E.P.Thompson: Ideas, Education, Culture

This year marks the 50^th anniversary of E.P.Thompson’s book The Making of the English Working Class. Barbara Segal, a member of Bristol Left Unity, attended a celebration of its author, E.P. Thompson, and came away with some ideas of what Left Unity might become.

The Making of the English Working Class, first published in 1963, chronicled the lives and rising consciousness of working class people between 1780 and 1832, a period during which artisan production was being replaced by large factories. Thompson’s book was a departure from the traditional approach to history, in that it focused on the culture and communities of the workers, and their role as agents in their own lives, as opposed to what was perceived as a more detached view, based on statistical records. The work originally attracted criticism from fellow historians for its Marxist roots, and what was seen as poor academic practice. It was later criticised for its failure to address issues of race, empire and gender.Nevertheless it remains one of the most influential books on English social and working class history, of particular importance to those of us on the left.

On Saturday I attended a celebration of Thompson’s life through film and discussion, held at our local arts cinema. The three films – all TV documentaries of a kind we would be unlikely to see today – dealt with difference facets of Edward Thompson’s contributions as a writer and political activist. The first was a tribute to Thompson and his wife, the social historian Dorothy Thompson, made in 1993, the year of his death. In addition to interviews in which Edward and Dorothy talked about their political backgrounds and ideas, there was some great footage of early CND actions and of Edward speaking at a more recent anti-war rally. This was followed by a remarkable black and white filming of a Workers Education Association class on literature, in which Edward and the students dissected a short William Blake poem, discovering meaning that was far from evident on a first reading. Perhaps certain online lectures – to which I’m generally opposed – could work after all! This was followed by a discussion in which a panel of historians talked about their discovery of The Making of the English Working Class and its influence on their own work. Several members of the audience had been taught by Thompson and spoke of his inspirational teaching.

Finally, there was a documentary about Red Ladder, one of the radical (agitprop) theatre companies that emerged in the nineteen sixties and seventies. Originally London-based, the group moved to Yorkshire in the early seventies. Wishing to produce work of relevance to the textile industry in the area where they were based, they settled on a play about the Plug Riots, a huge campaign of resistance to wage cuts in the textile mills, influenced by chartism and culminating in a major strike in 1842. Edward and Dorothy Thomson, who were living near Halifax at the time, were consulted on some of the historical aspects of the play.

What particularly inspired me in this piece was the political engagement of Red Ladder and the way the group was organised at that time. The company operated as a collective, with little specialisation of roles. All the members were involved in developing the ideas to be incorporated in the play, and in writing the dialogue; all helped design, build and transport the scenery; the play had a musical element and members of the cast taught themselves to play instruments to an acceptable standard. An important goal of the group was to engage with their audiences and we see the cast in informal discussions with local people – mainly women – in the pub after a performance. Textile workers talk animatedly about their working conditions, their unions, differences between large and small employers, etc. The film was introduced by one of the early members of the collective, who conveyed his excitement at being involved in the project, and the different ways in which people were trying to organise their lives and work – personal as well as political – at that time.

Red Ladder still exists as a touring theatre company based in Leeds, and still produces work that might perhaps be seen as radical in the current context, but it is now a registered company, operating as a hierarchy, with a management committee largely separate from the workers.

I came away from this event inspired much of the content and reinforced in my belief that politics must be broader than meetings, campaigns and direct action, important as these are. As many posts on this website had argued, it must extend to our relationships with each other and our ways of organising. But in my opinion it should also embrace education, research, discussion of ideas, and broader cultural activities. My hope is that Left Unity will become a movement in which all of these will flourish.

The program on which this post is based can be seen here: http://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/4159/e-p-thompson-celebration-films-and-panel. Do see these films if you get the opportunity!