Premium
A Radical Endeavor: Joseph Chamberlain and the Emergence of Municipal Socialism in Birmingham
Author(s) -
Gehrke Jules P.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
american journal of economics and sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.199
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1536-7150
pISSN - 0002-9246
DOI - 10.1111/ajes.12130
Subject(s) - socialism , utopian socialism , political science , economic history , state socialism , public administration , political economy , sociology , law , history , politics , capitalism , communism
Joseph Chamberlain, an industrial entrepreneur, proponent of the “civic gospel,” and emerging British Radical Liberal leader of the 1870s, established Birmingham as one of the most influential models for municipal socialism in Europe and North America. Arguing gas and water ought to be in public hands and city officials ought to take a role in securing inhabitants’ health, he set the stage for continued mayoral activism and municipal socialism in the late 19 th and early 20 th century.