The Lost World of British Communism

by Raphael Samuel, Alison Light (Afterword), Robin Blackburn (Introduction)

The Lost World of British Communism is a vivid account of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Raphael Samuel, one of post-war Britain’s most notable historians, draws on novels of the period and childhood recollections of London’s East End, as well as memoirs and Party archives, to evoke the world of British Communism in the 1940s. Samuel conjures up the era when the movement was at the height of its political and theoretical power, brilliantly bringing to life an age in which the Communist Party enjoyed huge prestige as a bulwark for the struggles against fascism and colonialism.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, British Literature, Essays

244 pages, Hardcover

First published November 13, 2006

Reviews

[Tanroop · Rating 5 out of 5]

The content of this book varies between the structural and the quotidian- how was the Communist Party of Great Britain organized? Who planned mass campaigns? What were their main constituencies? What did Communists wear? What did they do for 'fun'? What standards of behaviour were expected? How did they conduct their meetings?
If you're looking for a traditional historical account of the CPGB, you'll probably be left disappointed. But, this book excels as an almost ethnographic study of British Communism.

This collection of essays is not lacking in scholarly rigour- it cites memoirs, party statements, documents, and manuals, as well as interviews with rank-and-file members of the Party. However, there is also a personal element that makes the book special- Samuel himself was raised in a 'Communist family', and once inhabited the world he chronicles. He remembers whistling the Internationale on the tube during his childhood, waiting to see if anyone took it up; selling Party literature at his boarding school, and getting into debates with his peers; and buying his mother a copy of Anti-Duhring for Christmas when he sensed her commitment might be waning.

One of the great strengths of this book is that- despite its honest and largely, IMO, valid criticisms of the Party- it treats Communists like real people. They aren't just blind fanatics, or shadowy conspirators. They are people who needed to be taught diction before addressing meetings of their co-workers, people who went to watch Soviet films during the weekend, had hiking trips in the summer, or people who desperately wanted to read and educate themselves.

That being said, Samuel wrote this book when the Left was in disarray and at war with itself, and neoliberalism was in the ascendancy. While there's an element of wistfulness as he looks back on "The Lost World of British Communism," that doesn't blind him to some of the more troublesome aspects of Party life (the exclusive loyalty it demanded, the excesses of democratic centralism, the narrow space allowed for debate, etc). However, even then, he always takes care to situate what may appear to the modern reader as anachronistic within the broader context of British society at the time. As a result, the Communists appear less eccentric than they would if they were analyzed in a hermetic bubble, separated from the trends affecting the nation as a whole.

I, for one, really enjoyed reading this evocation of a lost world. Samuel's account is critical, but fair; personal, but not ahistorical; detailed, but not boring; nostalgic, but not blindly so.

" The rallies and meetings displayed what was often an imaginary strength; the big turn-outs, though getting banner headlines in the Daily Worker, compensated for the absence of a real popular following. Party members also needed to believe that what they were doing was momentous, and here, however far they may have fallen short of their aims, they were not entirely self-deceived. The part played by the Battle of Cable Street, or for that matter the campaign around the Leipzig trial, in the build-up of anti-fascist opinion; or of the agitation of the League against Imperialism in challenging the British people's colonial enthusiasms...is necessarily a matter of conjecture. But a Left which has been powerless to come to the aid of the miners, and which has proved incapable of sustaining any serious campaigns against the haemorrhage of jobs, is in no position to condescend to those who for nearly twenty years kept the Hunger Marchers on the road."

[✨ jami ✨]

dnf @ part two: this isn't really what I was expecting it to be / looking for when I picked it up (was looking for something a bit more historical/essay based and less disjointed memoir).. so..... dnf

[Fraser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool collection of essays about Britains Communist movement (and it *was* a genuine movement, unlike the very odd subculture that exists today). Honest about the party's flaws, what it got right and what it got wrong.

Two moments in the book really stood out to me. There's a reprint of a letter that went around the members of one branch talking about how its the duty of every member to muck in and help the branch recruit 100 new Communists in West Ham (I think?) before New Year. The closest I've ever seen to this in the modern left is people talking in VERY passive terms about "how great it is so many new people have got involved" in the Corbyn years. Recruitment is something the left just doesn't seem arsed with anymore.

The other was as part of their industrial strategy, the Party would be insistent that their members did good work (as in not Party work but like being "A Good Mechanic" or whatever it was they did) so their colleagues would be more likely to take them seriously.

Would be obvious and boring for me to point out that the left in the 21st century has lost the sense of a world historical mission that the Communists Raphael Samuel writes about had, but these two examples make me think that the left would be in a lot better shape if the left hadn't also lost its work ethic.

[Jordan Phizacklea-Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Posthumously compiled, this collection of essays from British communism's keynote historian is a not uncritical reflection on his time as a young member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, through the post-war euphoria of victory over fascism to the disillusionment of 1950s Stalinist factionalism that led him to leave the party at 21, though still active in the far left for the remainder of his life. It's an elegy to a lost world that is mostly concerned with the day-to-day mundanities of party life and regional organising, though it's difficult to pinpoint moments that explain Samuel's inspiration to join the CPGB in the first place.

[Colin Thin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of essays discussing the history of the British communist party through the writers personal experiences. Some really good bits. Samuel acknowledges both the strengths and weaknesses of the party, whilst giving you insight into the inner world of the party and the lives of those involved. Some bits were a bit dull and too focused on the inter left beefs of the 1980s. Probs more a 3.5 than a 4

[Adam G · Rating 3 out of 5]

To me this book was a curate's egg. I give it a low rating because the publisher's information on the book is, in my opinion, misleading. The book comprises a three-part essay written by Samuel for the journal Marxism Today in the 1980s, long after he left the Communist Party. The parts, and the sections therein, are organised thematically, with titles such as "The disciplines of organisation" and "Moral elitism". Read as a single volume, cover-to-cover, I found this structure confusing. There is no sense of an overall narrative; rather, the material jumps between commentary on the state of the contemporary British left, personal reminiscences, high-handed descriptions of how things were in the 'lost world', and excerpts and summaries of other people's memoirs. Much more material comes in footnotes at the end of each essay part. There is no index.

According to Verso, the book is "A fascinating account of life as a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain." Yes, that material is in there, but by no means is this book a simple memoir or autobiography. If that is why you come to read this book, then it is a useful jumping-off point due to the number of memoirs and autobiographies it does reference.

The review quotes on the back cover describe the book as an "excellent guide" to the Communist Party: an "unparalleled account". I completely disagree. I would expect such a book to contain a history of the party (policy, membership etc), and analysis of its structure and functioning. The book does contain some facts and anecdotes concerning the Party, but it is in no way a systematic analysis. What's worse, the tone of the parts that deal with the old Party read like a jaded ex-employee of some large corporation airing his superficial criticisms of the cultural milieu at the time he resigned. For example, in the section on "Moral elitism", he argues that "Communists related uneasily to working class culture," but makes no attempt neither to interrogate the political leadership's decisions that led to that relation, nor whether this was an important factor in the decline of the Party over the period in question.

Overall, a passable book to skim-read if one is interested in political life during the period in question, but not a good introduction nor a comprehensive guide.

[Nikk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of essays about a time and a type of people who are long gone, almost as if they never existed in the first place. This is really only going to be of interest to those with an interest in the subject, for me my interest is from that of social history and through these accounts comes two main things -the Britishness of the CPGB and those in it which may sound odd today but the ethos of post war 'make do and mend' the personal sacrifices made for others, the jumble sales and rounds of tea. I think that if communism had taken Britain by storm and the dictatorship of the proletariat arrived Britain would have been the place to 'do it properly', the fastidious nature of following rules and regulations, of note taking mixed with the sense of fair play gave it an odd appeal to the nature of many Brits certainly at the time. The second thing was it is clear it it was a secular religion - not just in terms of beliefs but the social structure and practises all are reminiscent of church on Sunday complete with hymns, Sunday school, church outings, fetes and tea parties are all visible just the doctrine was swapped it was Marxism-Leninism instead of Christianity but the similarities are obvious.

[Giancarlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a class way to write about history! The author grew up in London’s Communist Jewish community and the book is a fab mashup of his personal experiences with more academic historical and theoretical takes. As someone who spent a lot of the 10s in the belly of Labour Party and trade Union bureaucracy, this book supplied a LOT of context that for me was sorely missing (I finally GET the Morning Star and auld CPGBers). Overall, an extremely enjoyable, surprisingly cosy window into a bizarre, long-gone community and political movement! Bonus points for all the Scottish workers he quotes! Shoutout Alex for getting me a very on-brand Christmas pressie haha 😘

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliantly written book that engages the reader into the world of the CPGB through the authors personal experience, eloquent analysis of political structure/application of theory, and interviews with more rank and file figures. While it is very interesting and mostly clear throughout, the coverage of the party is certainly not chronological and jumps around different time periods and topics which makes it quite difficult to be seen as a comprehensive review of the period written about.

[Avery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and resonant political, cultural, and personal history of the CPGB, particularly in the 1940s. Highlights essential problems of classical Marxism, its modernism, its worldview, its internal culture. Essential read for anyone interested in a critical but sympathetic history of 20th century communism.

[Charlie Kruse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really quite stellar in its description of the more subjective or affective realms of the understanding of the Communist Party of Britain. Although some parts may seem to verge on some melancholic nostalgia, Samuel is always vigilant of the pitfalls and shortcomings of the seemingly stricter style of early British communists.

[Phil Swatton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An essay collection which taken as a whole forms an insightful social history of the CPGB. This is firmly not a narrative history of the organisation, but rather gives an impression of how British Communists lived and understood themselves.

[Caty Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really interesting and funny bits

[Sispyphusrock · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of a oral history than a systematic history

[Chris Saltmarsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely fascinating

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very strange book. I was expecting more of a history but it was a series of essays that were all over the place. The author jumped around from decade to decade and it was hard to get and sense of consistency or development as a result. As the author had been raised in a communist family in the 40s and 50s he was able to give some interesting first hand accounts of what that was like but overall this was far too disjointed to be of much help to my own research. One thing I did learn was that the communists frowned on drinking which challenged some of my assumptions about Bea。

[Michael Macdonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A touching set of essays about a lost culture of self-taught skilled workers and their insular culture. Whilst robustly critical of the intellectual self-deception of the CPGB , Samuel's analysis is generous in highlighting a very British institution and placing its fib=nal intenal struggles in the context of a less confident and less thoughtful society.