G. D. H. Cole and the National Guilds League

This political volume analyzes the academic work of G. D. H. Cole and the political tensions of the early-20th-century National Guilds League in England, an organization that attempted to unite a socialist movement divided between those who used orthodox Marxist doctrine to argue for a centralized state and those who believed that a highly decentralized state was necessary. Cole's doctrine, strategy, and impact are examined to illustrate the important economic debate about the alternatives socialism presented. The implications of this argument are discussed to reveal how the lapsed values of individuality, creativity, and freedom from control can be renewed in contemporary life.

Author Biography: Gary Taylor is a lecturer in social policy at Sheffield Hallam University. He is the author of Freedom, Responsibility and the Media, Markets and the Welfare State, and Perspectives on Social Identity.