Study On G.D.H. Cole’s Socialist Thought

G.D.H Cole,as a socialist,had great influence over the UK and the world.The author explored the background why Cole became a socialist,narrated and analyzed how his socialist thought evolved during the activities he engaged in.It could be concluded that the evolution of Cole’s socialist thought was gradual and consistent,which could be divided into two periods:his early life and mid-and-late periods.In the first phase,1906-1923,Cole was a Guild Socialist.In this period,from the perspective of individual freedom,Cole objected both representative democracy and centralization.He promoted pluralism,and advocated Guild Socialism,with the characteristics of "society-owned,Guilds-managed" form.He emphasized on autonomy,and required the Guild system to replace the state,and advised to coordinate the economy,politics and society with Guild principles.Guild autonomy principle was different from the Soviet Mode and the Social Democracy.It had its own apparent traits of democracy based on individual’s freedom.In the second phase,1923-1959,Cole revised previous radical arguments in Guild Socialism era,and advocated "Basic Socialism" and Supra-national Socialism.During the World War Ⅱ,Cole proposed that the UK should rebuild its social basis,and pointed out that socialism of this type was the prospect of this reconstruction.This kind of socialism should have public ownership.It did not mean that all the productive materials must be state-owned,but premised on democracy,and assured freedom of thought,equality of opportunity,democracy(autonomy)and welfare.Based on these,economic plan should be executed in democratic way,making sure that social production can operate well.From the late WWⅡ to the end of his life,Cole initiated Supra-national Socialism.In his opinion,monopolistic capital has transcended the national boundary,and the era of national state had passed.To reconstruct Europe and restrict the transnational expansion of monopolistic capital,socialists in the UK and other European countries should work together to set up a socialist supranational organization on European scale.However,this Supra-national socialism does not aim at founding a super centralized government,but demanded to arrange and coordinate the transnational economic affairs which nation state could no longer manage.Nation state should play its role to regulate its own plans and distribute justice,culture,education and so forth.Citizen’s individual freedom and direct participation would still be the basis of this new kind of society,and local associations would also play a key part.To summarize,there was variations and development in the socialist thought all through Cole’s whole life,but something was steady:the inclination of ethic socialism,democratic political belief with the respect to individual freedom,and conviction that socialism should be based on sufficient individual liberty of citizens and autonomy.These ideas had its importance and research value in the history of socialist thought.