ABSTRACT
In 1951 the newly formed Socialist International, in its re-definition of the Aims and Tasks of Democratic Socialism, gave general recognition to the change in method by which, to quote Clause Four of the Labour Party Constitution, the workers by hand or brain were to secure ‘the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible.’ This declaration did no more than recognise the experience of those countries, and chiefly of Britain, which had taken into public ownership substantial sectors of their industry. However successful the nationalisation of basic industries has been in technical and economic terms, it has not satisfied the desire for a wider and more democratic distribution of authority nor built up any real measure of participation, by those engaged in them, in managerial decisions and their execution. Serious opposition to Fabian ideas occurred only during two periods of disillusionment with Parliamentary political activity.
