Introduction¶
Core Argument¶
Chapter 1: Introduction
James Connolly observed that a truly accurate history would centre on the wrongs and struggles of working people, yet standard accounts treat the working class with contempt, particularly when it rebels. This book draws lessons from the events that shaped the Labour movement, openly siding with the proposition that capital and labour are fundamentally incompatible. Taking sides does not preclude a scientific approach; class-conscious workers require objective history to apply its lessons effectively.
The British organised Labour movement is the oldest in the world, carrying a revolutionary tradition that includes illegal unions, the Chartist Association, the First International, and the 1926 General Strike. Alongside this exists a conservative, “respectable” tradition fostered by British imperialism’s “aristocracy of labour”. Trotsky noted that the British proletariat carries two souls: the right wing represents servile, cowardly traditions, while the Blair government’s counter-reforms have eroded democratic rights and working conditions. All gains under capitalism are temporary; fundamental societal change is necessary. Trade unions are the embryo of future society, constantly shaped by the struggle between revolutionary and subservient tendencies. Marxists must make conscious the working class’s unconscious will to change society.
The working class possesses inherent strength and resilience, recovering from defeats like the Greek god Antaeus. After twenty years of uninterrupted employer offensive—privatisation, zero-hour contracts, casual work, and lean production—with no serious opposition from “New Realist” union leaders, workers are now reacting. The election of left-wing general secretaries in British unions reflects rank-and-file anger. The political pendulum, having swung right for two decades, is swinging back left. The July 2002 local government strike involving one million workers was the first national strike in twenty years and the biggest women’s strike in British history. Firefighters, railway workers, and postal workers have engaged in bitter struggles with the Blair government. Opinion polls show 68 per cent of people declared themselves “working class and proud of it” in 2002. The global economic slowdown risks deflation like the 1930s; corporate profits are falling, bosses demand wage restraint and cuts to the social wage while awarding themselves huge salary increases. Every gain must be fought for. The working class needs militant, democratic unions and a leadership that goes beyond narrow trade unionism to change society. Marxism provides the necessary scientific world outlook, having always had a place in the British working-class movement, as demonstrated by figures like Will Thorne and James Larkin.