Council Communism and the Socialization Dilemma

Suppose you propose to retrieve the means of production from the capitalist mode of production, turning them from alien forces conspiring against freedom into an expression of freedom. How might you do that? The question gives rise to a socialization dilemma. The first horn of the dilemma, statism, associates socialization with exclusive state ownership and control of the means of production. The second horn of the dilemma, syndicalism, associates socialization with exclusive worker ownership and control. In this paper, I first show that the socialization dilemma pervades the writings of 20th century socialist thought. I then discuss a prominent way out of the dilemma, proposed by Karl Kautsky. After illustrating the Kautskian programme’s seminal contribution to the socialization debate---from Karl Korsch and Otto Bauer, to Nicos Poulantzas and David Schweickart---I argue that the programme’s principles are incongruous with its strategies. This incongruity issues from the subordinate role that Kautsky assigns to the workers’ councils. I then conclude by proposing a Madisonian solution to the socialization dilemma, based on the idea of a workers’ parliament.