Guy Aldred
Jun 1 2009 01:23
Is this guy worth reading? Ive just finished 'An Anarchists Story" which is the book account to accompany the recent documentary on Ethel Macdonalds time in Spain and her life (I will review the book soon as it was published only this year) and this guy was a promient thinker in the USM which Ethel was involved in for many years.
Its of interest that he started out in the Communist League just after the Russian Revolution but broke over issue of parliamentary involvement via the A-PCF and had a minority view on the role of the CP that most libertarians would agree with but politically he seems more from the liberal end; pacifism, supporting Indian nationalism, free-love, money from wealthy benefactors etc, and he split with the A-PCF over what I can amount to sectarianism.
Jun 3 2009 17:38
#2
There's a fair bit of stuff in the library; http://libcom.org/search/node/guy%20aldred
Aldred was close to the European council communists for a while and was generally anti-parliamentarist communist. His "Indian nationalism, free-love" etc seem afaik to be later diversions and not what gave him relevance to the class struggles of his time.
This; http://libcom.org/library/communism-story-communist-party-guy-aldred is an informed analysis of the post-1917 use of the world communist Party movement as a counter-revolutionary vehicle of Russian foreign policy.
Jun 3 2009 19:11
#3
He was an odd ball but I found 'Come dungeons dark' a good read. The (post-Aldred) APCF pamphlet 'Class War on the Home Front also well worth reading.
Jun 3 2009 20:07
#4
Guy Aldred is certainly worth reading. Much of his work is reproduced in pamphlet form by Hobnail Press, the Libertarian Communist publisher. These include Trade Unionism & Class War; The Socialism and Anti Parliamentarism of William Morris; Introducing Bakunin; Enrico Malatesta: A revolutionary life; The Story of the Chicago Martyrs; Representation and the state; The Case for Anarchism; Socialism and Marriage and much more.
Hobnail Press has also published a number of texts, under the Proletarian Aspirations Imprint, from and about the APCF, of which Aldred was a founding member in 1921.
These pamphlets are available from Housmans and Freedom Bookshop; by mail order from Active and AK Distro. They are also available direct from the publisher, Hobnail Press c/o Freedom Bookshop - a SAE will secure a booklist. Alternatively, if you PM me i can email one as an attachment.
Nasty Ned mentions 'Come Dungeons Dark' by John Taylor Caldwell as a worthy read, I would also like to mention the authors 2 part auto-biography 'Severely Dealt With' and With Fate Conspire'. Caldwell was a life-long comrade of Aldred. These three books are oop, but are available from Amazon.
Jun 9 2009 15:59
#5
Cheers guys, I managed to get a few of the literature mentioned and will give them a look.
Jun 9 2009 17:20
#6
playinghob wrote:
Nasty Ned mentions 'Come Dungeons Dark' by John Taylor Caldwell as a worthy read, I would also like to mention the authors 2 part auto-biography 'Severely Dealt With' and With Fate Conspire'. Caldwell was a life-long comrade of Aldred. These three books are oop, but are available from Amazon.
AK Press stock Come Dungeons Dark and Severely Dealt With and may well be cheaper than buying via Amazon where you'll get stung on postage.
Jun 9 2009 18:13
#7
Do you really believe that "free love" was liberal in the 1920s? Should we discount Alexandra Kollontai and Wlhelm Reich as well?
Jun 9 2009 21:49
#8
No in the 1920's it was radical since he was arguing for family planning and matters of sex being of no matter to the state. But taken with a few of his odd ball activities, I think it leaves you with an impression his politics were certainly eccentric in areas.
Got one of Aldred's Strickland Press pamphlets - Studies in Communism, from 1940, of which there seemed to be loads floating around in the early '80s...I still haven't read it (Strickland was the wealthy benefactor I think). It would be hypocritical of me to say, 'Yes, definitely worth a read', when I've yet to get round to it myself. There's also John Taylor Caldwell's biography, Come Dungeons Dark: The Life and Times of Guy Aldred, Glasgow Anarchist, published by Luath Press, Barr, Ayrshire in 1988 - it looks very interesting, just haven't got round to it. I have read Mark Shipway's Anti-Parliamentary Communism: the Movement for Workers' Councils in Britain, and John Quail's The Slow Burning Fuse; the Lost History of British Anarchism, both of which cover Aldred in some detail.