Interesting. This is something I was thinking about the other day. Is the term irretrievably tainted by statism in the minds of the sort of voters we need voting for us?

My guess would be that, should he become leader, Brown wont use it as one of his main problems (at least at first) will be to head off public worried of a post-Blair return to Old Labour.

Since the French Revolution there has been this idea of a "spectrum of politics" from left to right and that human nature somehow fits on that spectrum - it has obsessed intellectuals for hundreds of years.

As an idea it is a completely flawed. It's followers are intellectually flawed.

It is human nature that has a spectrum not politics.

Some of us were born to live in communes other to be  ruthless entrepeneurs. The rest of us live in a normal distribution between these two extremes.

Politics should give each of us the ability to express our nature not supress it as part of an intellectual effort.

The problem is that the Blairites have made the language of class very different to use and access- they have essentially made it impossible for a Labour leader to use without him being attacked from within his own party for becoming Michael Foot. Consequently I think that Brown will attempt a further riff on the his already important theme by consistently sounding rightwing and acting leftwing- whether that is a coherent longterm strategy I don't know.

I hope this thread keeps going. It could turn out to be incredibly interesting.

I don't think socialism is consistent with continually opening up our public services to private companies in order that they can profit from these services - nor with enthusiastic support for imperialist foreign policy. So I don't see Brown as much of a standard bearer for socialism.

I do think that the Party needs to rediscover socialism though. Politics is in danger of being reduced to an almost apolitical squabble over a tiny bit of "middle ground" as all parties accept that capitalism no longer gives the state scope even for "social democracy in one country."

In these circumstances turn out in elections will not recover as we will be failing to offer an alternative vision which corresponds to the interests of working people.

It's not raising tax that's the problem it's spending it.

Will Brown makes us all socialists again? Not if he keeps saying silly things like this.

"I stand with people like Mrs Thatcher"

"Margaret Thatcher had discipline, leadership, character and conviction"

Any rush to reclaim the term 'socialism' would probably harm us and provide far too easy an attack for Cameron and the rightwing press on Tony Blairs successor. As long as Gordon lays out active policies to address inequality and promote social mobility, I see no real need to reintroduce the word into the current political vocabulary. I'm sure as the centre gorund becomes more left wing (very slightly) and Labour remains in government the word will begin to be adopted, or seen as more acceptable to the electorate anyway.
There was an interesting article in the Guardian (tuesday 20th) about socialism in action from the bottom upwards, in the form of communitity groups, trade unions and religions working together for each others aims, as opposed to it being imposed from the top down, perhaps this is what a Labour government should aim for.