A Constitution for the Socialist Commonwealth of Great Britain

Beatrice and Sidney Webb were influenced by other movements, such as the socialist guilds in the United Kingdom, and developed this Constitution as a form of analysis and constructive criticism about the 1920s in Great Britain. Much of this work seeks to offer context on the history and philosophy of unionism and past cooperative interactions with local governments. The Webbs offer their ideal of a plural sovereignty; a divided social parliament into smaller committees; and wages, taxes and rices being controlled by the state. They also offer detailed plans for the court system, utilities and other ways to return power to citizens.

Beatrice and Sidney Webb were economists, sociologists, historians, and socialists. The Webbs were also founders of the London School of Economics, the Fabian Society, and founded New Statesman magazine in 1913. Beatrice wrote a great deal, including the influential book, The Cooperative Movement in Great Britain, published in 1891. She also did a lot of research and assisted with Life and Labour of the People of London (1902-1903), a 17-volume book by Charles Booth. Archival holdings for this work are held in the Webb Collection at the London School of Economics.

This edition is dedicated to Alon Ben-Meir, distinguished professor, pundit, interpreter of world affairs, friend to students.