The Death of Socialism

Robert Corfe is a prolific author who has written extensively on the benefits of social capitalism. He is a political scientist and businessman, with considerable experience of political life, and in this book he describes the necessity for a new political mindset in view of the bankruptcy of the old conflictual patterns of left/right politics. His analysis of the ills of the left's collectivism and the inability of socialism to move forward constructively are drawn largely from his personal experiences in the Labour party. For many years he was a senior manager in manufacturing industry, and later a management consultant advising SMEs, usually in the engineering sector. He is also the author of three autobiographical books under different pseudonyms: Death in Riyadh dark secrets in hidden Arabia (Geoff Carter), based on his experiences as a businessman in the Middle East in the 1980s; My Conflict With A Soviet Spy the story of the Ron Evans spy case (Eddie Miller), based on his adventures in Scandinavia in the 1960s; and, The Girl From East Berlin (James Furner), an epic novel relating the story of his love affair in the old German capital at the end of the 1950s. In 1987 he founded the Campaign For Industry, to which he was elected Chairman, and for which he wrote many pamphlets on the problems of contemporary business. His broad experience, frequent travels overseas, and years of residence in Continental Europe have given him a unique perspective of socio-economic issues.

Socialism and the mindset of the traditional left have outlived their purpose. A new political philosophy is needed in the cause of creating a fair and egalitarian society for the peoples of our planet. This is a startling yet profound book which strikes at the foundations of established politics in the West.The author¿s conclusions are drawn from two directions: an analysis of the consequences of the transformation of society over the past 60 years in industrialised economies; and personal experiences as an activist, both locally and nationally, after 14 years within the Labour party. It is demonstrated that both the Labour party, and socialism in the wider world, is now counter-productive to its given purpose: i.e. it hinders rather than promotes the progress of the less fortunate people in our midst.The left is hampered by two great faults in its thinking and policy: its idolatrous commitment to collectivism, poisoning its good intentions; and its blind spot to the psychological need for the productive business instinct, described by the author as the missing ¿gene¿ of socialism. The author describes his attempts to modernise the Labour party and initiate free discussion, followed by the horrific experience of his public denunciation by an old stalwart ¿for writing without the authority of the party leadership.¿ This led to his resignation in 2008.Modern men and women are dependent on the promotion of a healthy individualism for personal success ¿ and certainly in maintaining a free society. It is shown how political ideas need to follow in the wake of social and technological progress, and not vice versa. When ideologies outgrow their purpose society regresses.The future calls for a new progressive politics of universal humanity; a repudiation of class conflict which compounds rather than resolves substantive issues; the syncretising of political interests of relevance to all humanity; and a return to the Enlightenment values of a former age. This is a book with a refreshing insight in brushing away the political cobwebs of the past.

Critique of socialism

Socialism and the mindset of the traditional left have outlived their purpose. A new political philosophy is needed in the cause of creating a fair and egalitarian society for the peoples of our planet. This is a startling yet profound book which strikes at the foundations of established politics in the West.The author’s conclusions are drawn from two directions: an analysis of the consequences of the transformation of society over the past 60 years in industrialised economies; and personal experiences as an activist, both locally and nationally, after 14 years within the Labour party. It is demonstrated that both the Labour party, and socialism in the wider world, is now counter-productive to its given purpose: i.e. it hinders rather than promotes the progress of the less fortunate people in our midst.The left is hampered by two great faults in its thinking and policy: its idolatrous commitment to collectivism, poisoning its good intentions; and its blind spot to the psychological need for the productive business instinct, described by the author as the missing “gene” of socialism. The author describes his attempts to modernise the Labour party and initiate free discussion, followed by the horrific experience of his public denunciation by an old stalwart “for writing without the authority of the party leadership.” This led to his resignation in 2008.Modern men and women are dependent on the promotion of a healthy individualism for personal success – and certainly in maintaining a free society. It is shown how political ideas need to follow in the wake of social and technological progress, and not vice versa. When ideologies outgrow their purpose society regresses.The future calls for a new progressive politics of universal humanity; a repudiation of class conflict which compounds rather than resolves substantive issues; the syncretising of political interests of relevance to all humanity; and a return to the Enlightenment values of a former age. This is a book with a refreshing insight in brushing away the political cobwebs of the past.

Preface V; CHAPTER 1; End of the Old Class System; 1 - Failures of the Labour government; 2 - How Tony Blair promised a better future; 3 - The betrayal of the future; 4 - Class struggle betrayed the integrity of Labour; 5 - How this occurred; 6 - The new majority's intolerance of class divisiveness; 7 - When collectivism served the masses; 8 - How collectivism became counter-productive; 9 - The socio-economic necessity of individualism; CHAPTER 2; The Unrepresented New Majority; 1 - The new majority is politically unrepresented; 2 - Political concerns ignored by politicians; 3 - Why the Labour party ignores the middle-middle majority; 4 - A blind eye turned on the financial-industrial system; 5 - When Labour decided to ignore the problems of capitalism; 6 - The represented and the unrepresented by the Labour party; CHAPTER 3; The Bureaucratic versus the Enterprise Ethos; 1 - The cultural dichotomy between Bureaucratic and Enterprise values; 2 - Historical origins of this cultural-economic divide; 3 - How Enterprise enabled the first democracies; 4 - Enterprise values compared in China and Eastern Europe; 5 - Japan: Business ethos promoted through feudal values; 6 - Business cultures contrasted in Western Europe; 7 - Why collectivism is a bar to enterprise; 8 - The limitations of political representation. CHAPTER 4; Oppressing the Aspirations of the Individual; 1 - The aversion of the left to facing the new realities; 2 - The innate aversion of socialists for individualism; 3 - How socialist collectivism promotes internal conflict; 4 - Its poisonous effect on good relationships; 5 - The comforts of collectivism and the repudiation of modernity; 6 - Collectivism an inevitable consequence of socio-economic oppression; 7 - Socialism was the gift of the privileged to the underclass; 8 - Ignorance of the underclass spurred its hostility; 9 - Socialist rationale for dumbing-down proletarian aspirations; CHAPTER 5; Intuitive Intelligence of the New Majority; 1 - Proletarian values hinder human progress; 2 - Where is the best leadership to be found?; 3 - The middle-middle majority embody the core values of fairness and equity; 4 - The dis-benefits to society of positive discrimination; 5 - Socialism's dog-in-the-manger attitude; 6 - Futility of the class-based approach to issues; 7 - Destructiveness of the proletarian mentality; 8 - Democracy dependent on a good generalist education; CHAPTER 6; An Unpropitious Political Environment; 1 - Failures of contemporary generalist education; 2 - Relativism in education undermines democracy; 3 - All parties across the spectrum are failing society; 4 - Response to Labour party reformers; 5 - Attacked by the Blairites; 6 - Difficulties of a Labour party Education Officer; 7 - Dark secrets of the old guard?; 8 - Pro-democratic in theory but anti-democratic in practice. CHAPTER 7; A Decaying Party Corrupts its Members; 1 - In pursuit of a peace-making mission; 2 - The plot thickens; 3 - Am publicly denounced for "Writing without the authority of the party"; 4 - How I struck back; 5 - My authority is restored; 6 - A political milieu of universal deceit; 7 - How people are unknowingly corrupted by false understanding; 8 - When good ideologies pass their sell-by-date; CHAPTER 8; Towards a Higher Political Consciousness; 1 - The purpose of ideology is to predict rather than direct progress; 2 - Injustice of class discrimination perceived by the new majority; 3 - Intuitive wisdom of the middle-middle majority; 4 - Political attitudes of the new majority; 5 - Moral sensibility of the new majority; 6 - The self-destructiveness of socialist hatred; 7 - Repressing standards as the road to equality; CHAPTER 9; The Need for Objectivity; 1 - Problems and not "people" or "classes" should be the focal point of politics; 2 - A once great party is now rotten to its core; 3 - The great promise of 1997; 4 - My task of reconstruction; 5 - Conflict-promotion is preferred to objective understanding; 6 - Socialists forget the ends of socialism through their obsession with the means; 7 - Socialism's criteria of value leads to the election of the undesirable; CHAPTER 10; Egalitarianism of the Aspiring Majority; 1 - The role of Social Capitalism in awakening the class-consciousness of the middle-middle majority; 2 - Education for egalitarianism; 3 - Promoting academic success within an egalitarian milieu; 4 - Discipline is essential in ensuring the best education for all; 5 - Ensuring the best education for all irrespective of attributes. CHAPTER 11; Transcending the Conflicts of the Past; 1 - How the super-rich and the contemporary underclass are alienated from mainstream society; 2 - Why the emerging Responsible Society is the only significant class today; 3 - True democracy is only viable through the absolute power of the Responsible Society; 4 - Its perspective transcends he conflicts of the past; 5 - Socialism's perspective of human nature is based on false premises; 6 - Only the ignorant are held in awe by the glamour of superfluous wealth; 7 - The envy of inequality amongst the equal is only found amongst the ignorant; CHAPTER 12; The Politics of the Future; 1 - An optimistic determinism should not be assumed; 2 - The only reality behind left/right politics; 3 - The malign origins of left/right politics; 4 - The call for Enlightenment values; 5 - Unifying the different sectors of society; 6 - Encouraging the best to participate; 7 - Making local government democratically accountable; 8 - Neo-Liberalism alone confronts Social Capitalism; Index.