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Home , Liberal socialism, Norberto Bobbio, Piero Gobetti, Socialism

Chantal Montle TOWARD A LIBERAL ?

an the ideals of socialism survive the defend them against the defenders of "true collapseC of "actually existing socialism" and ." He has consistently put the current discrediting of the historic struggles the thesis that socialist goals could be realized against inequality? The very idea of within the framework of and is threatened by the new anticollectiv- that they could only be realized acceptably ism, and the project of within such a framework. For him, increasingly appears as the relic of a bygone and democracy necessarily go together: a age, dominated by the rhetoric of class is bound to be a liberal struggle. one. He writes that "the liberal is not only The recognition of the of pluralism is the historical but the legal premise of the indeed an important achievement, but it would democratic state. The [two] are doubly interde- be a serious setback in the fight for democracy pendent: if liberalism provides those if we were to accept "actually existing necessary to the proper exercise of democratic (capitalist, liberal) " as the "end of power, democracy guarantees the and history." There are still numerous social arenas persistence of fundamental liberties." 2 and relationships where democratization is Bobbio belongs to an important tradition of critically needed. The task for the today is Italian liberal thought that since the nineteenth to describe how this can be achieved in a way century, under the influence of John Stuart that is compatible with the existence of a liberal Mill, has been receptive to socialist ideas. In democratic regime. the twentieth century it was crystalized around In Hegemony and Socialist Strategy' we the journal La Rivoluzione Liberale created by attempted to redefine the socialist project in and the movement Giustizia e terms of "radical and plural democracy" and to Liberta founded by , who wrote a picture it as the extension of democracy to a book called Socialismo Liberale. The aim of wide range of social relationships. Our inten- this movement for was to tion was to insist on the necessity of articulat- socialist objectives with the principles ing socialist goals with the institutions of of liberal democracy: , parlia- political liberalism. I am convinced that the mentarism, and a competitive multiparty sys- only socialism with a future is a liberal tem. In recent years, this movement has gained socialism, and I want to examine in this article a new relevance due to the profound ideologi- the work of a few thinkers who provide us with cal transformation of the Italian Communist ideas useful for the elaboration of such a party (PCI). Its majority decided to renounce perspective. and to change its name to Partito Democratia della Sinistra (PDS). and Italian Bobbio, whose influence in that debate Liberal Socialism should not be overlooked, remains faithful to this Italian tradition when he argues that today Norberto Bobbio has been for a long time one the project of liberal socialism requires a new of the most eloquent advocates of the need to that articulates justice with civil recognize the value of liberal institutions and to . According to him, the current debate

WINTER • 1993 • 81 Toward a Liberal Socialism? around contractarianism should provide the applied." These "rules of the game" are terrain for the democratic left to make an designed to facilitate and guarantee the widest important intervention: participation of the majority of citizens in the decisions that affect the whole of . The The crux of this debate is to see whether, starting function of some of these rules is to establish with the same incontestable individualistic con- ception of society and using the same institutional what is meant by the general . They structures, we are able to make a counter-proposal determine who has the right to vote, guarantee to the theory of social contract that neo-liberals that the votes of all the citizens have an equal want to put into operation, one which would weight, and specify which type of include in its conditions a principle of distributive decisions are going to be put into effect. But in justice and which would hence be compatible with addition to these three rules, there are others the theoretical and practical tradition of socialism that refer to the conditions that need to be (p. 117). fulfilled if the exercise of the to It is no wonder then that Bobbio expresses choose is to be effective. There is first the sympathy for the proposals made by John principle of pluralism, according to which a Rawls in his celebrated book A Theory of democratic system must guarantee the exis- Justice, and that he takes Rawls's side against tence of a plurality of organized political 's defense of the minimal state in groupings that compete with one another. , State and Utopia. He considers that, Second, voters must be able to choose between as long as democracy is alive and individuals different alternatives; and, finally, the minority retain a right to determine the terms of a new must be guaranteed the right to become a social contract, they are going to ask not only majority in its turn. for the protection of their fundamental rights Bobbio argues that only a liberal state can and of their ; they will also want to guarantee these arrangements and the basic ensure distributive justice. rights they entail: freedom of opinion, speech, But will such a new social contract provide assembly, the press, political association, and the solution, as Bobbio , to the so on. growing ungovernability of modern industrial These are the rights on which the liberal state has ? Can a social contract that articulates been founded since its inception, giving to the the demands of justice with individual rights doctrine of the Rechtsstaat, or juridical state, in solve the problems facing complex societies the full sense of the term, i.e., the state which not today? Is that the way to get out of what he only exercises power sub lege, but exercises it presents as the "paradoxes of democracy"? within the limits derived from the constitutional This is not the view of contemporary commu- recognition of the so-called "inviolable" rights of nitarian critics of liberalism who affirm that, the individual. Whatever may be the philosophical because liberal is the cause of the basis of these rights, they are the necessary problems, it cannot be the path to their precondition for the mainly procedural mecha- nisms, which characterize a democratic system, to resolution. In order to evaluate the adequacy of work properly. The constitutional norms which Bobbio's proposals, we need to examine his confer these rights are not rules of the game as diagnosis of the difficulties that confront such: they are preliminary rules which allow the democracy in complex societies. game to take place (p. 25).

But will the game continue—and attract new Bobbio's Conception of Democracy players? Bobbio's "paradox" is the fact that we want more and more democracy in conditions Bobbio insists, again and again, that we should that are increasingly unpropitious, given the adopt what he calls a "minimal definition of growth of large state organizations, the devel- democracy" as a form of "charac- opment of and bureaucracy, and terized by a of rules (primary or basic) that the rise of cultural conformism. He writes: establish who is authorized to make collective decisions and which procedures are to be In a nut-shell, these four enemies of democracy-

82 • DISSENT Toward a Liberal Socialism?

where I am taking democracy to mean the country should no longer be to establish "who" optimum method for making collective deci- votes, but "where" they can vote. sions—are the large scale of modern life; the increasing bureaucratization of the state apparatus; the growing technicality of the decisions it is Pluralism and Individualism necessary to make; and the trend of As we have seen, according to Bobbio, liberal towards a mass society. 3 socialism can offer a solution to the present What then is the remedy proposed by shortcomings of democracy by providing a new Bobbio? Can something be done to further the social contract having at its center a principle process of democratization in modern advanced of . The aim is to combine social, societies? Bobbio insists that we should political, and civil rights, putting them on a abandon all hopes of a "true democracy," a strong individualistic foundation by appealing perfectly reconciled society, a radical consen- to the principle of the individual as the ultimate sus. Modern democracy, he insists, must come source of power. The issue of individualism is to terms with pluralism, and this implies that crucial for Bobbio: "Without individualism, dissent is permanent and inevitable. Consensus there can be no liberalism." 4 The compatibility is necessary only as far as the rules of the game of liberalism and democracy lies for him in the are concerned. Those rules, when imple- fact that both share a common starting point: an mented, are the best guarantees against autoc- individualistic conception of society. The racy and heteronomy, the best framework for modern idea of the social contract represents, the struggle for individuality, which he sees as in his view, a Copernican in the the driving force of democratic . relationship between individual and society Once the illusion of direct rule has been because it marks the end of all organicistic and discarded, says Bobbio, we can begin to holistic notions. By putting the particular envisage how democracy can be strengthened individual with her , needs, and rights and expanded. This can only mean the at the origin of society, the individualistic extension of representative government to more conception made possible not only the liberal and more areas of social life; the central state but also the modern idea of democracy, question is not to look for the emergence of a whose fundamental principle is that the source new type of democracy but for a process "in of power is each individual taken indepen- which quite traditional forms of democracy, dently and counted equally. Liberal ideas and such as , are infiltrat- democratic procedures could therefore be ing new spaces, spaces occupied until now by interwoven, and their combination leads to a hierarchic or bureaucratic organizations." In a situation where "Liberalism defends and pro- word, we should proceed from the democrati- claims individual as against the state, in zation of the state to the democratization of both the economic and the political sphere; society, struggling against autocratic power in democracy reconciles individual and society by all its forms in order to take over the various making society the product of a common spaces still occupied by nondemocratic centers agreement among individuals."' of power. To democratize society requires, for Bobbio, tackling all the institutions—from family to school, from big to public I agree with Bobbio about the importance of administration—that are not run democrati- individualism in the birth of the modern cally. He declares, conception of society, but it seems to me that the real question today is whether a certain kind Nowadays, if an indicator of democratic is needed it cannot be provided by the number of of individualism has not become an obstacle to who have the right to vote, but the number the extension of democratic ideals. Many of the of contexts outside politics where the right to vote problems that Bobbio finds in modern democ- is exercised. A laconic but effective way of racies could be attributed to the effects of putting it is to say that the criterion for judging the individualism. For instance, in their critique of state of democratization achieved in a given the work of , contemporary corn-

WINTER • 1993 • 83 Toward a Liberal Socialism? munitarians have argued that it is precisely the mandates. He even goes so far as to admit that individualistic conception of the subject exist- it could not have been otherwise and declares: ing with his rights, independently of his place in society, that is at the origin of our problems. Confirmation of the victory—I would dare to say Far from seeing the solution in a new social a definitive one—of the representation of interests over impartial political representation is provided contract, they consider that it is the very idea of by the type of relationship, which is coming to be a contract, with its atomistic implications, that the norm in most democratic states in Europe, needs to be abandoned. This is why they argue between opposed groups (representatives for a revival of the civic republican tradition of industrialists and workers respectively) and with its richer conception of citizenship and its parliament. This relationship has brought about a view of politics as a realm where we can new type of which is called, rightly recognize ourselves as participants in a political or wrongly, "neo-." community organized around the idea of a Bobbio leaves the question at that point and shared . does not provide us with a new rationale for It is not my intention to enter into that debate representative democracy, one that would take here, 6 but I would like to present some account of the role played by interest groups. reflections on the specific problems faced by To be sure, Bobbio refers to certain develop- the extension of democracy today and the way ments in democratic theory that have shifted in which an individualistic framework cannot the emphasis of the classical theorists on the deal with them. Let me start by indicating ideas of "participation" and "sovereignty" in points of with Bobbio. He is order to put the idea of accountability at the certainly right to stress the importance of center of the theory. It could indeed be argued representative democracy and the need to that his insistence on a procedural conception abandon the illusion of perfect consensus in a of democracy is proof that he situates himself completely transparent society. Modern democ- in the camp of the realists rather than the racy has indeed to come to terms with classicists. The problem is that he often pluralism. But it is precisely on that point that combines elements from the two traditions individualism is an obstacle because it does not without realizing that they can be in conflict. allow us to "theorize" pluralism in an adequate Can one put together Schumpeter and Mill in way. If representative democracy needs to be such an unproblematic way as Bobbio seems to defended, we must also acknowledge that its believe? And things get even more complicated theory is really deficient and that we have to when it comes to the point of articulating formulate new arguments in its favor. As Carl socialism with that peculiar mixture. Besides Schmitt (an unlikely ally) has shown convinc- insisting on the necessity of a principle of ingly in his critique of parliamentary democ- distributive justice and the need to recognize racy,' the classical theory of representation has social rights, Bobbio does not really have much been rendered obsolete by the development of to say on that topic. modern mass democracy. As a consequence, If we want to find solutions to the problems not only did parliament lose much of its facing liberal democracies today and provide influence, it also became the arena where an effective articulation between socialist goals antagonistic interests came into conflict. Bob- and liberal principles, we have to escape the bio seems to agree with such a critique of the framework of individualism. I am not arguing classical view of representative democracy, for a return to an organicist and holistic with its conception of political representation conception of society, which is clearly inade- that stipulates that the representative who is quate for modern democracy. called on to pursue the interests of the The best alternative to such a view is not the cannot represent particular interests and be individualistic conception predominant in lib- subject to a binding mandate. Indeed, he eral theory. The problem is to understand the declares that no constitutional norm has ever individual, not as a monad, an "unencum- been more violated than the veto on binding bered" self existing previous to and indepen-

84 • DISSENT Toward a Liberal Socialism? dently of society, but as constituted by an he claims that the current toward flexible ensemble of "subject positions," participating specialization in manufacturing has increased the in a multiplicity of social relationships, mem- importance of regional economic and ber of many communities and participant in a small-to-medium-scale firms. plurality of collective identifications. Hence the representation of "interests" and and the promotion of economic the recognition of "rights" have to be posed in self-government offer the best prospect of a form of in which the major a new way. The idea of social rights, for contributing interests—the providers of capital, instance, is best envisaged in terms of specific management expertise and labor—have an active communities. It is through her participation in interest in the continued manufacturing success of specific relationships that a social agent is the firm (p. 21). granted rights, not as an individual outside society. Some of these rights will of course It is because of the need for democratization and have a universal character and belong to all decentralization that, according to him, associa- members of the political community, but others tional socialism becomes relevant. For its central will be related to specific social situations. idea is that economic units should be coopera- What is at stake here is not a rejection of tively owned, self-governing associations. universalism in favor of particularism but the Like Bobbio, Hirst considers that socialism need for a new relation of the two. There is a must formulate its objective as the deepening of way in which the abstract universalism of liberal democratic values and that the realiza- human rights can be used to negate specific tion of its goals should not be seen as requiring identities and repress specific communities. a break with constitutional government and the Without coming back to a view that denies the rule of . He also understands democracy as universal human dimension of the individual a struggle against all forms of autocratic power and makes room only for pure particularism, it and socialism as a specific dimension of that should be possible to conceive of individuality struggle. "If socialism has any relevance today, as constituted by the intersection of a multiplic- it is in raising the two linked questions of the ity of personal and collective identities that democratic governance of private corporations constantly subvert each other. But what does and the democratization of state administra- this mean in political terms? tion." 9 But, unlike Bobbio, he tries to put forward specific proposals to help us visualize Associational Socialism and what form such a democratization could take. Liberal Socialism Hirst sees associational socialism as repre- senting the only challenge to corporate capital- Once we have broken with the straitjacket of ism that respects the principles of liberal individualism, we can imagine the articulation democracy. His ideas are very useful, even between liberalism and socialism in a much more if—as he himself recognizes—the appropria- promising way. In such an endeavor we can find tion of such a tradition must be selective, since an important source of inspiration in the current some of its ideas have clearly become obsolete. of associational socialism, a third tradition in the What is particularly convincing is the argument , which flourished during the that associational socialism, because of its nineteenth century and until the early 1920s both emphasis on the plurality and of in France and Britain. Paul Hirst, a leading Brit- enterprises, can enhance the politics of Western ish social theorist, who for several years has been pluralism and liberalism. Clearly, if we want a working towards the elaboration of a credible more democratic society, we need to make Labour response to the neoliberal policies of the room for a multiplicity of democratically Tories, has recently argued that the end of the managed associations and communities. Be- as well as some recent economic changes cause associational socialism encourages the in the West have created conditions in which organization of social life in small units and those ideas could become interesting again. 8 Us- challenges the forms of and adminis- ing the work of Michael Piore and Charles Sabel, trative centralization, Hirst argues that it can

WINTER • 1993 • 85 Toward a Liberal Socialism? give us important models for the democratiza- both individuals and associations as real persons, tion of corporations and public bodies. recognizes that individuals can only seek individ- uality and fulfill themselves through association Education, health, , and community ser- with others, and accepts that it must protect the vices can be provided by co-operatively or rights of both individuals and associations." socially owned and democratically managed bodies. Associational socialism permits such This last point is particularly important bodies to set their own objectives. It is thus because it indicates a crucial area for demo- compatible with a pluralistic society in which cratic theory. Associational socialism can show there are distinct sorts of slues or organized us the way to overcome the obstacles to interests. It can tolerate and, indeed, should democracy constituted by the two main forms welcome, for example, the and of autocratic power—large corporations and the gay community, which provide health and centralized big . But this requires welfare services for their members. , ° a break with individualist modes of thought Obviously, pluralism can never be total, since long dominant in the liberal tradition. Today, to it requires a legal order and a public power; con- think of democracy exclusively in terms of the trary to the views of pluralists like G.D.H. Cole control of power by individuals uti singuli is and the early , the state can never completely unrealistic. If, as Hirst points out, become merely one association among others; it "democracy's future at the national level rests must have some primacy. An associational soci- less on the choices of individual voters than on ety needs a state, and one important question still the effective representation of organizations to be tackled concerns the form that such a plu- representing major social interests," 12 the ralist state should take. In Hirst's view, central issue of democratization becomes: how can antagonistic interests be controlled so that A pluralist state defines its raison d'être as the no concentration of interests exercises a assistance and supervision of associations. Its on economic or political power and legal task is to ensure equity between associations dominates the process of decision making? and to police the conduct of associations. It treats Western societies are democratic because of the pluralism of interests that they have been able to secure and the that exists among them. Elections in and of themselves do not guarantee democracy if they are only mecha- nisms for legitimating governments that, once elected, are unresponsive to the needs of the cit- izens. A multiplicity of associations with real capacity for decision and a plurality of centers of power are needed to resist the growth of tech- nocracy and bureaucracy. Pluralism can only be defended and deepened by relinquishing the at- omistic liberal vision of the individual and by recognizing that it is only through participation in a set of social relationships that the individual is constituted. It is in this area, in the formulation of a new approach to individuality that restores its social nature without reducing it to a simple component of an organic whole, that the socialist tradition of thought can enrich and deepen liberal democ- racy. We are witnessing today the return of many premodern forms of community with the increas- ing appeal of fundamentalist and populist move- ments. In many cases they are a reaction against

86 • DISSENT Toward a Liberal Socialism? the social disintegration caused by liberal indi- socialist critique, because it is only through the vidualism. When this is not the case, as in the articulation between political liberalism and so- former communist world, it is a dangerous illu- cialism that we will be able to create a frame- sion to see the remedy in the development of the work in which the demands for a modern and very individualism that is at the origin of the pluralistic form of community can be met. In- problems faced by advanced liberal democra- deed, this is the task that the project of radical cies. Hence the urgency of taking seriously the and plural democracy has set itself. ❑

Notes

' and , Hegemony and litical Community," in Community at Loose Ends, ed., James Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics Creech, University of Minnesota Press (forthcoming). (London: Verso, 1985). , The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy

2 Norberto Bobbio, The Future of Democracy (London: (MIT Press, 1985). Polity Press, 1987), p. 25. All subsequent references are 8 Paul Hirst, "From to Pluralism," in The from the same work unless otherwise noted. Alternative: Politics for a Change, eds., B. Pimlott, A.

3 Norberto Bobbio, Which Socialism? (Polity Press, Wright, T. Flower (London: W.H. Allen, 1990). 1987), p. 99. 9 Paul Hirst, "Associational Socialism in a Pluralist

4 Bobbio, Liberalism & Democracy (Verso, 1990), p. 9. State," in Journal of Law and Society, Vol. 15, No. 1, Spring 1988, p. 141. 5 Ibid., p. 43. I° Ibid., p. 142. 6 I have discussed this issue in several articles: "American Liberalism and Its Critics: Rawls, Taylor, Sandel and Walzer," " Ibid., p. 145. International 8, 2 (July 1988); "Rawls; Political Phi- 12 Paul Hirst, "Representative Democracy and its Limits," losophy Without Politics," Philosophy and Social Criticism, in the Political Quarterly, Vol. 59, No. 2, April-June Vol. 13, No. 2, 1987; "Democratic Citizenship and the Po- 1988, p. 202.

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