The Making of the English Working Class
Encyclopedia
The Making of the English Working Class is an influential and pivotal work of English social history, written by E. P. Thompson
, a notable 'New Left
' historian; it was published in 1963 (revised 1968) by Victor Gollancz Ltd
, and later republished at Pelican, becoming an early Open University
Set Book. It concentrates on English artisan
and working class
society "in its formative years 1780 to 1832."
Its tone is captured by the oft-quoted line from the preface:
Thompson attempts to add a humanist
element to social history, being critical of those who turn the people of the working class into an inhuman statistical bloc. These people were not just the victims of history: Thompson displays them as being in control of their own making. He also discusses the popular movements that are oft forgotten in history, such as obscure Jacobin
societies like the London Corresponding Society
. Thompson makes great effort to recreate the life-experience of the working class(es), which is what often marks it out as such an extremely influential work.
Thompson uses the term "working class" rather than "classes" throughout, to emphasize the growth of a working-class consciousness. He claims in the Preface that "in the years between 1780 and 1832 most English working people came to feel an identity of interests as between themselves, and as against other men whose interests are different from (and usually opposed to) theirs." (Thompson, 1980: 11)
Thompson's re-evaluation of the Luddite movement, and his (unsympathetic) treatment of the influence of the early Methodist movement on working class aspirations are also particularly memorable. (Thompson's parents were Methodist missionaries.)
Thompson's theories on working-class consciousness are at the core of this writing, and their agency was manifested by way of the core English working-class values of solidarity, collectivism, mutuality, political radicalism and Methodism
. Thompson wished to disassociate Marxism
from Stalinism
and his injection of humanistic principles in this book was his way of steering the Left
toward democratic socialism
as opposed to totalitarianism
.
E. P. Thompson
Edward Palmer Thompson was a British historian, writer, socialist and peace campaigner. He is probably best known today for his historical work on the British radical movements in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in particular The Making of the English Working Class...
, a notable 'New Left
New Left
The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
' historian; it was published in 1963 (revised 1968) by Victor Gollancz Ltd
Victor Gollancz Ltd
Victor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz and specialised in the publication of high quality literature, nonfiction and popular fiction, including science fiction. Upon Gollancz's death in 1967, ownership...
, and later republished at Pelican, becoming an early Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
Set Book. It concentrates on English artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
and working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
society "in its formative years 1780 to 1832."
Its tone is captured by the oft-quoted line from the preface:
- "I am seeking to rescue the poor stockinger, the LudditeLudditeThe Luddites were a social movement of 19th-century English textile artisans who protested – often by destroying mechanised looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life...
cropper, the "obsolete" hand-loom weaver, the "utopian" artisan, and even the deluded follower of Joanna SouthcottJoanna SouthcottJoanna Southcott , was a self-described religious prophetess. She was born at Gittisham in Devon, England.-Self-revelation:...
, from the enormous condescension of posterity." (Thompson, 1980: 12)
Thompson attempts to add a humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
element to social history, being critical of those who turn the people of the working class into an inhuman statistical bloc. These people were not just the victims of history: Thompson displays them as being in control of their own making. He also discusses the popular movements that are oft forgotten in history, such as obscure Jacobin
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
societies like the London Corresponding Society
London Corresponding Society
London Corresponding Society was a moderate-radical body concentrating on reform of the Parliament of Great Britain, founded on 25 January 1792. The creators of the group were John Frost , an attorney, and Thomas Hardy, a shoemaker and metropolitan Radical...
. Thompson makes great effort to recreate the life-experience of the working class(es), which is what often marks it out as such an extremely influential work.
Thompson uses the term "working class" rather than "classes" throughout, to emphasize the growth of a working-class consciousness. He claims in the Preface that "in the years between 1780 and 1832 most English working people came to feel an identity of interests as between themselves, and as against other men whose interests are different from (and usually opposed to) theirs." (Thompson, 1980: 11)
Thompson's re-evaluation of the Luddite movement, and his (unsympathetic) treatment of the influence of the early Methodist movement on working class aspirations are also particularly memorable. (Thompson's parents were Methodist missionaries.)
Thompson's theories on working-class consciousness are at the core of this writing, and their agency was manifested by way of the core English working-class values of solidarity, collectivism, mutuality, political radicalism and Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
. Thompson wished to disassociate Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
from Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
and his injection of humanistic principles in this book was his way of steering the Left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
toward democratic socialism
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
as opposed to totalitarianism
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
.
External links
- The Making of the English Working Class at Penguin BooksPenguin BooksPenguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
. - http://books.google.com/books?id=l2aLyk-kacIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+making+of+the+working+class&cd=1#v=onepage&q&f=false at Google Books.