Contemporary Thought on Nineteenth Century Socialism, Volume IV - Anglo-Marxists

For historians of the international labour movement, the decades before 1914 were the golden age of Marxist thought. In this flowering of socialist thinking, Britain seemingly had no part, and the question has been asked instead: ‘Why was there was no Marxism in Britain?’ The selections in this volume confirm that Marxist ideas in Britain were not always pitched at the highest theoretical level. There are also examples of the reductionism to which leading exponents were sometimes prone. Nevertheless, there is also a richness and outspokenness across wide and varied themes that belies the caricature of arid economic determinism. Marxists believed they carried on the tradition of home-grown movements of struggle such as Chartism. They also identified with the new spirit of internationism whose ideas and personalities filled the pages of their periodicals. Behind such well-known names as William Morris, James Connolly and Tom Mann, a wider movement of contrarians remains to be discovered. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Contents Introduction: the Anglo-Marxists Part 1 The idea of socialism 1 Socialism Made Plain. Being the Social and Political Manifesto of the Democratic Federation (Democratic Federation, 1883) 2 “The Manifesto of the Socialist League”, Commonweal, February 1885, 1–2. 3 “Anarchism”, Justice, 8, 22, 29 November and 6 December 1884. 4 “Why Not?”, Justice, 12 April 1884. 5 The Man with the Red Flag (London: Twentieth Century Press, 1886), 3–12. 6 “How I became a Socialist”, Justice, 30 June 1894. 7 Social Democracy or Democratic Socialism (Social Democratic Federation: Salford District Council, 1895), 3–6, 15–16. 8 “Social-democrat or socialist?”, Social Democrat, August 1897, 228–231. 9 Socialism and Art (Social Democratic Federation, 1907), 5–16. Part 2 Concepts of political change 10 “How the Change Came” from News from Nowhere, chapter 17, reprinted in Commonweal, 17, 24 and 31 May 1890. 11 An Anti-Statist, Communist Manifesto, International Revolutionary Library, 1887, 2–22. 12 The Co-Partnership Snare (Twentieth Century Press, c. 1913), 1–3, 14–16. 13 “Social-Democrats and the Administration of the Poor Law”, Social Democrat, January 1897, 14–18. 14 “Long Live Syndicalism!”, The Syndicalist, May 1912. Part 3 Political economy 15 “The Iron Law of Wages”, Justice, 15 March 1884, 3. 16 Socialism and Slavery (1884), Social Democratic Federation (London: Twentieth Century Press, 1899 edn), 3–15. 17 Useful Work Versus Useless Toil (1885), Hammersmith Socialist Society, 1893 edn, 3–12, 19. 18 “The Reward of ‘Genius’”, Commonweal, 25 September 1886, 205–206. 19 “The Great Money Trick” from The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists (1914), ch. 21. Part 4 Work and social conditions 20 What a Compulsory Eight-hour Day Means to the Workers (London: Modern Press, 1886). 21 Unemployment: Its Causes and Consequences (London: Twentieth Century Press, 1906), 5–16. 22 Prison Reform from a Social-Democratic Point of View (London: Twentieth Century Press, 1909), 1–14. 23 Social-Democracy and the Housing Problem (London: Twentieth Century Press, 1900), 3–4, 6–7, 22–24. Part 5 Ways of organising 24 “Organised Labour. The Duty of the Trades Unions in Relation to Socialism”, Commonweal, 14, 21 and 28 August 1886. 25 “Social Democracy and Industrial Organisation”, Social Democrat, 15 April 1910. 26 “Prepare for Action”, Industrial Syndicalist, July 1910, 31–54. 27 “Leadermania”, Justice, 13 November 1897, 2. Part 6 Democracy and the state 28 “The Will of the Majority”, in The Ethics of Socialism (London: Swan Sonnenschein, 1889), 120–128. 29 “Workmen’s Jubilee Ode”, Social Democrat, February 1897. 30 “After the Jubilee”, Justice, 16 October 1897, 2. 31 “The ‘Monstrous Regiment’ of Womanhood”, in Essays in Socialism New and Old (London: Grant Richards, 1906), 276–279, 282–294. 32 “Why I Am Opposed to Female Suffrage”, Social Democrat, April 1909. Part 7 The new religion and the old 33 “The Socialist Conception of Ethics”, in A New Catechism of Socialism (London: Twentieth Century Press, 1902), 22–30. 34 “A Christmas Sermon which the Bishop of London has been asked to Preach in Westminster Abbey on Sunday, December 25”, Justice, 24 December 1887, 4. 35 Socialism and the Survival of the Fittest (London: Twentieth Century Press [c. 1891], third edition, 1910), 1–17. 36 Was Jesus a Socialist? ([1891], Huddersfield: Worker Office, c. 1908), 1–15. 37 “Simplification of Life”, in England’s Ideal (Swan Sonnenschein, Lowrey & Co, 1887), 79–99. Part 8 Gender, sexuality, family and personal relations 38 “The Commercial Hearth”, Commonweal, 8 May 1886, 42 and 15 May 1886, 50. 39 Some Words to Socialist Women, Social Democratic Party Women’s Committee (London: Twentieth Century Press, 1908), 5–16. 40 The Future of Woman (London: Twentieth Century Press, 1909), 1–14. 41 Socialism and Eugenics (London: Twentieth Century Press, 1911), 1–15. Part 9 War, peace and internationalism 42 Manifesto of the Socialist League on the Soudan War, Socialist League, 1885. 43 The Imperial Kailyard. Being a Biting Satire on English Colonisation (London: Twentieth Century Press, 1896), 3–15. 44 The Approaching Catastrophe in India (London: Twentieth Century Press, 1897), 3–16. 45 “Socialism and Colonial Development”, Social Democrat, July 1898, 208–211. 46 Social-Democracy and the Armed Nation (London: Twentieth Century Press, 1900), 3–14, 16. 47 Anti-militarism from the workers’ point of view: why every working man and woman should be an anti-militarist, Workers’ Anti-Militarist Committee, 1913, 1–7. 48 “A Continental Revolution”, Forward, 15 August 1914, 38–42. Part 10 The sense of the past 49 “George Julian Harney: A Straggler of 1848”, Social Democrat, January 1897, 3–8. 50 “Bloody Niggers”, Social Democrat, April 1897, 104–109. 51 “Why is Socialism in England at a Discount?”, Social Democrat, March 1898, 69–74 and April 1898, 112–117. 52 The First of May: The International Labour Day (1900) (London: Twentieth Century Press, 1904), 3–16. Bibliography This first volume willshowcase the richness and diversity of the Owenite movement, which spanned decades (from Owen's first published books in 1813-16 to the late 1840s), political allegiances, genders and continents. This volume therefore calls for a variety of sources not easily available elsewhere - including books, pamphlets, correspondence and newspaper articles - and a variety of often overlapping voices - from Chartists to early co-operators, secularists, non-British Owenites and proponents of women's rights. The sheer range of Owenite ventures (intentional communities, co-operatives, labour exchanges and experiments in popular education) will be covered, thus blending social and political history. The attempt to map the Owenite movement will eventually lead to the identification of its shared, core principles and values: internationalism, co-operation, concepts of political change, and above all, the ideal of community This four-volume collection of primary sources examine socialism in the long nineteenth century. The volumes examine the Owenite movement, Co-operation and socialism, Fabian Socialism and the birth of the Labour Party, as well as Marxists and rejectionists. Accompanied by extensive editorial commentary, this title will be of great interest to students and scholars of history and politics This first volume will showcase the richness and diversity of the Owenite movement, sourcing material from books, pamphlets, correspondence and newspaper articles written by a variety of different voices, from Chartists to early co-operators, secularists, non-British Owenites and proponents of women’s rights. Though Britain had a limited role in the flowering of Marxist thought in the decades before 1914, there was nevertheless a richness and outspokenness across wide and varied themes, demonstrated in the articles, pamphlets and chapters included in this volume.