Abstract
As he stated on more than one occasion, de Man’s principal impetus for the writing of Die sozialistische Idee lay not in the splitting of ideological hairs but rather in the formulation of a socialist program that would be adequate to the momentous challenges of the twentieth century. The translation of the ideological formulation into concrete terms took the form of the planiste movement, which was specifically designed to meet the political and economic crises facing the democracies in the early thirties. As such, planisme cannot be regarded as a comprehensive attempt for the realization of a socialist society; yet as de Man was insistent in stating, its structure was in full harmony with the ideological principles that he had elaborated. The contents of the program had their inception in specific features of the Belgian situation, but their applicability was not limited to that country, and the ideological rationale was of universal cogency. Since the planiste movement received its concrete expression under de Man’s leadership in Belgium, an understanding of his contributions to socialism requires an examination of the Belgian experience.
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References
For a general and perceptive treatment of the pattern of Belgian public organization, see unpublished article by Val R. Lorwin entitled “All Colors but Red: Interest Groups and Political Parties in Belgium,” Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, California, 1962.
Though not unquestioned; see Reinhard Bendix, “Social Stratification and Political Power,” American Political Science Review v. 46, n. 2 (June 1952), 357–375.
For a convenient bibliographical survey of the development of the idea of planning, covering administrative and ideological developments by nation, and including the Amsterdam conference of 1931 of the Congress of Industrial Relations Institutions, which de Man attended, see Fred L. Polak, “De Problematiek der Welvaartsplanning en haar Ontwikkeling in de Buitenlandse Litteratuur,” Om het Behoud van ons Bestaan [“The Problematics of Welfare-Planning and Its Development in Foreign Literature,” For the Preservation of our Existence] (Leiden, 1951), 168-227; and H. Vos, “Over Planhuishouding” [“Concerning the Managed Economy”], Leiding, I. Jaargang, n. 6 (June 1939), 344–355.
The international renown of the POB Plan can be best traced in the Troisième Conférence des Plans du Travail (Paris, 1937); the contemporary impact is revealed in articles in Peuple of 19 and 24 January, 13 February, and 15 March 1935, as well as “Les Entretiens de l’Abbaye,” Peuple, 19 September 1934, which covered the first international Conférence on planisme. A brief review of international press impact is provided in Edmond Franssens, Het Plan van de Arbeid (unpublished dissertation at Rijkshandelshogeschool, Antwerp, 1961-62), 110-127; equally cursory is Georges Lefranc’s review of the three Conférences in his Histoire des doctrines sociales dans l’Europe contemporain (Paris, 1960), 240-250. The most palpable impact of the Belgian Plan is reviewed in F. S. Noordhoff, “Le Plan du Travail néerlandais,” Mouvement syndical belge, 17e année, n. 12 (December 1935), 264-267, and in Frits de Jong, “Naar een Socialistisch Plan: Historische Achtergronden van het Plan van de Arbeid” [Toward a Socialist Plan; Historical Origins of the (Dutch) Plan du Travail], Socialisme en Democratie, 18. Jaargang, n. I (January 1961), 3-12. For Switzerland, see Adolphe Ferrière, Pour un Plan suisse du travail au-dessus des partis (Lausanne et Zürich, n.d. [1935]) and the same author’s Structure économique de demain: Vordre coopératif par le plan du travail (Geneva, 1936); it might be noted that one of de Man’s most enthusiastic supporters here was Hans Oprecht, later President of the Swiss Socialist Party; for a later, fateful contact between the two men, see below, 208.
Needless to say, there was no question of subscription to the Plan on the part of the French-or other-Communists. See below, 149-150. For the French situation, see: Henry W. Ehrmann, French Labor from Popular Front to Liberation (New York 1947); Val R. Lorwin, The French Labor Movement (Cambridge, Mass. 1954); Adolph Sturmthal, Tragedy of European Labor (New York 1943), 144-167; and in particular, the representations by delegates of the SFIO and CGT at the planiste conference held at Pontigny, reported in Peuple, 19 September 1934; Lucien Laurat, “La situation en France et le Plan de la C. G. T.,” Mouvement Syndical Belge, n. 3 (20 March 1935), 52–54; and Max Buset, “L’Idée et l’action planistes en France,” Troisième Conférence des Plans du Travail (Paris, 1937).
See Léon Blum, “Au delà du réformisme,” Populaire, 4, 5, 6, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, and 26 January 1934; and the report of Blum’s speech at the Congress of the SFIO in Peuple, 24 May 1934. See also Louise Elliott Dalby, “The Ideas of Léon Blum” unpublished Ph.D. thesis in history, Radcliffe College Cambridge, Mass,. April 1956; and Claude Harmel, “A propos d’Henri de Man et de Léon Blum,” Contrat Social, v. IX, n. 4 (July–August 1965), 261–263.
See Jef Rens, “Les chrétiens et le Plan,” Mouvement Syndical Belge, 15e année, n. 3 (20 March 1934), 54–58.
Reviews of the economic reforms and policies of the van Zeeland Governments are to be found in Robert J. Lemoine, “La Réforme du crédit en Belgique,” Finances publiques (édités par la Section Syndicale des Rédacteurs et Agents supérieurs du Syndicat Général de l’Administration Centrale du Ministère des Finances, Paris), Ire année, n. 2 (October 1937), 8–28; and Edmond Franssens, Het Plan van de Arbeid (unpublished dissertation at Rijkshandelshogeschool, Antwerp, 1961-1962), 3-110.
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© 1966 Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands
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Dodge, P. (1966). Politician. In: Beyond Marxism: The Faith and Works of Hendrik de Man. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-0476-8_6
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