Abstract
Socialists were originally, like other political thinkers, especially concerned about the just distribution of political power. It was widely felt that a greater equality in this sphere would lead in time to greater equality of other kinds. Once the state had fallen into the hands of the people, whether by revolution, as many felt inevitable, or by other means, a wholly new system would come into being, under which political influence would be permanently more widely distributed. The mass of the people would control the state and would determine the decisions and policies which swayed their lives.
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Notes
This type of argument is found in C. D. Bums, Democracy (London, 1935 ) pp. 68–75
H. J. Laski, A Grammar of Politics (London, 1925 ) p. 17
H. J. Ford, Representative Government (London, 1925 ) pp. 307–9.
Cf. H. R. G. Greaves, Foundations of Political Theory (London,1958) pp.199ff.
J. R. Pennock, Liberal Democracy (New York, 1950 ) pp. 105–15.
James Mill, An Essay on Government (London, 1821)
H. B. Mayo, An Introduction to Democratic Theory (Oxford, 1960 ) p. 118
J. Plamenatz, Men and Society (London, 1963) pp.30–6.
N. Riermer, The Revival of Democratic Theory (New York, 1962) pp.99–134.
R. A. Dahl, A Preface to Democratic Theory (Chicago, 1956 ) pp. 132–5
G. C. Field, Political Theory (London, 1956) p.124; Mayo, op.cit., pp.219–20.
A. D. Lindsay, The Essentials of Democracy (Oxford, 1935 ) pp. 78–82
Sir E. Barker, Principles of Social and Political Theory (Oxford, 1951) pp.294–7.
H. J. Laski, An Introduction to Politics (London, 1931 ) p. 48.
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© 1979 Evan Luard
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Luard, E. (1979). Inequality in Political Influence. In: Socialism without the State. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-16006-8_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-16006-8_7
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