The Turner Controversy was a dispute within the Socialist Party of Great Britain (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 th ...

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 opposi ...

, 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 su ...

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. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...

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 begin ...

''. # 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 colo ...

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 (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 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 o ...

(later to become a 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