A Centenary for Socialism

A Centenary for Socialism challenges preconceptions and explodes mythsROBERT GRIFFITHS previews a new single-volume history, A Centenary for Socialism: Britain's Communist Party 1920-2020 It's been a long time coming. Studies of Communist Party history in Britain have been published on a substantial scale over recent decades. Four volumes of ""official history"" by party members James Klugmann and Nora Branson took the story from before the foundation of the party in 1920 up to 1951. These were informative if somewhat orthodox accounts, written by historians in a position to reveal more but who chose to present the facts and defend them against the party's right-wing and far-left detractors. Now, at last, 21 party members and allies have written a comprehensive one-volume history to mark the party's centenary this year. Ranged across 300 pages, the authors include distinguished labour movement historians such as editor Mary Davis, John Foster and Roger Seifert as well as party leaders and prominent trade unionists Liz Payne, Anita Halpin, Ann Field and Alex Gordon. Their work has been arranged in a pattern that combines a thematic with a chronological approach, reflecting the class struggle on its political, economic and ideological fronts. The first section highlights the role of the party in the anti-racist, anti-fascist, anti-colonial and peace movements. Chapters also cover the Second World War by Phil Katz, the party's electoral strategies and - warts and all - the major internal crises in the party and its relations with the international communist movement. These contents frequently give the lie to misrepresentations of the CP in Britain as undemocratic and economistic, as Comintern cat's-paws lacking commitment to the international struggle for socialism. The second section gives due weight to the significant part played by communists in the General Strike, the National Unemployed Workers Movement and the epic battles against post-war class collaboration, from ""Butskellism"" and the Social Contract to anti-union laws and New Labour. Jonathan White outlines the emergence and rationale of the party's Alternative Economic and Political Strategy. In the third section, on the battle of ideas, Morning Star readers will be familiar with the names of contributors Ben Chacko, Nick Wright, Christine Lindey and Andy Croft. They tell the story of the paper, its guiding political programme, and the extraordinary work of the party in the cultural sphere. Other chapters deal in depth with anti-communism and the party policies and activities, past and present, in the women's movement and on the national question and the European Common Market. Nobody interested in the history and present condition of the labour movement should be without this comprehensive, well-written and expertly informed book. It challenges preconceptions, explodes myths and provides a worthy testimony to 100 years of struggle, dedication and sacrifice on the part of one hundred thousand Communists across Britain. Morning Star