Democracy The Long Revolution [Hardcover]

Britain is the traditional land of dissent, of dissent not only in its religious connotation but of dissent itself. John Strachey This accessible yet authoritative collection of essays chronicles the history of dissent in the British Isles, from Magna Carta to the present day. The contributors - all specialists in their field - cover such milestones as the age of revolution, industrialisation and the foundation of the Labour Party. Tony Benn contributes a powerful, final extended chapter arguing that we are light years away from being a true democracy.

Contents



Foreword

Michael Mansfield QC



Introduction: Indefinite Deferment - Two Cheers for Democracy'

David Powell and Tom Hickey



1 Patience, Humility, Reticence - Hijacked Virtues

Colin Richmond



2 The English Civil War and the Putney Debates

Willie Lamont



3 Colonial Wars and Liberal Imperialism: a History of Parliamentary Failure

John Newsinger



4 Chartism - a Movement Before its Time

John Charlton



5 Formation of Labourism

David Powell



6 Labour and the New Social Order

Paddy Maguire



7 A Protracted Arc: Sex, Gender and Sexuality - Emancipation and Liberation

Gill Scott



8 The Long Revolution

Tony Benn



9 Globalisation, Exclusion and the Future of Democrl2