Arguments Within English Marxism [Paperback]

The characteristic form taken by English Marxism since the war has been the study of history. No writer exemplifies its achievements better than Edward Thompson, whoseMaking of the English Working Classis probably the most influential single work of historical scholarship by a socialist today. An editor ofThe New Reasonerin 1957–59, a founder of the New Left in 1960, now an eloquent champion of civil rights, Thompson has most recently aroused widespread interest with the appearance of hisPoverty of Theory, which combines philosophical and political polemic with Louis Althusser, and powerful advocacy of the historian’s craft.Arguments Within English Marxismis an assessment of its central theses that relates them to Thompson’s major historical writings themselves. Thus the role of human agency—the part of the conscious choice and active will—in history is discussed through consideration of its treatment inThe Making of the English Working Class. The problems of base and superstructure in historical materialism, and of affiliation to values in the past, are reviewed in the light ofWhigs and Hunters. The claims of utopian imagination are illustrated from the findings ofWilliam Morris. Questions of socialist strategy are broached in part through the articles now collected inWriting by Candlelight.Exploring at once differences and convergences betweenNew Left Reviewand one of its founders, the essay concludes by suggesting the virtues of diversity within a common socialist culture.“Anderson evaluates the entire corpus of Thompson’s work as a historian and as a socialist ... The result is a fascinating assessment of the man Anderson claims to be ‘our finest socialist writer today.’ ... In so doing Anderson provides a superb essay in historiography as well as an important chapter of the history of the left in England.”—lc&