Class or Nation: Communists, Imperialism and Two World Wars

By: Neil Redfern

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Synopsis: The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) has been seen by many as a microcosm of the Communist-Capitalist struggle in the early twentieth century. Its size belied its influence and so, despite never being a mainstream political movement, it had a powerful presence in British society. Neil Redfern re-examines the movement and its relationship to imperialism, tracing the history of British communism from its revolutionary roots, forged during the turmoil of 1917-1921. He finds that the CPGB never made a clean break with the reformism, nationalism and Euro-centrism, despite World War I, the 1917 revolution and] mass movements in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Redfern argues that this led most of the left to support the First World War and so, by extension, found itself supporting the Second World War and Britain's reconquest of its colonial possessions.This is essential reading for scholars of British Political and Social History, as well as Imperialism, Communism and left-wing ideology.