Synopses & Reviews
The political tradition loosely termed 'the left' has been brought to crisis point as the twentieth century draws to a close. This cohesive and wide-ranging study charts the history of the left, from its origins in the French Revolution to the present crisis. Willie Thompson focuses on the principal currents, including the rise and fall of Bolshevism, Leninism and Stalinism; the embrace and subsequent abandonment of Marxist rhetoric by former Soviet allies in the Third World; European social democracy; and 'actually existing socialism' in states such as China and Cuba. The impact of 'alternatives' to the mainstream - Trotskyism, Maoism and Eurocommunism - is assessed, and the potential for the New Left and postwar social forces such as feminism, environmentalism and 'identity' politics to facilitate renewal is evaluated. Thompson concludes that if the left is to play any part in addressing the unfinished agenda of the post-1900s, then it must develop a clear understanding of the historical lessons that follow from its earlier embodiments.
Review
'Essential and rather chastening reading for anyone who believes left values need to have some effective public resonance and political impact and wants to learn from the few victories and many defeats experienced over the 20th century' - Socialist History 'One of the most accurate, comprehensive and stimulating histories of the left' - New Times
Synopsis
A panoramic Hobsbawmian history of the left. 'One of the most accurate, comprehensive and stimulating histories of the left' --New Times
Synopsis
Leading scholars discuss ideology and hotly contested post-structuralist theory.
About the Author
Willie Thompson is presently Reader in Contemporary History at Glasgow Caledonian University, and the author of numerous studies, including a history of British communism (The Good Old Cause), the impact of labourism on British radical politics (The Long Death of British Labourism), and the development of the British Empire late 19th and early 20th Centuries (Global Expansion) - all published by Pluto Press.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part I: Mainstreams
1. The Matrix
2. Leninism and Stalinism
3. Actually Existing Socialism
4. The Fragments
5. Social Democracy
Part II: Alternatives
6. Trotskyism, Maoism, Eurocommunism
7. New Left, New Social Forces
Conclusion: The Winter Landscape
Notes
Bibliography
Index