Julián Besteiro and his stay in England. 1923-1924

Abstract

Julián Besteiro was one of the most relevant socialist politicians and intellectuals of the first third of the twentieth century in the History of Spain. The partial failure of the general strike that took place against the backdrop of the Spanish Crisis of 1917, the decadence of the Second International, the arising of the Komintern, the formation of the Communist Party of Spain in 1921 and a brief stay in London, ended up modifying Julian Besteiro´s thinking as well as the way he understood socialism. Right after his death in 1925, Pablo Iglesias was succeeded by Besteiro who became the leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers´ Party and of a declining faction within the Party whose understanding of the socialist doctrine was akin to the English Fabian Society´s principles. This article aims to shed light upon the configuration of Besteiro´s particular way of rethinking socialism and the influence of his trip to England in 1924 in the formation of a current of thought that has often been called as besteirismo.