Democratic Socialism in Britain and Sweden

With particular reference to the British Labour Party and the Swedish Social Democratic Party, this work examines the forces and processes that determine fluctuations in the degree of radicalism and socialism in the domestic policies of Socialist, Social Democratic and Labour parties in the western industrial democracies. It is argued such forces include the need to secure votes in general elections and the goal of unity within the party and with the unions. The question of what determines the radicalism of socialist party policy is set in the context of the wider debate on the sources and processes of change of stability in capitalist democracies, the role of the working-class in this, the character of the power structure in such societies and the role of ideological processes in the exercise of power.