Cultivating the “Proletarian Outlook”: Towards a History of the Left in Central Australia, 1920–75

2020 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-81
Author(s):  
Jason Gibson
Keyword(s):  
Communist Party ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
The Political ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Aboriginal Rights ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
Australian Region ◽  
Historical Figures ◽  
History Of ◽  
Central Australia

This article presents a history of left-wing ideas and activities in central Australia from the 1920s through to the 1970s. Although the central Australian region, and the Alice Springs district in particular, is now often associated with various Aboriginal rights struggles and other protest movements, little is known about the presence of left-wing influences prior to the 1970s. Working from archival sources, this paper begins to build up a picture of how leftists and, in particularly, those associated with the Communist Party of Australia struggled to make their presence felt in a predominantly conservative socio-economic milieu. The intent of this article is to sketch out the various historical figures, events and ideological contests that came to influence the political identity of Australia’s most isolated and scantily populated heartland over a number of decades. These vignettes also reveal how leftist politics did, and did not, have an effect on the Aboriginal rights campaigns that followed in the 1970s and onwards.

The Mensheviks and NEP Society in Russia

1982 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 347-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir Brovkin
Keyword(s):  
Communist Party ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Soviet Regime ◽  
New Period ◽  
History Of

AbstractContemporary scholarship on the development of the Soviet political system in the 1920s has largely bypassed the history of the Menshevik opposition. Those historians who regard NEP as a mere transition to Stalinism have dismissed the Menshevik experience as irrelevant,1 and those who see a democratic potential in the NEP system have focused on the free debates in the Communist party (CP), the free peasantry, the market economy, and the free arts.2 This article aims to revise some aspects of both interpretations. The story of the Mensheviks was not over by 1921. On the contrary, NEP opened a new period in the struggles over independent trade unions and elections to the Soviets; over the plight of workers and the whims of the Red Directors; over the Cheka terror and the Menshevik strategies of coping with Bolshevism. The Menshevik experience sheds new light on the transformation of the political process and the institutional changes in the Soviet regime in the course of NEP. In considering the major facets of the Menshevik opposition under NEP, I shall focus on the election campaign to the Soviets during the transition to NEP, subsequent Bolshevik-Menshevik relations, and the writings in the Menshevik underground samizdat press.

Left-wing spectrum of the Czechoslovak political opposition in search of new solutions. The late 1980s to early 1990s

2021 ◽  
pp. 154-178
Author(s):  
Emil Vorachek ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Communist Party ◽  
Future Development ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Political Opposition ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Transformational Model ◽  
History Of ◽  
Alternative Scenarios ◽  
The Revolution

The chapter is devoted to the history of the formation and activity of left-wing organizations in the Czechoslovak political opposition from the late 1980s to early 1990s. Those organizations were made up of diverse ideological currents from both inside and outside the ranks of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (СPCz). Attempts to develop alternative scenarios of social, political, and socio-economic changes in the country are examined. The left-wing had difficulties adaptating to the changing conditions provided by the leader of the revolution - the Civil Forum - towards the liberal transformational model. In general, during the period examined in the chapter, the forces of the left, for various reasons, failed to realize their vision for future development.

De Sanctis, Francesco (1817–83)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Henry
Keyword(s):  
Italian Literature ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Political ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Major Work ◽  
Institutional Renewal ◽  
History Of ◽  
Letteratura Italiana ◽  
The Right ◽  
The University

Francesco De Sanctis was a literary critic and historian of Italian literature. He is best remembered for his major work, Storia della letteratura italiana (History of Italian Literature), and as a Hegel scholar, reformer and professor at the University of Naples, politician and militant patriot. Commentators are unanimous that De Sanctis’s biographical and intellectual life comprised two inseparable strands, the literary and the political. For this reason all his writings, even the more narrowly literary critical ones, must be read from the point of view of his commitment to promoting the moral and institutional renewal of Italian society. His Storia della letteratura italiana is the ‘civil history’ of Italy. De Sanctis, actively militant on both the Right and Left, defined his position as ‘moderate left-wing, in politics as in art’.

Gramsci undisabled

Modern Italy ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Forgacs
Keyword(s):  
Short Stature ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
Spinal Tuberculosis ◽  
Striking Difference ◽  
Antonio Gramsci ◽  
Communist Movement ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Way

Most books by or about Antonio Gramsci reproduce on their covers the same studio photograph dating from the early 1920s. It is a head and shoulders portrait showing Gramsci with longish hair, dark coat buttoned at the neck, unsmiling and looking into the camera through wire-rimmed glasses. This was also the image of him most commonly displayed in Communist Party branches all over Italy from the late 1940s to 1991. Yet if we compare it with other extant photographs of Gramsci, as well as with those of other revolutionary leaders adopted as iconic in the communist movement, we can see it differs from the former and resembles the latter in several ways. The most striking difference is the erasure of any sign of Gramsci’s bodily impairment: the curvature of the spine and short stature resulting from the spinal tuberculosis he had as a child. The article examines the history of this photograph and the way it became adopted as the approved image of Gramsci and considers what was at stake in removing from official memory a condition of disability that was central to his own personal and political identity.

scholarly journals Historiography as a political battlefield (1956–1989): Italian left-wing historians on early German Social Democracy

Modern Italy ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-211
Author(s):  
Nicola D'Elia
Keyword(s):  
Social Democracy ◽  
Second World War ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
Intellectual Life ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Political Struggle ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World

The debate surrounding German Social Democracy during the era of the Second International represents an important chapter in the historiography of post-Second World War Italy. At the same time, it also marks some crucial moments in the political and intellectual life of Republican Italy. This article aims to show the close relationship between the investigation of the past and the ongoing political struggle that has characterised research on this issue. Study of the topic was practically monopolised by left-wing historians, who, in dealing with the history of German Social Democracy, aimed also to direct the political strategy of workers’ parties. Considering the studies appearing after the 1956 crisis and in the mid-1970s, such a goal seems evident. It was only during the 1980s that the research opened itself to different perspectives – no longer influenced by ideological controversies.

scholarly journals Multiple Sources of Protest Movements in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 92-109
Author(s):  
E. Kosevich ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
The World ◽  
Neoliberal Development ◽  
History Of ◽  
A Chain ◽  
Further Development

Social outbreaks which have been characteristic of the political landscape of Latin America throughout the course of history of this region , reached their peak in the late 90s of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. It can be argued without exaggeration that a special culture of mass protests has already formed in this part of the world. It functions as an independent “pressure mechanism” aimed at expanding rights and reducing historical injustice. In the fall of 2019 Latin America became the epicenter of social protests. Residents of the highest income inequality region of the world ceased restraining their discontent. It turned out to be impossible for the state authorities to react to such indignation by the usual repressive methods, thus they were forced to listen to society demands. In just a few months, Haiti, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia were caught in a massive political crisis which was marked by massive street demonstrations. Gradually, a wave of public discontent swept over countries such as Colombia and Argentina. Although the root causes of these events in each country were different, several general trends stand out in all the chaos that is happening in Latin America. These trends can be traced in all foci of instability that broke out almost simultaneously in several countries of the region. This paper attempts to analyze the main factors that led to such widespread unrest. The goal of this analysis is to reveal the unresolved problems of the region. The author identifies the main reasons that together caused social explosions, and presents them in the form of a hierarchical pyramid: from the underlying economic instability, the crisis of the neoliberal development model, social inequality; the weakening of the political system and corruption, that are situated in the middle; until the very top of the pyramid – the “democracy deficit” and the influence of social networks. In this context, I divided the article into 4 thematic blocks, which will allow a systematic review of the most important causes that set a chain reaction in motion of protest activities, as well as an assessment of the further development of the socio-political situation in Latin America. A combination of regional and country approaches were applied in this paper to the phenomenon under study.

The Nanchang Uprising

1962 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 161-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Guillermaz
Keyword(s):  
Communist Party ◽  
Chinese Communist Party ◽  
Political Context ◽  
The Political ◽  
Accurate Assessment ◽  
People's Liberation Army ◽  
Red Army ◽  
People’S Liberation Army ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Chinese Communist Party

August 1, 1927, is one of the big days in the history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It marked the opening of a military phase which was to last more than twenty years and was to leave a deep mark on the Party and the present régime both in their outlook and their structure. Symbolically, it is the birthday of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese Red Army, and it is as such that it is celebrated every year. It would perhaps be worthwhile after thirty-five years to make an accurate assessment of this event and first to place it in the political context of the time.

Utopia’s Orphan

2018 ◽  
pp. 228-246
Author(s):  
Victoria Smolkin
Keyword(s):  
Communist Party ◽  
Public Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Russian Orthodox Church ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
Communist Ideology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Soviet Communism

This conclusion examines the demise of the Communist project, along with its vision to create an atheist society. Over the course of its history, Soviet atheism developed through direct engagement with religion. These engagements exposed atheism's contradictions, pointing to the deeper crisis within Soviet Communism. The conclusion first considers Mikhail Gorbachev's reintroduction of religion into Soviet public life, highlighted by his meeting with Patriarch Pimen (Izvekov) and the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, before explaining why Soviet Communism never managed to overcome religion or produce an atheist society. It also discusses the political transformations of perestroika and cites the history of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow as an allegory for the fate of religion and atheism under Soviet Communism. Finally, it asks why the Soviet Communist Party orchestrated the divorce between Communism and atheism, and between the party's Communist ideology and political power.

“An Unpopular Cause”: The Union of Australian Women’s Support for Aboriginal Rights

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-188
Author(s):  
Lisa Milner
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
World War ◽  
Collaborative Relationships ◽  
Aboriginal Rights ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
National Organisation

The Union of Australian Women (UAW) was a national organisation for left-wing women between World War II and the emergence of the women’s liberation movement. Along with other left-wing activists, UAW members supported Aboriginal rights, through their policies, publications and actions. They also attracted a number of Aboriginal members including Pearl Gibbs, Gladys O’Shane, Dulcie Flower and Faith Bandler. Focusing on NSW activity in the assimilation period, this article argues that the strong support of UAW members for Aboriginal rights drew upon the group’s establishment far-left politics, its relations with other women’s groups and the activism of its Aboriginal members. Non-Aboriginal members of the UAW gave practical and resourceful assistance to their Aboriginal comrades in a number of campaigns through the assimilation era, forming productive and collaborative relationships. Many of their campaigns aligned with approaches of the Communist Party of Australia and left-wing trade unions. In assessing the relationship between the UAW and Aboriginal rights, this article addresses a gap in the scholarship of assimilation era activism.

Living with friends

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Mai
Keyword(s):  
Communist Party ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Relationship ◽  
Shared Activity ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
History Of

This chapter examines Guédiguian’s youth in l’Estaque, a “communist” neighbourhood of Marseille, his political activism, his transition away from the Communist party, and finally a turn toward friendship as a figure for human interaction. The chapter examines the history of l’Estaque. It tells of Guédiguian’s friendship with Gérard Meylan, his meeting Ariane Ascaride, and then his disillusion with the Communist party, corresponding with his entry into filmmaking, but filmmaking that is not so much an industry or an art form as a way of “remaining with friends” through shared activity and cooperation. The chapter turns to the philosophy of friendship since Aristotle to ground this move in what Aristotle calls “eudaimonia” or the flourishing life. From there it discusses the political implications of a human relationship built on philia in a cultural period, our own, in which different figures of human interaction, the figures of the consumer and the entrepreneur are dominant. It concludes with a discussion of how Guédiguian’s cinema offers a way forward to those who have felt politically alienated during a period of economic “neoliberalism.”

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