Socialism from Below

The divisions running through the history of the socialist movement between reformists and revolutionaries, authoritarians and democrats, putschists and gradualists-the divisions and disputes which have provided the categories in terms of which the history of the movement has been written-are secondary. The important distinction is between those socialists who looked for some outside authority which would hand down salvation to the grateful masses from above and those who saw the key to the reform of existing society in the struggle from below for self-emancipation. Behind the "What do we mean by socialism?" lies a more important question. What do we mean by democracy?