Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is concerned with the evolution of socialist labor movements in societies where industrialization had taken place while aristocratic elements were still strong. It discusses the failure of socialist labor movements to develop in industrial societies where this was, for a variety of reasons, not the case. The book shows how socialists expected that their advances and eventual victory would be achieved through reliance on and commitment to elections with universal suffrage and parliamentary democracy. It also shows how working-class growth comes to an end, the working class and its class consciousness disintegrate, class lines become blurred, and a considerable level of equality is achieved in the welfare state. It deals with the development of the Japanese social democratic labor movement comparing it to Western European development.