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December 2002 |
RALPH MILIBAND AND THE POLITICS OF THE NEW LEFT by Michael Newman “A very fine biography of a key
figure who for so long deservedly stood as a beacon on the international left
for the way he articulated and redefined socialist politics.” “Miliband’s own interventions in his time live on, in his books and essays; but his personal writings, amply extracted here, give a vivid sense of the man behind them—making this a good book to have.” "admirably clear in its construction and scrupulously researched……….” Susan Watkins, NEW LEFT REVIEW 19; JAN/FEB 2003 Ralph Miliband (1924-94) was a key twentieth century political thinker. His books The State in Capitalist Society and Parliamentary Socialism influenced a generation of the left. Miliband was an academic and public intellectual whose life and work were devoted to the attempt to define and apply an independent form of socialism. He was an influential teacher and theorist who played a key role within the political and intellectual community of the Left, both in Britain and in North America, where he held several visiting professorships. The Socialist Register, which he founded (with John Saville) and edited for thirty years, brought him into contact with left-wing intellectuals throughout the world. This biography draws Miliband as an energetic letter writer, and his letters, many on issues of political importance with such figures as E.P. Thompson, C.Wright Mills, Leo Huberman, Harry Magdoff, Leszek Kolakowski, Marcel Liebman, Rossana Rossanda, K.S. Karol, Daniel Singer, André Gorz and Perry Anderson. Based on exclusive access to Miliband's extensive personal papers, and supplemented by interviews, this book analyzes the ideas and contribution of a key figure in the British and international Left from the Second World War until the collapse of communism. The book also provides an interpretative history of the evolution, debates and dilemmas of socialists throughout the period, and of the problems they faced both at work defending academic freedom and in society at large. Foreword About the
Author TONY BENN is a former Labor Party parliamentarian and Minister of Technology in Britain, and was for many years the unofficial leader of the British parliamentary left. If you have any technical comments or suggestions, about this web site, please send e-mail to Our Webmaster at mrwebmaster@monthlyreview.org.  |
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