Moscow, Nauka Publ. 1983. 342 p.

The peer-reviewed book, prepared by a team of researchers from the Institute of International Labor Movement of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR 1, is a continuation of the previously published work on the role of the modern social-reformist movement2 . While the first paper examined the differences and similarities between bourgeois reformism and social reformism, the new paper analyzes the social reform movement of the 70s and early 80s in France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, and Great Britain. At the same time, this book is a continuation of the research on the differentiation of the social - reformist movement, which was initiated by Soviet specialists in the 60s and 70s.

This collective work provides a lot of new information for assessing the evolution of social reformism in the 1970s and early 1980s. The researchers 'attention is focused on" determining the shape, scale of influence and prospects for the development of left-wing trends in the most influential social democratic parties operating in Western Europe " (p. 5).

An important result of the study is the confirmation and development of the opinion previously expressed in Soviet literature and by some foreign communists that the aggravation of the struggle between two opposing tendencies in the social reform movement is expressed not in the clash of two trends - the right and the left, but in a conflict that covers a whole spectrum of trends- " from those who occupy leftist positions to moderate centrists, even close to bourgeois reformism" (p. 17). For all their various shades, they seem to fall into three main groups: right-wing, centrist, and left-wing. The boundaries between these main currents, not to mention the intermediate ones, are so vague that the term "separation" used by the authors in describing their divergences seems too strong. In the chapter on general problems, it is fairly stated that " there is... a number of areas of political activity in which the division coincides to a very small extent with the division into left and right, and sometimes does not coincide with it at all" (p.17). This, I think, also applies to the differences between the left and the centrists, as well as between the centrists and the right. This is clearly evidenced by the materials of the study.

1 Executive editors: A. S. Chernyaev, A. A. Galkin. Authors ' collective: head S. I. Velikovsky, authors of chapters and sections: S. G. Aivazova, S. I. Velikovsky, A. A. Galkin, I. V. Danilevich, S. A. Levansky, G. M. Narinskaya, M. A. Neymark, N. S. Plevako, S. A. Chernetsky, V. Ya. Schweitzer.

2 Social-democratic and bourgeois reformism in the system of state-monopoly capitalism, Moscow, 1980.

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Of interest is the attempt made in this book to outline the evolution of social reformism since the early 1920s (pp. 8-13), although one cannot agree with reducing the divergences in the social reform movement to divergences between the right and the left, while simultaneously ignoring the centrist trends, especially in the 70s, when the latter became increasingly popular. the most influential in most of the social reformist parties discussed in the book.

The study contains a concrete historical statement of the question of two crises in the history of social reformism (1929-1933 and the 70s-early 80s) (pp. 11-12). However, when considering social reformism as a whole, it would be more correct to speak about its four crises, which resulted in a revision of the ideological and political attitudes of this movement. The first was due to the World War of 1914-1918 and the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Social reformism emerged from it only in the early 1920s, having adapted to the temporary partial stabilization of capitalism. What is described in the book as the first crisis of social reformism after the separation of this trend (p.11), in reality breaks down into several relatively independent stages. The second, particularly protracted crisis of social reformism was caused by the collapse of the stabilization of capitalism and the clash with fascism. It showed, as the social-reformists themselves now admit, the impotence of the social-reformist parties and led to "disintegration", i.e., the disintegration of their association. Only participation in the anti-fascist movement contributed to the revival of social democratic parties. The next, third, crisis of social reformism was connected, on the one hand, with the victory of the revolutions of the 40s in Eastern Europe, and on the other-with the beginning of the imperialist "cold war" against world socialism. Its consequence was a new split in the social reform movement, most of which broke off cooperation with the Communists and was drawn by the imperialists into the" cold war " against socialism. Finally, the deepening of the internal socio-economic contradictions of capitalism, the further change in the balance of forces in the world in favor of socialism, and the scale of the national liberation movement already in the 60s led to the beginning of a new protracted crisis of social reformism, which was expressed in the adaptation of its ideological and political attitudes to the changed conditions. The authors show the significant role of the left in this crisis.

Special attention is paid (first of all in the generalizing chapter "The Left Flank of modern Social Democracy") to the foreign policy attitudes of the social reformists. Here we reveal the essential motives underlying "the foreign policy turn of social-democracy that began a decade and a half ago" (p. 18). In the face of the complication of international relations due to the policy of the most aggressive circles of the United States and its allies, as well as the aggravation of contradictions in the social-reformist movement itself, "the feeling of the need to counteract the policy of military confrontation, an arms race, etc." is growing and growing in the latter (pp. 20-21). Having studied the evolution of the social reformist attitude to the defusing of international tension, NATO, the national liberation movement, and the countries of real socialism, the authors came to the conclusion that although anti - communism has not yet become obsolete in the social reformist movement, differentiation on these issues "does not always coincide with the division into left and right". In general, " the changes that are taking place," the book says, "are of a positive nature" (p.23).

The main attention of the authors is given to the characteristics of common features and features, evolution and prospects of development of left-wing trends in the social reform movement of individual countries of Western Europe. Despite the lack of unity of the left-wing social reformists, they turned out to have many common features, although they manifest and combine everywhere in different ways., First, as shown in the book, the left-wing social reformists "are more definitely (than the right or centrists. - I. K.) speak about socialism as a social goal" (p. 13), pointing out its qualitative difference from the capitalist order, but not identifying it with real socialism and the communist ideal. Second, the left criticizes capitalist relations and the rule of state-monopoly capital. Third, they believe that the main task is to carry out a number of socio-economic transformations in the interests of the masses. Fourth, the left seeks to preserve its social-reformist position.-

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political parties have established pre-emptive ties with the working class, expanding their influence among the working people, and perhaps giving primary importance to the involvement of the masses in the political struggle and to the combination of parliamentary and extra-parliamentary actions. Fifth, while rejecting Leninism, left - wing social reformists try to use Karl Marx's terminology and some methods to analyze contemporary problems and events, often trying to combine Marxist ideas with various non-Marxist views. Sixth, cooperation and alliance of social reformists with other branches of the working - class movement, including the communist one, is generally preferred by left-wing social reformists to cooperation and alliance with bourgeois organizations and movements. Finally, on foreign policy issues, the left in the social reform movement is more realistic than the right, and is more active in advocating detente and disarmament, appealing to the masses, and participating in parallel or even joint actions with the Communists.

At the same time, even the most powerful left-wing social - reformist movements, as shown in the book, are characterized by insufficient attention to mass organizational work, narrowness, indecision and hesitation, and lack of the necessary cohesion. These weaknesses of the left, which are ultimately determined by the principles of social reformism, are exploited for various purposes by other social-reform movements - the right and the center, as well as by the bourgeoisie. This is clearly confirmed by the analysis of the evolution of the Portuguese Socialist Party (PSP), the Spanish Socialist Workers ' Party (PSOE), the Italian Socialist Party (ISP), as well as the struggle within the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Labour Party of Great Britain (PLW). In addition, the authors have shown that threats and disciplinary measures are used against leftists in a number of social reformist parties, especially in the SPD, the Belgian Socialist Party (BSP), and the SPP, up to expulsion, and the right-wingers who find themselves in the minority go to split the party, as in the PLV.

The authors cover in detail the specifics of the development and role of the left in the social reform movement in various countries. The material presented in the book gives grounds to consider the most active and influential left-wing trends in the social reform movement in France, Great Britain, Belgium and Germany. They are noticeably weaker in the social reformist parties of Italy, Spain and Portugal. In the Austrian social-reformist movement, the left-wing current is not yet fully formed, while in the Swedish one it is just being formed. These differences are explained by the historical features of the labor movement and modern circumstances, the specifics of the situation in each country.

The prospects for the development of the left are also evaluated differently in different countries. The authors are skeptical about the possibility of serious successes of the left in the French Socialist Party( FSP), assessing their failures as another evidence of the fruitlessness of their efforts (pp. 93, 94). The assessment of the prospects of the left in Spain is close to this (p. 96, 114). The book speaks very encouragingly about the strengthening of the left in the PSOE and even the PSP (p. 143, 167). The possibility of the left breaking through the traditional "rules of the game" in the Socialist Party of Austria (SPA)is not excluded (p. 190). The activation of ideological and theoretical work, the strengthening of communication with the masses, and the beginning of overcoming organizational weakness are considered as features of a new stage in the development of the left in the PLW and BSP (pp. 299, 339). It is noted that the mistakes of the left in the PLO "were not a simple repetition, although at a higher level, of past mistakes" (p. 338). The "young socialists" led by the left may become an even more "important factor" in the development of the SPD (pp. 242-243). The emerging left - wing movement in the Social Democratic Workers ' Party of Sweden (SDRP)faces new challenges and opportunities (p. 265). The qualitative changes in the development of left-wing social-reformist trends identified and comprehensively evaluated by a team of researchers, as well as the activation and strengthening of their role in a number of social-reformist parties, provide a good basis for further research on the evolution of the social-reformist movement.

A peer-reviewed book is not free from flaws. As already noted, not everything in it is agreed upon and fully clarified, and not all possible conclusions are always drawn. This primarily applies to the general assessment of the differences between the left and the center. In addition, not entirely convincing assessments are given to the creation of FSP cells in enterprises (p.72) and the role of FSP in the supposed "class front" (p. 81). In some places (p. 122, 136, 146) the authors adhere to-

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the social-reformist distinction between socialists and social-Democrats, despite the correct explanation of this question in the first chapter (p. 6). The claim that Austrian social - democracy is "monolithic" is doubtful (p. 169). The study of the differentiation of social reformism and the development of its left-wing trend is of great scientific and political value. The conclusions and assessments of the book contribute to a deeper understanding and explanation of modern social reformism and its role, are important for correct orientation in politics and ideological struggle, and contribute to further in-depth study of the modern social reform movement, especially its capabilities in the struggle for preventing nuclear war and social progress.

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