Bolshevism and the British Left: The Webbs and Soviet communism

Bolshevism and the British Left: The Webbs and Soviet communism PDF Author: Kevin Morgan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
This is the second book in Kevin Morgan's series Bolshevism and the British Left. It explores how the veteran Fabian socialists Beatrice and Sidney Webb came to regard Stalin's Russia as a 'new civilisation' and the hope of the world. Through a meticulous reconstruction of the Webbs' thinking, Morgan offers a challenging reassessment of accepted stereotypes. Drawing on their diaries, papers and published writings, he assesses the couple's complex political evolution over some four decades, and shows how much more significant were their individual responses than the cliche of 'two typewriters beating as one' would suggest. While Sidney upheld the statist and technocratic perspectives synonymous with 'Webbism', Beatrice also contributed concerns with associationism and the search for a higher social morality. Their love affair with Soviet communism, which seemed to represent both synthesis and transcendence of these different strands of their thought, was far less idiosyncratic than is sometimes thought. Here it is discussed in a broader context, and the paradox that emerges is that across the European left it was often precisely those who had previously been most suspicious of state socialism who subsequently proved most susceptible to its Soviet apotheosis. Kevin Morgan is Professor of Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Manchester. He is the author of Harry Pollitt (Manchester University Press, 1993) and co-author of Communists in British Society 1920-1991 (Rivers Oram Press, 2005) The Webbs and Soviet Communism is the Part 2 in a three-volume series, Bolshevism and the British Left, which examines attitudes to Soviet Russia as a way of opening up broader questions about the character of the British left between the 1890s and the 1940s. Part 1 is Labour Legends Russian Gold, Part 3 is due to be published in 2012"

Bolshevism and the British Left: The Webbs and Soviet communism

Bolshevism and the British Left: The Webbs and Soviet communism PDF Author: Kevin Morgan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is the second book in Kevin Morgan's series Bolshevism and the British Left. It explores how the veteran Fabian socialists Beatrice and Sidney Webb came to regard Stalin's Russia as a 'new civilisation' and the hope of the world. Through a meticulous reconstruction of the Webbs' thinking, Morgan offers a challenging reassessment of accepted stereotypes. Drawing on their diaries, papers and published writings, he assesses the couple's complex political evolution over some four decades, and shows how much more significant were their individual responses than the cliche of 'two typewriters beating as one' would suggest. While Sidney upheld the statist and technocratic perspectives synonymous with 'Webbism', Beatrice also contributed concerns with associationism and the search for a higher social morality. Their love affair with Soviet communism, which seemed to represent both synthesis and transcendence of these different strands of their thought, was far less idiosyncratic than is sometimes thought. Here it is discussed in a broader context, and the paradox that emerges is that across the European left it was often precisely those who had previously been most suspicious of state socialism who subsequently proved most susceptible to its Soviet apotheosis. Kevin Morgan is Professor of Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Manchester. He is the author of Harry Pollitt (Manchester University Press, 1993) and co-author of Communists in British Society 1920-1991 (Rivers Oram Press, 2005) The Webbs and Soviet Communism is the Part 2 in a three-volume series, Bolshevism and the British Left, which examines attitudes to Soviet Russia as a way of opening up broader questions about the character of the British left between the 1890s and the 1940s. Part 1 is Labour Legends Russian Gold, Part 3 is due to be published in 2012"

The Webbs and Soviet Communism

The Webbs and Soviet Communism PDF Author: Kevin Morgan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781909831957
Category : Communism
Languages : en
Pages : 263

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Book Description
Through a meticulous reconstruction of the British socialists, economists, and reformers Sidney and Beatrice Webb's way of thinking, this study offers a challenging reassessment of accepted stereotypes, revealing theirs to be a mindset that was far less idiosyncratic than is commonly claimed. Drawing on their diaries, papers, and published writings, this expertly researched critical analysis assesses the couple's complex political evolution over some four decades, artfully illustrating their love affair with Soviet communism.

Bolshevism and the British Left: Labour legends and Russian gold

Bolshevism and the British Left: Labour legends and Russian gold PDF Author: Kevin Morgan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
Morgan goes far beyond the question of Russian gold, to dig beneath a host of myths and misconceptions. He shows that Labour's parliamentary advance was itself inconceivable solely on the basis of the workers' and trade union 'pennies' with which it is usually identified. In addition to the virtual market that developed in Labour's parliamentary nominations, there was almost always a need to cultivate private benefactors - not excluding Russian ones. Thus, as Morgan shows, George Lansbury drew on a wide variety of financial sponsors to create the space both for his own political career and for Labour's daily newspaper, the Daily Herald. As for the communist party itself, Russian subsidies often gave rise to fierce internal conflict and controversy: it was certainly regarded as mixed blessing by many. Kevin Morgan has uncovered some fascinating new material on this period of left history, and through his insightful analysis a much more complex picture than hitherto emerges, both of Labour-communist relations and those between the CPGB and the Comintern.

The Origins of British Bolshevism

The Origins of British Bolshevism PDF Author: Raymond Challinor
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000706680
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 375

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Book Description
First published in 1977. This book describes the growth of revolutionary organisations in Britain from 1900 onwards. It shows that there was an indigenous movement that developed quite independently from the left in other countries, although its basic outlook was remarkably similar to that of the Bolsheviks in Russia. The study concentrates the activities of the Socialist Labour Party, a small group of dedicated revolutionaries, whose impact on working-class politics had not been fully recognised. The most controversial section of the book deals with the Russian influence on the machinations that led to the formation of the British Communist Party. It is critical of Lenin, who sometimes gave advice on the basis of insufficient knowledge, and of Comitern agents, like Theodore Rothstein, with dubious political backgrounds. This title will be of great interest to students of politics, philosophy, and history.

Bolshevism and the British Left: The Webbs and Soviet communism

Bolshevism and the British Left: The Webbs and Soviet communism PDF Author: Kevin Morgan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 276

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is the second book in Kevin Morgan's series Bolshevism and the British Left. It explores how the veteran Fabian socialists Beatrice and Sidney Webb came to regard Stalin's Russia as a 'new civilisation' and the hope of the world. Through a meticulous reconstruction of the Webbs' thinking, Morgan offers a challenging reassessment of accepted stereotypes. Drawing on their diaries, papers and published writings, he assesses the couple's complex political evolution over some four decades, and shows how much more significant were their individual responses than the cliche of 'two typewriters beating as one' would suggest. While Sidney upheld the statist and technocratic perspectives synonymous with 'Webbism', Beatrice also contributed concerns with associationism and the search for a higher social morality. Their love affair with Soviet communism, which seemed to represent both synthesis and transcendence of these different strands of their thought, was far less idiosyncratic than is sometimes thought. Here it is discussed in a broader context, and the paradox that emerges is that across the European left it was often precisely those who had previously been most suspicious of state socialism who subsequently proved most susceptible to its Soviet apotheosis. Kevin Morgan is Professor of Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Manchester. He is the author of Harry Pollitt (Manchester University Press, 1993) and co-author of Communists in British Society 1920-1991 (Rivers Oram Press, 2005) The Webbs and Soviet Communism is the Part 2 in a three-volume series, Bolshevism and the British Left, which examines attitudes to Soviet Russia as a way of opening up broader questions about the character of the British left between the 1890s and the 1940s. Part 1 is Labour Legends Russian Gold, Part 3 is due to be published in 2012"

The New Civilisation?

The New Civilisation? PDF Author: Paul Flewers
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
What was the Soviet Union? Was it a totalitarian threat to Western civilisation, or was it a utopia taking shape before our eyes? Was Stalinism the logical outcome of the October Revolution, or did it represent its betrayal? Was there anything that Western countries could learn from the Five-Year Plans? These were just some of the questions asked. Written in a lively manner, this book covers a vast range of material published in Britain, from the far left to the far right, from the well known to the downright obscure, on all aspects of the Soviet Union during 1929-1941, and draws out the impact of the Soviet experience upon British intellectuals and political trends.

Bolshevism and the British Left

Bolshevism and the British Left PDF Author: Kevin Morgan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Socialism
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Labour And The Gulag

Labour And The Gulag PDF Author: Giles Udy
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1785902652
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 530

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Book Description
The Labour Party welcomed the Russian Revolution in 1917: it paved the way for the birth of a socialist superpower and ushered in a new era in Soviet governance. Labour excused the Bolshevik excesses and prepared for its own revolution in Britain. In 1929, Stalin deported hundreds of thousands of men, women and children to work in labour camps. Subjected to appalling treatment, thousands died. When news of the camps leaked out in Britain, there were protests demanding the government ban imports of timber cut by slave labourers. The Labour government of the day dismissed mistreatment claims as Tory propaganda and blocked appeals for an inquiry. Despite the Cabinet privately acknowledging the harsh realities of the work camps, Soviet denials were publicly repeated as fact. One Labour minister even defended them as part of 'a remarkable economic experiment'. Labour and the Gulag explains how Britain's Labour Party was seduced by the promise of a socialist utopia and enamoured of a Russian Communist system it sought to emulate. It reveals the moral compromises Labour made, and how it turned its back on the people in order to further its own political agenda.

Romancing the Revolution

Romancing the Revolution PDF Author: Ian Bullock
Publisher: Au Press
ISBN: 9781926836379
Category : Socialism
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
Over two decades have passed since the collapse of the USSR, yet the words "Soviet Union" still carry significant weight in the collective memory of millions. But how often do we consider the true meaning of the term "Soviet"? Drawing extensively on left-wing press archives, Romancing the Revolution traces the reactions of the British Left to the idealized concept of Soviet democracy. Focusing on the turbulent period after the 1917 Russian Revolution, author Ian Bullock examines the impact of the myth of Soviet democracy: the belief that Russia was embarking on a brave experiment in a form of popular government more genuine and advanced than even the best forms of parliamentarism. Romancing the Revolution uncovers the imprint of this myth on left-wing organizations and their publications, ranging from those that presented themselves as "British Bolsheviks"--the British Socialist party and The Call, the Socialist Labour party's The Socialist, Sylvia Pankhurst's Workers' Dreadnought--to the much more equivocal Labour Leader and The New Statesmen.

Modernism, Internationalism and the Russian Revolution

Modernism, Internationalism and the Russian Revolution PDF Author: David Ayers
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 1474418333
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
Representations of the ancient hero in the new millenium