The Logic of No Alternative? Political Scientists, Historians and the Politics of Labour's Past
| Author | Tim Bale |
| Published date | 01 June 1999 |
| Date | 01 June 1999 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-856X.00010 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
British Journal of Politics and International Relations,
Vol. 1, No. 2, June 1999, pp. 192–204
The logic of no alternative?
Political scientists, historians and the
politics of Labour’s past
TIM BALE
Abstract
This paper critiques the largely incommensurate approaches taken both by historians and
political scientists to the governmental past of the British Labour Party. It argues that
revisionist historians, in flight from the traditional left critique of parliamentary socialism, are
in danger of damaging their capacity to produce general explanations, while political scientists
(who specialise in the latter) have tended to preserve an outdated version of Labour’s past
that supports their greater interest in its present and future. Both approaches dovetail with
the political strategy of the Party’s current leadership, but do little to contribute to what
could be a profitable breaking-down of the barriers between the two disciplines in this area.
Political scientists and historians writing on the British Labour party
continue for the most part to be content with the wall that seems to divide
their two disciplines, despite the fact that both are united in their desire to
escape the shackles of a Left critique that arguably remains powerful even
today (Panitch and Leys 1997). This paper argues that the divide limits the
perspectives of both disciplines and renders those working on either side
of it inherently prone to provide academic ballast for the modernising pro-
ject of the party’s current leadership. Whilst intended to provoke debate,
its underlying motive is to argue that understandings of the present should
be based on theoretically rooted, but empirically convincing and constructed,
accounts of the past.
© Political Studies Association 1999. Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF and
350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA 192
To continue reading
Request your trial