Labor’s Red October: A Study of the Adoption of the ALP Socialist Objective

Abstract

In 1921 the Australian Labor Party enshrined in its National Constitution the objective of socialising the means of industry, production, distribution, and exchange. Despite attracting periodic attention during moments of Labor ‘soul-searching’ over the last century, the circumstances of the objective’s adoption have remained contested. The scholarship has only examined its design and introduction in passing, almost universally dismissing its notability and significance. The central aim of this thesis is to provide a concentrated account of how and why the socialisation objective was added to the Labor platform. It will explore the context from which the objective originated, the audience to whom it was addressed and the practical effects it was intended to have. In the process, the thesis will argue that the significance of Labor’s commitment to socialisation in 1921 has been unduly maligned. The objective’s adoption expressed major transformations in the political thought of the Australian left over the preceding decades. The study will demonstrate its significance for how the labour movement saw its place in history, imagined its political subject and defined its ultimate purpose. By advancing our understanding of what the adoption of the 1921 objective meant in its time, I propose we can come to recognise it as a significant milestone in Australian political history.