The planist temptation : Belgian social democracy and the state during the great depression, c. 1929 – c. 1936

First Online: 06 August 2020In late 1926, two Belgian socialists, Antony Vienne and Arthur Wauters, authored a critical assessment of the post-war policy of their party under the title La réforme du réformisme? Having acknowledged the satisfactory results of governmental participation in 1918–1921 and in 1925–1926, they expressed the wish that the platform of the Parti Ouvrier Belge (POB) would soon be updated as many of the measures advocated since its foundation, in 1885, had already been put into effect. In addition, Vienne and Wauters encouraged Belgian reformists to develop a more coherent doctrine as they thought socialism had to “take a step forward and engage in a more radical, transformative, and constructive action” (Vienne and Wauters 1926)