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British Labour, Marxism and Working Class Apathy in the Nineteen Twenties

  • Stuart Macintyre (a1)
Extract

A problem of crucial importance confronted the British labour movement in the 1920s. The working class - those who earned their livelihood by selling their labour power, as well as their dependents - constituted a majority of the population. To the left it seemed manifest that their interests lay in ending a social system which exploited them and putting socialism in its place. Yet during the decade only a minority of British voters committed themselves to socialism, even at the minimal level of voting for the Labour party. As Philip Snowden lamented, ‘the very people for whom [the socialist] works and sacrifices are often indifferent and seldom show any gratitude’. Why did the British working class lack class consciousness?

Copyright
COPYRIGHT: © Cambridge University Press 1977
References
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1 The faith of a democrat (London, 1928), p. 3.

2 MacDonald, Ramsay, A policy for the Labour party (London, 1920), p. 181.

3 Snowden, , Twenty objections to socialism (London, 1920), p. 16.

4 MacDonald, , Parliament and revolution (Manchester, 1919), p. 103; A policy for the Labour party, p. 183.

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7 Paul, William, Communism and society (London, 1992), p. 79.

8 Pankhurst, Sylvia, ‘A reply to Philip Snowden’, Workers' Dreadnought, 6 Mar. 1920.

9 Millar, J. P. M., ‘Ten minutes talks with new students’, Plebs, xii (1920), p. 195.

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13 Paul, William, The State: Its origin and functions (Glasgow, 1917), p. 187.

14 Hayward, C. H. and Langdon-Davies, B. N., Democracy and the press (Manchester, 1919), p. 4.

15 Editorial, Daily Herald, 31 Oct. 1924; Ibid. 27, 28, 31 Oct. 1924.

16 ‘Notes of the Month’, Labour Monthly, vi (1924), p. 714.

17 Advertisement for the Herald in Labour Magazine, v (Aug. 1926); MacDonald, , Parliament and revolution, p. 27.

18 MacDonald, , Daily Herald, 25 Oct. 1924.

19 Paul, William, ‘Race riots and revolution’, Socialist, 10 July 1919.

20 ‘Broadcasting babble machine’, Labour Monthly, XIII (1931), 191.

21 Workers' Weekly, 26 Dec. 1924.

22 See especially Martin's, The British public and the General Strike (London, 1931).

23 Paul, William, ‘Capitalism, labour and the press’, Labour Monthly, VII (1925), 565.

24 Pallister, Minnie, ‘Labour women confer’, New Leader, 5 June 1925.

25 ‘Workers' Sport’, Communist, III (1928), 461

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27 Parliament and revolution, p. 65; and reported at the 1921 Conference of the I.L.P. in Labour Leader, 31 Mar. 1921.

28 Laski, Harold, Socialism and freedom (London, 1925), p. 5.

29 Socialism: Critical and constructive (London, 1921), p. 234.

30 Snowden, , Labour and the new world (London, 1921), p. 51.

31 Hayward, and Langdon-Davies, , Democracy and the press, pp. 59–60.

32 The tradition is discussed with respect to MacDonald by Barker, Bernard in his introduction to Ramsay MacDonald'spolitical writings (London, 1972), and by Barker, Rodney, Education and politics 1900–1951. A study of the Labour party (Oxford, 1972), ch. I.

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43 Ponsonby, Arthur, ‘Democracy and the mob’, Socialist Review XXII (1923), 60.

44 Forward, 21 Dec. 1918.

45 MacDonald, , ‘The Review outlook’, Socialist Review, XVII (1920), 9.

46 My three revolutions (London, 1969), p. 247.

47 Forward, 8 Nov. 1924; Egan, Michael, ‘Arace for safety’, Socialist Review, XXIV (1924), 171.

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49 Scurr, John, ‘The dictatorship of the proletariat’, Labour Leader, 29 Jan. 1920; Griffiths, Dan, The real enemy, pp. 12–13.

50 Bevin, Ernest, ‘Straight on through the wilderness’, Labour Magazine, x (1931), 347; Lansbury, George, preface to Gerald Gould, The coming revolution in Great Britain (London, 1920), p. ix.

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52 Dodd, James J., If Labour wins (London, 1922), p. 77.

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56 Eden, and Paul, Cedar, Labour Leader, 17 Jan. 1918.

57 This term was derived from Tressel's, Robert book, The ragged trousered philanthropists (London, 1914), and also became common currency.

58 Shaw, , ‘Are we Bolshevists?’, Labour Leader, 24 Apr. 1919; Tawney, , ‘Christianity and the social revolution’, The Attack and other papers (London, 1935), p. 163; Tillett, , Daily Herald, 31 Oct. 1924.

59 The Attack, p. 163. Ross Terrill explores Tawney's use of Dubb, Henry in R. H. Taximey and his times. Socialism as fellowship (London, 1973), pp. 178, 195–6.

60 Gascoyne, James in, ‘The coming crash’, Communist, 12 Aug. 1930.

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70 Esp. pp. 255–66.

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73 Incorrigible rebel (London, 1960), p110.

74 ‘The concept of the Labour aristocracy’, Popular politics and society in late Victorian Britain (London, 1968), p. 61. For a contrary view see Hobsbawm, E. J., ‘The Labouraristocracy in late Victorian Britain’, Labouring men: Studies in the history of Labour (London, 1964), pp. 272–315.

75 The I.L.P. and the Third International (London, 1920), p. 17.

75 Price, M. Philips, ‘Impressions of the General Election’, Communist International, XXIV (1923), 37; see also Burns, Emile, Communism and the transition (London, 1933), p. 91.

77 Barton, Alfred, A world history for the zuorkers (London, 1922), p. 95.

78 Brailsford, , Socialism for to-day (London, 1925), p. 51.

79 ‘The principle of empire’, Olives of endless age (New York, 1928), p. 283.

80 Labour Party Conference Report 1921, p. 208.

81 Haden-Guest, L., The Labour party and the empire (London, 1926), p. 7. For discussion of this group see Gupta, Partha Sarathi, Imperialism and the British Labour movement 1914–1964 (London, 1975).

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83 Dutt, R. Palme, ‘Notes of the month’, Labour Monthly, VI (1924), 528–3.

84 Dowbrett, , ‘Immediate demands’, Communist Review, v (1924), 255.

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89 Bernard, A., ‘Marxist-Leninist education’, Communist Review, VII (1926), 378.

90 Labour Monthly, VIII (1926), 323–36.

91 Twenty objections to socialism, p. 16.

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