Peter Miller
For anyone in the labour movement, it’s good to take time to read some inspiring labour history to give you some fire to get organizing! Endicott’s book is perfect for this inspiration.
The book analyzes the Saskatchewan miners’ struggle of 1931, organized with support from the Workers Unity League. The Mine Workers’ Union of Canada, affiliated to the Worker’ Unity League, was connected with the Red International of Labour Unions. It’s main organizers were inspired by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and were militants in a labour central focused on class struggle, instead of collaboration with the bosses and their governments. The union organized workers based on industry instead of craft, and combined political demands for things like non-contributory unemployment insurance, with bread-and-butter economic demands for working members. The union was also much more democratic than other unions at the time, with regular mass meetings and democratically elected strike committees.
Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts
July 4, 2018
March 10, 2014
Isaac Asimov on 1984
Labels:
1984,
anti-communism,
book review,
isaac asimov


This year marks the 65th anniversary of one of the classic tomes of anti-communist writing, George Orwell's 1984. Today the book is required reading in high schools, colleges and universities across Canada. It has been made famous and is on best readings lists across the country.
What is less well known is that its author, Eric Blair, wasn't adverse to helping Big Capitalist Brother, passing a list of over 30 friends and acquaintances he had made in public life and whom he regarded as Soviet sympathisers, including film star Charlie Chaplin, the actor Michael Redgrave (Vanessa Redgrave's father) and the historian E. H. Carr.
But was Orwell a very good science-fiction writer? Here we publish the view of the famous science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov, whose critique while not pro-socialist does raise some serious criticisms that might be especially helpful to high school readers "struggling" with this mandatory text.
I've been writing a four-part article for Field Newspaper Syndicate at the beginning of each year for several years now and in 1980, mindful of the approach of the year 1984, FNS asked me to write a thorough critique of George Orwell's novel 1984.
I was reluctant. I remembered almost nothing of the book and said so - but Denison Demac, the lovely young woman who is my contact at FNS, simply sent me a copy of it and said, 'Read it.'
So I read it and found myself absolutely astonished at what I read. I wondered how many people who talked about the novel so glibly had ever read it; or if they had, whether they remembered it at all.
I felt I would have to write the critique if only to set people straight. (I'm sorry; I love setting people straight.)
What is less well known is that its author, Eric Blair, wasn't adverse to helping Big Capitalist Brother, passing a list of over 30 friends and acquaintances he had made in public life and whom he regarded as Soviet sympathisers, including film star Charlie Chaplin, the actor Michael Redgrave (Vanessa Redgrave's father) and the historian E. H. Carr.
But was Orwell a very good science-fiction writer? Here we publish the view of the famous science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov, whose critique while not pro-socialist does raise some serious criticisms that might be especially helpful to high school readers "struggling" with this mandatory text.
* * * *
I've been writing a four-part article for Field Newspaper Syndicate at the beginning of each year for several years now and in 1980, mindful of the approach of the year 1984, FNS asked me to write a thorough critique of George Orwell's novel 1984.
I was reluctant. I remembered almost nothing of the book and said so - but Denison Demac, the lovely young woman who is my contact at FNS, simply sent me a copy of it and said, 'Read it.'
So I read it and found myself absolutely astonished at what I read. I wondered how many people who talked about the novel so glibly had ever read it; or if they had, whether they remembered it at all.
I felt I would have to write the critique if only to set people straight. (I'm sorry; I love setting people straight.)
July 19, 2009
web/book review: early communist literature
Labels:
book review,
review


It's 1919, the First World War has just ended, millions of workers still have in their minds all the waste and death from that war. The economy is slow. But strikes are taking place everywhere. Winnipeg is having its General Strike. The Russian Revolution only happened a couple of years before.
In the United States of America, a new party formed. It was a communist party. And it published this leaflet below.
above: screen shot from the internet archive, just click on "read online" to view document.
The above leaflet doesn't seems very outdated. It discusses its split from the Socialist Party, which had become controlled by its Right wing. The leaflet attacks the tepid reformist platform of the Socialist Party.
The communists were not the only people to attack the Socialist Party:
The IWW also viewed the reformist party in a bad light. Today the equivalent of the Socialist Party of old is the New Democratic Party of today. In Manitoba the provincial NDP have become more and more right wing.
Before there was even a communist party, or the Russian revolution for that matter, was the Socialist Party. A publication discussing its newspaper the appeal to reason, is also among documents hosted on the Internet Archive website.
The Internet Archive has a huge selection of books available online, including Project Guttenburg selections.
Just type in "communist" in the search bar and a ton of communist and anti-communist documents come up, produced by hollywood, chambers of commerce, the FBI, house of un American activities, and of course communist parties themselves. Among them, a history of the Young Communist International (including early history of WFDY) and Why every worker should join the Communist Party.
In the United States of America, a new party formed. It was a communist party. And it published this leaflet below.
above: screen shot from the internet archive, just click on "read online" to view document.
The above leaflet doesn't seems very outdated. It discusses its split from the Socialist Party, which had become controlled by its Right wing. The leaflet attacks the tepid reformist platform of the Socialist Party.
The communists were not the only people to attack the Socialist Party:

Before there was even a communist party, or the Russian revolution for that matter, was the Socialist Party. A publication discussing its newspaper the appeal to reason, is also among documents hosted on the Internet Archive website.
The Internet Archive has a huge selection of books available online, including Project Guttenburg selections.
Just type in "communist" in the search bar and a ton of communist and anti-communist documents come up, produced by hollywood, chambers of commerce, the FBI, house of un American activities, and of course communist parties themselves. Among them, a history of the Young Communist International (including early history of WFDY) and Why every worker should join the Communist Party.
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