering a funding shortfall, often referred to as 'a pension hole'. At the same time, those same companies have enjoyed enviable profits, shareholders have received generous dividends and directors have enjoyed large incentive bonuses.
 
The Liberal Party believes that the current operating performance of companies must be balanced with the long term pension commitment those companies have made to those who have served the company.
 
The Liberal Party thus calls on government to legislate to ensure that companies with a hole in their pension fund, be required by law to fund the closure of any pension hole in equal value as the joint value of shareholder dividend plus executive bonuses.

Motion 1

The Liberal Party notes the outcome of the recent election results in Catalonia in thatCatalan separatists maintained
their absolute majority in the Catalan parliament.

Pro-independence parties matched their vote share from the previous election.

This was reinforced by a massive 82 percent turnout.

The Liberal Party deplores use of police violence against pro-independence campaigners and urges that the people of Catalonia being allowed a ballot as to their future.

The Liberal Party deplores the limp reaction of the EU to police violence from Madrid and its failure to respect and acknowledge the election results.

Motion 2

The Liberal Party welcomes progress with 2017 being declared the “greenest ever” for the UK, according to data provided by the National Grid.

However, we urge the UK to continue investment in renewable energy and note that support for customers investing in solar panels have been reduced this year with pay back feed in tariffs reduced earlier this year.

We urge strides be made for community building and new build properties to have solar panels and/or other renewable energy features mandatory in their design.

Motion 3

The Liberal Party notes with grave concern continued media coverage of part time and contract workers being penalised financial by employees for any absence from work.

The rise in contract and part time working has seen an increase in punitive clauses being imposed on workers, placing the emphasis on them to attend work under threat of sanction or loss of contract renewal.

Such measures are unwelcome and penalise people for simply being too unwell to attend a place of work, and placing the onus on them to provide their own replacement cover.

The Liberal Party calls upon the government to outlaw such practises and grant all workers basic protection and reasonable time off from work without prejudicing their livelihood, and asks for the HS&E to make a statement on
these practises.

The Liberal Party deplores proposed price increases for rail fares with customers paying up to 3.6% more than they were last year, for prices already the highest in Europe.
 
Rail fares have gone up three times faster than wages since the Tory party came into power in 2010.
 
Not only are our trains among the most expensive in Europe, they’re also among the worst performing: in the run-up to Christmas, 72.5% of services operated by First Rail Hull were late or cancelled,
 
These price increases will deter the customer shift from car usage to public transport that we need to reduce congestion , improve  air quality and create a more balanced public transport infrastructure in this country.
 
They will also have a disproportionately damaging impact on rural communities.

The Liberal Party notes the recent government announcement of additional funding for the UKs police forces. The additional funding is estimated to be in the region of 450 million pounds for the period 2018-9.

Although such funding increases are to be welcomed, the sums promised do little to reverse 7 years of funding cuts in the name of austerity and the loss of over 20000 police posts.

Of the quoted increase, 270 million will in fact comes from an increase to the precept delivered via council tax, and so the weight of this increase is being disproportionally passed onto hard pressed householders.

The Liberal Party calls for the proper funding of the UK’s police force’s, which will allow them to both revitalise and strengthen local policing and meet future challenges.

The Liberal Party notes with great concern the unilateral decision of the US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel.
 
Such a move, although long anticipated, does nothing to encourage a resumption of the Middle East peace process, will almost certainly provoke regional anger, and effectively endorses the Israeli states illegal confiscation of land, further undermining any future regional settlement.
 
The Liberal Party remains committed to a negotiated peace in the Middle East which will allow the creation of an independent and self sustaining Palestinian state and allow the newly emerged nation’s diaspora to return.
 
The party yet again re-iterates its call for the British Government to actively and urgently promote Palestine's entry into the United Nations as a full member and that an invitation to join the Commonwealth be extended to Palestine.