G. D. H. Cole

A short history of the British working class movement

This is volume 3 of the set A Short History of the British Working Class Movement (1937). The volumes reprinted here provide a general narrative of the history of the working class movement in all its main aspects - Trade Unions, Socialism and Co-operatives. The historical focus is upon the latter part of the eighteenth century, set against a background of economic and social history.

The meaning of Marxism

1. The Foundation of Marxism 2. The Materialist Conception of History 3. The Growth and Decline of Capitalism 4. Economic Classes 5. The New Middle Classes and the Rise of Fascism 6. The Proletariat 7. Marxism and the State 8. The Theory of Value 9. The Theory of Value (Continued) 10. The Dialectic - Conclusion. A Note on Books. Index.

Some notes on British Trade Unionism in the third Quarter of the nineteenth Century

The principal purpose of these notes is to correct certain misunderstandings which I believe to be widely prevalent concerning the character of British Trade Unionism during the quarter of a century which followed the establishment in 1850—1851 of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. The period covered thus begins with the inauguration of the ‘new model’ type of Amalgamated Society, and extends to the end of the trade boom of the early seventies, stopping just short of the Great Depression which set in about 1875.

The Study of Social Facts

In England, the universities and other voluntary specialist bodies have undertaken fact-finding surveys, independent of the government. Their findings, however, have been of great value to the government as a supplement to official figures, as a guide in the planning of official investigations, and in the directing of social reforms. Because of the shortage of workers and of facilities, much English research data is based on small samples, but due care has been taken to assure representativeness.

Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy

Of all the ideologies competing for followers in the early twentieth century, socialism appeared to have the greatest chance of achieving its objectives. Politically oriented intellectuals turned to it by the thousands. In each of the industrialized countries of Western Europe socialist parties grew rapidly. After 1917 the international socialist movement split in two, but socialism continued to prosper in the 1920’s. Socialist prime ministers led coalition cabinets in several Western countries, while Bolsheviks ruled the empire of the Romanovs. The various socialist parties could expect to poll as much as 40 per cent of the popular vote in such countries as Germany and Great Britain. During the Depression of the 1930’s many intellectuals arrived at the conclusion that capitalism had demonstrated its bankruptcy as a socioeconomic system once and for all.