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Why do any human beings choose to be socialists? Why has socialist politics proved in practice so frequently disappointing? How far can socialist ideas still serve to inform and guide political judgement in modern states for the better? Are the evident weaknesses of socialist politics in all its varieties likely to lead to its disappearance from modern political activity in the readily imaginable future?
Politics is an attempt by creatures of limited understanding, skill and virtue to reshape the societies in which they live their lives. Political theory is a more or less systematic attempt to assess the meaning of these activities and their prospects for success. The purpose of this essay is to focus more clearly the significance and the prospects of socialist political activities in wealthy capitalist societies. It neglects many issues which are importantly relevant to thinking about these questions: the present state and prospective future of the capitalist world economy, the immense variations in social and economic structures between different capitalist countries, the distinctive historical experiences which have shaped socialist politics in different societies in Europe, North America, the Far East and the Antipodes, the political and economic history of countries which have experienced major anti-capitalist revolutions in the twentieth century. All of these are important considerations in their own right and all have some real bearing on the issues considered here. But even the best informed of opinion about them could not be a substitute for what is attempted in this essay.
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