‘…two monstrous antagonistic structures’: E.P. Thompson’s Marxist Historical Philosophy and Peace Activism during the Cold War

Stefan Berger; C. Wicke

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-03804-5_7

‘…two monstrous antagonistic structures’: E.P. Thompson’s Marxist Historical Philosophy and Peace Activism during the Cold War

Stefan Berger, C. Wicke

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

E. P. Thompson was a Marxist, a radical as well as a pacifist, who had been very active, first in the Communist Party of Great Britain, and subsequently in the New Left and in the peace movement. He was one of the founding fathers of European Nuclear Disarmament (END) and widely acknowledged as intellectual leader of the British peace movement, both at home and abroad. In this article, we focus primarily on how his Marxism influenced his commitment to peace. Many of his historical and political writings, including his novels, were extremely popular among peace activists so that one can assume a wide readership and hence considerable influence of Thompson in the peace movement. We shall ask how his Marxism informed his peace activism and what connections he drew between a Marxist social analysis and the demands to overcome the bipolar world order of the Cold War that, in his eyes, prevented progressive political developments and threatened humanity with extinction.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Marxist Historical Cultures and Social Movements in Western Europe during the Cold War
Editors	Stefan Berger, Christoph Cornelissen
Publisher	Palgrave Macmillan
Pages	163-185
Number of pages	23
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-030-03804-5
ISBN (Print)	978-3-030-03803-8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03804-5_7
Publication status	Published - 2019

Publication series

Name	Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements

Keywords

activim
anti-fascism
marxist historians
left-wing historiography
germany
italy
peace movement
1968 student movement
women's movement
solidarity movement
third world
feminism
anti-imperialism

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-030-03804-5_7

Berger-Wicke2019_Chapter_TwoMonstrousAntagonisticStructFinal published version, 266 KBLicence: Taverne

Cite this

Berger, S., & Wicke, C. (2019). ‘…two monstrous antagonistic structures’: E.P. Thompson’s Marxist Historical Philosophy and Peace Activism during the Cold War. In S. Berger, & C. Cornelissen (Eds.), Marxist Historical Cultures and Social Movements in Western Europe during the Cold War (pp. 163-185). (Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03804-5_7

Berger, Stefan ; Wicke, C. / ‘…two monstrous antagonistic structures’: E.P. Thompson’s Marxist Historical Philosophy and Peace Activism during the Cold War. Marxist Historical Cultures and Social Movements in Western Europe during the Cold War . editor / Stefan Berger ; Christoph Cornelissen. Palgrave Macmillan, 2019. pp. 163-185 (Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements).

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title = "{\textquoteleft}…two monstrous antagonistic structures{\textquoteright}: E.P. Thompson{\textquoteright}s Marxist Historical Philosophy and Peace Activism during the Cold War",

abstract = "E. P. Thompson was a Marxist, a radical as well as a pacifist, who had been very active, first in the Communist Party of Great Britain, and subsequently in the New Left and in the peace movement. He was one of the founding fathers of European Nuclear Disarmament (END) and widely acknowledged as intellectual leader of the British peace movement, both at home and abroad. In this article, we focus primarily on how his Marxism influenced his commitment to peace. Many of his historical and political writings, including his novels, were extremely popular among peace activists so that one can assume a wide readership and hence considerable influence of Thompson in the peace movement. We shall ask how his Marxism informed his peace activism and what connections he drew between a Marxist social analysis and the demands to overcome the bipolar world order of the Cold War that, in his eyes, prevented progressive political developments and threatened humanity with extinction.",

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Berger, S & Wicke, C 2019, ‘…two monstrous antagonistic structures’: E.P. Thompson’s Marxist Historical Philosophy and Peace Activism during the Cold War. in S Berger & C Cornelissen (eds), Marxist Historical Cultures and Social Movements in Western Europe during the Cold War . Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 163-185. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03804-5_7

‘…two monstrous antagonistic structures’: E.P. Thompson’s Marxist Historical Philosophy and Peace Activism during the Cold War. / Berger, Stefan; Wicke, C.
Marxist Historical Cultures and Social Movements in Western Europe during the Cold War . ed. / Stefan Berger; Christoph Cornelissen. Palgrave Macmillan, 2019. p. 163-185 (Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Academic › peer-review

TY - CHAP

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AB - E. P. Thompson was a Marxist, a radical as well as a pacifist, who had been very active, first in the Communist Party of Great Britain, and subsequently in the New Left and in the peace movement. He was one of the founding fathers of European Nuclear Disarmament (END) and widely acknowledged as intellectual leader of the British peace movement, both at home and abroad. In this article, we focus primarily on how his Marxism influenced his commitment to peace. Many of his historical and political writings, including his novels, were extremely popular among peace activists so that one can assume a wide readership and hence considerable influence of Thompson in the peace movement. We shall ask how his Marxism informed his peace activism and what connections he drew between a Marxist social analysis and the demands to overcome the bipolar world order of the Cold War that, in his eyes, prevented progressive political developments and threatened humanity with extinction.

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KW - women's movement

KW - solidarity movement

KW - third world

KW - feminism

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Berger S, Wicke C. ‘…two monstrous antagonistic structures’: E.P. Thompson’s Marxist Historical Philosophy and Peace Activism during the Cold War. In Berger S, Cornelissen C, editors, Marxist Historical Cultures and Social Movements in Western Europe during the Cold War . Palgrave Macmillan. 2019. p. 163-185. (Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements). doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-03804-5_7

‘…two monstrous antagonistic structures’: E.P. Thompson’s Marxist Historical Philosophy and Peace Activism during the Cold War

Abstract

Publication series

Keywords

UN SDGs

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