Though Cowards Flinch

On the question of emotions, Valdemar W. Setzer once said: “Ethics is not definable”. For the Labour Party today, ethics being undefinable may be helpful. Some who I’ve spoken to at conference are worried about the lack in good ideas circulating – a particular worry given three groupings are battling it out behind the scenes to drive the intellectual backbone of the party. In the red corner is Labour Left, the self-confessed home of ethical socialism and the brainchild of Dr Eoin Clarke, chaired by Grahame Morris; in the blue corner is Maurcie Glasman who represents a return to the traditional, conservatism of the Labour party and of ethical socialism, distinct from the “liberalism” of the Tory/Lib Dem coalition, and the statism of welfare in local communities; and finally in the Purple corner is, well, the purple people and, essentially, Progress, where socialism of any stripe is probably not a top priority, yet ethics is.

The buzzword, thus, is ethics – and I think this is probably sensible. Though someone like Glasman has said it all went wrong for Labour after 1945 (a controversial issue that takes in its sights, not simply welfare, but the top down way in which Labour has traditionally done welfare), what is off the cards is the liberalisation, marketisation and consequently the privatisation of the NHS – a national institution and key kernel to the basic minimum of universal welfare for all.

Other issues around evictions and cutting benefits for disabled recipients has shown the current government’s opposition to the state’s role as guarantor for the civic minimum – to ensure nobody falls through the net.

Of course it’s dressed in a language of freedom from the constraints of the nanny state – but the reality is, we’re seeing a chipping away at the society of the common good, as well as a decrease in a basic set of rights and entitlements that does not, as the Tories might argue, frustrate a burgeoning society.

The problem lies in the fact that ethics, and in some cases ethical socialism, is used without definition – ultimately opening the door open to a myriad of differing perceptions, or confusion towards it.

With Glasman, in what he has written there is something for everyone – but while this is worthy of trying to reach out to different communities of voters, it doesn’t actually help in pinning down what is unique about it. Indeed as was discussed in a Liberal Conspiracy fringe event yesterday, with the New Statesman, the brand of blue labour is toxic, and underneath Glasman’s bluster, there is just a simple message to pole Labour against liberalism and statism – as it was back in the day – and back with a conservative socialism that sees the merit of family and community.

Therefore the problem with Blue Labour is it’s stuck for policy plans – since if Big Society has shown us anything, it is that legislating for greater community vibrancy, is bullshit at best, since that has existed immemorial – and it has a dodgy frontman who says silly things like halt immigration.

The problem with the red corner and Labour Left, is that because ethical socialism is all the rage, and Tawney is universally loved again as some sort of new God – it might receive some of the collateral when the rest of the party realise they have been running on an ill-defined notion of ethical socialism, that has possibly relied on the fact that it means different things to different people (or consistent with Setzer, can have no definition).

About the time Jon Cruddas and others were debating communitarianism and civic republicanism, a decent definition of ethical socialism, what it meant for the party and what it meant for people in communities, began to resonate with people. Like then, the Labour Party is still having an identity crisis – but what is crucial today is that it has emerged at the same time as what I think Glasman has rightly recognised as a “liberal-led coalition” – by which he means a coalition that is essentially for liberalism, and ultimately against the kind of conservatism that he leans towards; one which sees in the traditional a kind of family-based socialism.

In sum, Glasman is baffling, and often controversialist – something fine for an academic to be, but not so helpful for politicians (and Anthony Painter made this point, during a debate on blue labour, that what he worries about is how Glasman’s bombast will affect the image of Ed Miliband). Though the smaller of three competing colour schemes, Labour Left is well placed to posit a sensible and operational definition of ethical socialism where one is lacking today – and in doing so, will surely add a dose of rigour that many are looking out for in their party.