Was there an alternative? European socialists facing capitalism in the long 1970s

ABSTRACT

This article examines Western European socialists’ attempt to assert a ‘socialist alternative’ to a crumbling world order during the long 1970s. In Western Europe, the 1968 uprisings inaugurated a decade of intense social contestation, which coincided with the heyday of social democracy and, arguably, with a new leftward tendency within the socialist milieu. The ‘crisis’ of the long 1970s – with its multiple economic, energy social, political, international and cultural facets – challenged the foundations of the ‘post-war consensus’ and to some extent pushed socialists to question their commitment to capitalism. This article explores the period of consolidation and renewal that Western European social democracy experienced during the early 1970s, their increasing confidence that they could use the European Community as a tool to realize democratic socialism, the attempt to formulate a common socialist alternative for Europe, the leftward tendency that was characterizing European socialists at the time and even their hope (at least for some of them) to surpass capitalism. Focusing on the attempt of the socialist parties of the EC to adopt a common European socialist programme in view of the first direct elections of the European Parliament, it argues that despite their divergences, European socialists did thoroughly discuss and envisage an alternative to capitalism at a European and global level during the 1970s, an option that was abandoned by the 1980s.

Abbreviation: European Community=EC; European Parliament=EP

KEYWORDS:

• Social Europe
• crisis of the 1970s
• capitalism
• European socialism
• social democracy
• Mitterrand
• Schmidt
• Benn
• European integration history

Acknowledgements

I owe special thanks to everyone who took part in the conference ‘Crisis, Capitalism and European integration history: From 1945 to the Present’ at the European University Institute in 2016, to Andrea Talaber and Agne Rimkute for their editing support, to Federico Romero, Rosa Gilbert, Joel White and Lorenzo Alba for their careful advices and to Claudia Fanti for her administrative help.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Throughout the article, the terms ‘socialist’ and ‘social democratic’ are generally used as synonyms when referring to the parties that adhered to the Socialist International, the Confederation of Socialist Parties of the European Community, and the Socialist Group of the European Parliament. The term ‘European Left’ generally refers to the broader milieu of parties and trade unions – including communist ones – that belonged to the institutional Left throughout Western Europe.

2. Padgett and Paterson, A History of Social Democracy in Postwar Europe, 90–4; and Sassoon, One Hundred Years of Socialism, 461–68.

3. See Crainz, Il Paese Mancato.

4. About the political shift to the left, see also Garavini, After Empires, 122–7.

5. Di Donato, I Comunisti Italiani e La Sinistra Europea, 87.

6. Di Donato, 85–94 here page 88. On the positions of European social democrats regarding the question of North-South relations during those years, see Garavini, After Empires, 122–61.

7. See for instance Harst, Beyond the Customs Union; and Guasconi, L’Europa Tra Continuità E Cambiamento.

8. For an account of the fall of dictatorial regimes in Spain, Portugal and Greece and their relevance for the European Left, see Sassoon, One Hundred Years of Socialism, chap. 21.

9. For an overview of Eurocommunism during the 1970s, see Pons, “The Rise and Fall of Eurocommunism”; Balampanidēs, Eurocommunism. On the evolution of the PCF and PCI from the 1960s to the 1980s, see also Di Maggio, Alla Ricerca Della Terza via Al Socialismo.

10. Maggiorani and Ferrari, L’Europa Da Togliatti a Berlinguer, 212–33. Although the Italian, French and Spanish communist parties were at the spearhead of the movement, other communist parties adopted the slogan – in Finland, Belgium, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Austria among others.

11. PCI member Giorgio Amendola was particularly active in convincing the other communist parties of the necessity to work for a democratic transformation of the EC, through the development of alliances with the communist, socialist and Christian-democratic forces, see Maggiorani and Ferrari, 60–2. See also Amendola’s speeches in Communist and Allies Group of the European Parliament, I Comunisti Italiani e l’Europa, 49–52.

12. The declarations are reproduced in the appendix of Lange and Vannicelli, The Communist Parties of Italy, France, and Spain, 357–61.

13. Ibid., 359–60.

14. On the oil shock and its impact on Western Europe, see for instance Bini, Garavini, and Romero, Oil Shock; and Eichengreen, The European Economy Since 1945, 246–56.

15. See Garavini, After Empires, 171–2.

16. See Callaghan, The Retreat of Social Democracy, 62–8; Padgett and Paterson, A History of Social Democracy in Postwar Europe, 83–4. On French socialists during these years, see also Hatzfeld, “Une révolution culturelle du parti socialiste dans les années 1970 ?”; and Bell and Criddle, The French Socialist Party.

17. Callaghan, The Retreat of Social Democracy, 72–7; Padgett and Paterson, A History of Social Democracy in Postwar Europe, 74–81; 86–8; in general see Braunthal, The German Social Democrats since 1969.

18. Hannah and McDonnell, A Party with Socialists in It, 122–63; Callaghan, The Retreat of Social Democracy, 55–62; and Seyd, The Rise and Fall of the Labour Left.

19. For example in Anthony Wedgwood ‘Tony’ Benn, “In Praise of Workers’ Control,” Socialist Affairs, January 1971; Stuart Holland, “Social Democracy and Eurocommunism,” Socialist Affairs, November/December 1978. See also Holland, The Socialist Challenge, 344.

20. Callaghan, The Retreat of Social Democracy, 54–82.

21. Di Donato, I Comunisti Italiani e La Sinistra Europea, Chap. 4. On Schmidt’s attitude toward development policy, see Salm, Transnational Socialist Networks in the 1970s; on the US offensive against the ‘New International Economic Order’, see Bair, “Taking Aim at the New International Economic Order.”

22. On this aspect see Andry, “‘Social Europe’ in the Long 1970s,” 170–7; 235–41. Besides, some of the elements of Berlinguer’s geopolitical outlook – promoting an autonomous Western Europe, East-West détente and North-South dialogue, and supporting the Non-Aligned movement – was in line with the social-democrats’ mainstream ‘ideological offensive’; a rapprochement between the PCI and European social-democratic forces was, in fact, perceptible during the 1970s. Relations between Italian communists and several European socialist leaders – among them Palme, Mitterrand, and Brandt himself – grew closer during this period. See Lussana, “Il Confronto Con Le Socialdemocrazie e La Ricerca Di Un Nuovo Socialismo Nell’ultimo Berlinguer”; and Maggiorani and Ferrari, L’Europa Da Togliatti a Berlinguer, 53–75.

23. Sassoon, One Hundred Years of Socialism, 445–8.

24. Mansholt was one of the main supporters and architects of the CAP. In 1968 he launched the so-called ‘Mansholt Plan’ for a restructuring of European agriculture, which scattered strong farmers protests that reached their peak in the streets of Brussels on 23 March 1971, when one of the demonstrating farmers was killed in clashes with the police. See Merriënboer, Mansholt, Chap. 13.

25. Merriënboer, Mansholt, 329; and Meadows et al., The Limits to Growth, 9–16.

26. Johan Van Marriënboer, “Sicco Mansholt and ‘Limits to Growth’”; Hiepel, Europe in a Globalising World, 319–42. See also Mansholt’s autobiography entitled “The Crisis,” in which he explained his views. Mansholt and Delaunay, La Crise.

27. Johan van Merriënboer, “Sicco Mansholt and ‘Limits to Growth,’” 327.

28. Mansholt’s letter got a lot of international publicity in all European mainstream press and television media between January and March 1971. See Reboul, Pass, and Thill, La Lettre Mansholt: Réactions et Commentaires. Merriënboer, “Sicco Mansholt and ‘Limits to Growth,’” 334.

29. Garavini, After Empires, 141–52.

30. HAEU, GSPE-054-FR, “Réunion exceptionnelle du groupe socialiste et du Bureau des partis socialistes de la Communauté européenne – Exposé de Sicco L. Mansholt,” Bruxelles, 29 mai 1972.

31. HAEU, GSPE-053, “Projet de procès-verbal, réunion exceptionnelle du groupe socialiste et du bureau des partis socialistes de la Communauté européenne,” Bruxelles, 29 mai 1972, here page 303. The Luxembourger MEP Astrid Lulling and president of the SGEP Francis Vals expressed particular enthusiasm for Mansholt’s ideas.

32. IISH, SI 263, “Report of the 12th Congress of the Socialist International held in Vienna 26–29 June 1972.” During the Congress, Ivar Norgaard, the Danish Minister for foreign trade and EEC Affairs declared that ‘zero growth’ was unrealistic and undesirable, while Joan Lestor, Member of the National Executive Committee of the British LP, expressed strong skepticism towards Mansholt’s ideas.

33. HAEU, GSPE-053, “Les socialistes en Europe doivent gagner en influence” (statement by Sicco Mansholt published in Het Parool, 3 January 1972).

34. Salm, Transnational Socialist Networks in the 1970s; Steinnes, “The European Turn and ‘Social Europe’: Northern European Social Democracy 1950–85”; and Andry, “‘Social Europe’ in the Long 1970s.”

35. Hix and Lesse, Shaping a Vision, 22–5.

36. On the strengthening of informal transnational socialist party cooperation during the 1970s and the emergence and growing influence of party leaders’ summits since the 1970s, see in particular Salm, Transnational Socialist Networks in the 1970s11–42.

37. HAEU, GSPE-131, “Pour une Europe Sociale,” 26–7 April 1972 (20 pages). The document listed the theses into seven categories: ‘Fundamental principles of social policy in Europe’, ‘Right to work’, ‘Humanisation of the environment’, ‘Social security in Europe’, ‘Democratisation of the economy in Europe’, ‘Social guideline of the income policy’, and ‘Perspectives’.

38. For a detailed analysis of the Bonn theses ‘For a Social Europe’, see Andry, “‘Social Europe’ in the Long 1970s,” 164–72.

39. On the evolution of the EP powers, see for instance Priestley, Six Battles That Shaped Europe’s Parliament; and Mény, Building Parliament.

40. In July 1976, there were 18 British deputies, 17 German, 8 French, 7 Italians, 5 Dutch, 4 Belgian, 3 Danish, 2 Irish and 2 Luxembourg deputies. HAEU, GSPE-060-EN, “Background information on the SGEP, 9 July 1976: detailed composition and organisation of SG as of July 1976.”

41. It counted 15 members in July 1975 and seventeen in September 1977 (9 PCI; 4 PCF; 1 Danish Socialistisk Folkeparti and 3 ‘indipendenti di sinistra’ elected on the PCI lists), and after the first direct elections it would rise to 44 MEPs out of 410. European Parliament, I Comunisti Al Parlamento Europeo.

42. Roy Jenkins was a leading figure of the Labour Right who was in sharp opposition to the leftward shift of the Labour Party and its rejection of the EC during the 1970s and early 1980s and would have founded, when returning to UK politics in 1981, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on a decisively more pro-EC and social-liberal line. On his role at the head of the European Commission, see Ludlow, Roy Jenkins and the European Commission Presidency, 1976–1980 At the Heart of Europe.

43. HAEU, GSPE-059-EN, “Information Document. Predominant position of the Socialist Group. Articles of the London Times of 10 October 1975.”

44. IISH, CSPEC-18, “Elaboration of a Socialist European Platform” (not dated). Other participants to the Social Policy sub-group included Jacques Delors and Ernest Glinne. See also Hix and Lesse, Shaping a Vision, 25–7.

45. IISH, CSPEC-18, “Socialist Programme working party, Draft report on the meeting on 24 September 1975 of the working party on a European Socialist Programme.”

46. Ibid, here page 4.

47. IISH, CSPEC-19, “Draft election manifesto of the CSPEC” (27 pages) adopted by the Bureau of the CSPEC on 6 June 1977.

48. Ibid, here pages 12–3.

49. Hix and Lesse, Shaping a Vision, 25–32.

50. IISH, CSPEC 18, “Party-leaders Conference 23–24 June 1978 Brussels” and IISH, CSPEC 18, “Political Declaration.” All EC socialist party leaders attended the summit and signed the political declaration except for the leader of the British Labour Party, Callaghan. That is even though the British Labour Party had joined – first as an observer – the CSPEC after the 1975 referendum and had supported for the first time the idea of a common electoral manifesto prior to the leaders’ summit. The Spanish and Portuguese leaders also attended the summit.

51. IISH, CSPEC-8, “Appeal to the electorate,” 10th Congress of the CSPEC, Brussels 10–12 January 1979, here page 2.

52. HAEU, GSPE-138, “Conférence des partis socialistes d’Europe du Sud, Paris, 24–25 janvier 1976.”

53. Granadino, “Democratic Socialism or Social Democracy?”; Bernardini, “La SPD e il socialismo democratico europeo negli anni ’70”; and Di Donato, “Un Socialismo per l’Europa Del Sud?”

54. Callaghan, The Retreat of Social Democracy, 74–9; in general see Braunthal, The German Social Democrats since 1969.

55. Since the early 1970s, the question of cooperation with communists in the EP was a recurring point of debate in the SGEP. See for instance HAEU, GSPE-053, “Minutes of the extraordinary meeting of the Bureau and the SGEP on 29 May 1972,” 285–305.

56. IISH, SI-348, “Party Leaders’ Conferences, Elsinore (Denmark), 19 January 1976, press cuttings.”

57. See for instance Basosi and Bernardini, “The Puerto Rico Summit of 1976 and the End of Eurocommunism”; Varsori, “Puerto Rico (1976)”; and Varsori, “Crisis and Stabilization in Southern Europe during the 1970s: Western Strategy, European Instruments.”

58. HAEU, GSPE-140, “Nous, partis sociaux démocrates de la CEE…,” L’Humanité, 4 July 1977.

59. “Le vrai ‘programme commun’ du PS?,” L’Humanité, 28 October 1977.

60. HAEU, GSPE-140, ‘Arguments et Documents’, ‘Argumentaire’, ‘Résolution du Comité Directeur du PS du 8 Octobre 1977ʹ.

61. Flandre, Socialisme Ou Social-Démocratie?

62. HAEU, GSPE-140, “Rencontre bilatérale PS-SPD,” 3 February 1978.

63. See in general Braunthal, The German Social Democrats since 1969; Soell, Helmut Schmidt; and Spohr, The Global Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and the Reshaping of the International Order.

64. See Sassoon, One Hundred Years of Socialism, 497–533.

65. Garnier and Janover, La deuxième droite.

66. Callaghan, “Social Democracy in Transition.”

67. IISH, CSPEC-21, “Draft report of the working Group ‘Employment,’” 7 October 1978, here page 58.

68. “Frédéric Lordon à HEC Débats – Conférence – Présidentielles 2017, Nuit Debout, Capitalisme,” Accessed April 20, 2019. available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JwBlI0xf_k

69. The reasons for the defeat of a certain model of ‘social Europe’ during the 1970s are extensively discussed in Andry, “‘Social Europe’ in the Long 1970s,” see in particular the conclusions.

70. Sassoon, One Hundred Years of Socialism, 446.

71. Slobodian, Globalists; see also Harvey, A Brief History of Neoliberalism; and Stiegler, ‘Il faut s’adapter’. Sur un nouvel impératif politique.

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Aurélie Andry

Aurélie Andry is a Research Associate in International Economic History at the University of Glasgow. She holds a PhD from the European University Institute, Florence, and is a former Junior Lecturer in postwar European history at the Université Paris-Sorbonne. She has edited with Haakon A. Ikonomou and Rebekka Byberg European Enlargement: Across Rounds and Beyond Borders (Routledge, 2017). Her main research interests include European integration history and the history of European socialism and trade unionism, the history of ‘social Europe’, EU social policy and the involvement of social actors in European governance and policy-making.