Communists and British Society 1920-1991: People of a Special Mould - Softcover

Morgan, Kevin; Cohen, Gidon; Flinn, Andrew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1854891456 ISBN 13: 9781854891457

Publisher: Rivers Oram Press, 2007

Synopsis

The revolutionary appeal of Communism in 20th-century Britain is analyzed in this examination of why Communist Party members joined, how they participated in the party's activities, and why, in many cases, they left the party. Archival resources, hundreds of interviews, and sociological analyses document the nature of left-wing activism in Britain from its earliest incarnations to the schisms of the 1980s. The role of Communism in British politics and society is illuminated by discussions of constructions of political authority; the role of gender, generation, and social class; and the significance of political space and mobility in recruitment.

About this title

Synopsis:

Newly accessible communist archives in Britain and Moscow have given us a fuller and richer picture of the membership of the British Communist Party than of any other British political party, and indeed of most other communist parties. This project presents the fullest and most authoritative details of the Communist Party in Britain yet assembled. It tracks down British communists: who they were, where they came from, how their allegiances were forged and sustained, how communist identities were created and dissolved, the diverse roles party members played in British society. A truly collaborative project led by academics with sustained research experience, this book will not simply deepen our understanding of one of the key social movements of the twentieth century, it will provide a social history of left-wing activism in Britain, from the social ferment and grassroots militancy of the interwar period to the cultural politics and 'designer socialism' of the 1980s.

Accessible but rigorous, the book will also illuminate broader issues of history, radical politics and political sociology, including: patterns of belief and commitment; formative influences and politicisation; organisational culture; relations between organisations; processes of mobilisation; the significance of class, gender, generation, locality and ethnicity for political activism and radicalism

About the Author:

Kevin Morgan is the editor of Socialist History. He is the author of Against Fascism and War and Harry Pollit. He is a coeditor of Opening the Books. Gidon Cohen is a senior lecturer in the department of politics at the University of Northumbria. Andrew Finn is a professor of political history at the University of Westminster.

About this edition

• Publisher: Rivers Oram Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1854891456
• ISBN 13: 9781854891457
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304