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Sozialgeschichte der europäischen Arbeiterbewegung
A Marxist summary of working-class party & union vicissitudes in Europe from abortive 1848 workers' rebellions to the post-WWII ossification of Social Democracy. Abendroth, Prof. of Politics at the Univ. of Marburg, outlines schisms within the 1st & 2nd Internationals & charts post-WWI gains of the SPD, British Labour & loosely knit French socialists. Ideological errors of Proudhonists, Anarcho-Syndicalists, Bakuninites & others who are unorthodox are noted. The SPD is scored for permitting organizational strength to cover up political cowardice. Kuczynski's The Rise of the Working Class ('67) is a better guide to the growth of laboring-class consciousness in this period than this survey. For interwar years, Abendroth blames Stalinist distortions, capitalist cunning & the rift between Communists & Social Democrats for the triumphs of Fascism--& attributes the sepulchral pace of Social Democratic advances after WWII to the lingering "widespread belief in the stability of the capitalist order in the West." In gauging working-class consciousness Abendroth--who rarely looks beyond electoral figures--hopes that pressure from students & trade unions may yet regenerate moribund parliamentary parties which at present don't "reflect the new spirit at the base." A cliched account of political & economic victories & losses narrowly computed.--Kirkus (edited)
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 21, 2023
Es un libro que me ha sido muy útil para el tema que estoy tratando en el doctorado. El capítulo del movimiento obrero europeo entre la revolución en Rusia y el auge del fascismo me parece bastante completo y enriquecedor en lo que a fuentes se refiere. Para las personas interesadas en la historia del movimiento obrero en Europa es más que recomendable.
April 2, 2022
For a long time I'd been meaning to learn more about European history, and with my upcoming honeymoon in Paris I made it a point to really pursue it. I found this book in a used bookstore a little before our trip and thought it'd be perfect. Turns out, it was!
This book is, basically, exactly what it promises to be. It gives a brief overview of the history of the European working class, going back to its origins at the dawn of capitalism and tracing out its development up until the present of when the book was written, which was 1971. The book theoretically focuses on all of Europe, though more attention is given to Western Europe, the Scandinavian countries, and Russia, likely because those are the countries in Europe that have the best-documented histories and are the most important players in Europe as a whole.
When you have someone writing a book about the working class, you know they're likely gonna be a leftist of some sort. One thing I appreciate about this book is you can't exactly tell what left tendency/viewpoint this author is just by reading. He talks about the strengths and weaknesses of social democrats, socialists, anarchists, and communists throughout the book, rather than having a clear favorite while bashing all the others. Among other things, it was interesting to read a book that describes the Soviet Union in a rather fair-minded way, rather than as an evil land of monsters or a workers' paradise whose leaders can do no wrong.
My only real issue with the book is that it mentions some names and groups without defining them, assuming prior knowledge. Other times it'll mention a name or group, then not discuss them for a while, then bring them up later without reminding you who/what they are. In a history about a specific country that might be less of an issue, but since this book attempts to cover a whole continent, you wanna make sure every subject is described so that things don't start to blend together. Because of that, I'd recommend a little light research about the basics of modern European history before tackling this book. It's not necessary, but it can help.
That aside, this book is easy to read and left me with a pretty solid understanding of the history of European labor despite how brief it is. I would highly recommend it for anyone interested in the topic. Just watch a Crash Course video and read a couple articles about modern European history before delving in if you're not at all familiar with the topic going in.
This book is, basically, exactly what it promises to be. It gives a brief overview of the history of the European working class, going back to its origins at the dawn of capitalism and tracing out its development up until the present of when the book was written, which was 1971. The book theoretically focuses on all of Europe, though more attention is given to Western Europe, the Scandinavian countries, and Russia, likely because those are the countries in Europe that have the best-documented histories and are the most important players in Europe as a whole.
When you have someone writing a book about the working class, you know they're likely gonna be a leftist of some sort. One thing I appreciate about this book is you can't exactly tell what left tendency/viewpoint this author is just by reading. He talks about the strengths and weaknesses of social democrats, socialists, anarchists, and communists throughout the book, rather than having a clear favorite while bashing all the others. Among other things, it was interesting to read a book that describes the Soviet Union in a rather fair-minded way, rather than as an evil land of monsters or a workers' paradise whose leaders can do no wrong.
My only real issue with the book is that it mentions some names and groups without defining them, assuming prior knowledge. Other times it'll mention a name or group, then not discuss them for a while, then bring them up later without reminding you who/what they are. In a history about a specific country that might be less of an issue, but since this book attempts to cover a whole continent, you wanna make sure every subject is described so that things don't start to blend together. Because of that, I'd recommend a little light research about the basics of modern European history before tackling this book. It's not necessary, but it can help.
That aside, this book is easy to read and left me with a pretty solid understanding of the history of European labor despite how brief it is. I would highly recommend it for anyone interested in the topic. Just watch a Crash Course video and read a couple articles about modern European history before delving in if you're not at all familiar with the topic going in.
September 26, 2013
Having become more active in the Socialist Party USA and its Illinois and Chicago affiliates, holding several offices in it and publishing one of its journals, I got serious about picking up again on radical history, a subject I had explored quite a bit in high school and college, but had neglected during seminary. This book was recommended as a good introductory summary of the history of working class movements in Europe from 1848 to 1970 from a German socialist perspective. As ever, I much appreciated seeing an aspect of the world from something other than an American perspective.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews