The Turner Controversy was a dispute within the

Socialist Party of Great Britain The Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB) is a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1904 as a split from the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), it advocates using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes and oppos ...

(SPGB) regarding the nature of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

instigated by party member Tony Turner. The dispute ultimately led to an exodus of members who formed the short-lived Movement for Social Integration. When membership and activity was at a peak in the period after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Turner began giving lectures for the party on what he envisioned

would be like. The content of these lectures led him to develop a position that caused controversy in the party by the early to mid-1950s and which was elaborated by Turner and his supporters in articles in the party’s internal discussion journal of the time, ''Forum''. Three interlocking propositions underpinned the ‘Turnerite’ viewpoint: # that the society of mass

consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...

and automated labour which

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

had become had to be swept away in its entirety if alienation was to be abolished and a truly human community created. This meant a return to

pre-industrial Pre-industrial society refers to social attributes and forums of political and cultural organization that were prevalent before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, which occurred from 1750 to 1850. ''Pre-industrial'' refers to a time before ...

methods of production, on lines inspired by

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

and

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

’ ''

News From Nowhere ''News from Nowhere'' (1890) is a classic work combining utopian socialism and soft science fiction written by the artist, designer and socialist pioneer William Morris. It was first published in serial form in the ''Commonweal'' journal beginn ...

''. # that the creation of the new socialist society was not simply in the interests of the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

but was in the interests of the whole of humanity, irrespective of class, a proposition they thought it essential for the Party to recognise in its everyday propaganda, and # the means of creating the new peaceful and cooperative society had to be entirely peaceful, indeed

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

(and in the view of some, possibly even gradual). This view was in direct contradiction to the party's 'Declaration of Principles', which identifies

as being the product of

class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

and which claims that the socialist movement will organise for the capture of political power, including power over the state’s coercive machinery, which can be welded to repress those who resist the imposition of socialism. A series of acrimonious disputes between the ‘Turnerites’ and the majority of the party culminated in a party referendum and then a resolution being carried at the 1955 party conference to the effect that all members not in agreement with the Declaration of Principles be asked to resign. Turner, having survived a previous attempt to expel him, promptly did so, along with a number of other members including

Joan Lestor Joan Lestor, Baroness Lestor of Eccles (13 November 1931 – 27 March 1998) was a British Labour politician. Early life Lestor was educated at Blaenavon Secondary School, Monmouth; William Morris High School, Walthamstow and the University of ...

(later to become a

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

minister) and the psychologist John Rowan. Some of these ex-members formed a short-lived Movement for Social Integration, though the impact the dispute had on the party as a whole was almost entirely disruptive and negative.

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite journal , last = DAP , title = Getting Splinters , journal = Socialist Standard , volume = 100 , issue = 1198 , pages = 38–41 , publisher = Socialist Party of Great Britain , date = June 2004 , issn=0037-8259 Socialist Party of Great Britain Political controversies in Europe Deep ecology

See also

References

Bibliography