Marxist Writers: Paul Foot
Marxists’ Internet Archive
Paul Foot
1937 – 2004
“Only the working masses can change society; but they will not do that spontaneously, on their own. They can rock capitalism back onto its heels but they will only knock it out if they have the organisation, the socialist party, which can show the was to a new, socialist order of society. Such a party does not just emerge. It can only be built out of the day-to-day struggles of working people.” – Why you should be a socialist, 1977
Biography:
Despite coming from a ruling-class background, Paul Foot broke politically with his class and became a revolutionary socialist while working as a young journalist on the Daily Record in Glasgow. He became one of the finest investigative journalists of his generation and was responsible for exposing corruption in high places and the blatant injustice of the British legal system.
He was a great populariser of the socialist message both in print and in person at innumerable meetings up and down Britain. He also published a number of important political studies (e.g. on Harold Wilson and Enoch Powell) as well introducing a new generation to the revolutionary message of radical poets such as Percy Shelley and William Blake.
In 2000 he received the Journalist of the Decade award in recognition of his principled struggle against injustice. This archive attempts to provide a glimpse of all aspects of his political work.
Obituary:
Paul Foot 1937–2004, by Chris Harman (Socialist Worker, No. 1911, 24 July 2004)
Works:
1963
Unemployment – The Socialist Answer (pamphlet)
Autumn 1965
Spring 1966
Summer 1968
June 1968
Mirror, Mirror on the wall, is Cecil the fairest of them all? (column)
July 1968
Business as usual on the Barbican – Workers versus management (column)
14 September 1968
28 September 1968
26 October 1968
16 November 1968
23 November 1968
30 November 1968
21 December 1968
Derry – the grim facts about Ulster’s divide and rule city ...
1 February 1969
8 February 1969
5 April 1969
How Barbara forgot the starving masses and learned to love the bosses
19 April 1969
1 May 1969
5 June 1969
Press Barons’ quest for profits threatens jobs in Fleet Street
April/May 1970
July 1970
1971
The Postal Workers and the Tory Offensive (pamphlet)
21 August 1971
Army reign of terror (with Jimmy Grealy, Chris Harman & Brian Trench)
July 1972
The Old Firm (book review)
1973
15 September 1973
February 1974
Portrait of an Appalling Man (book review)
13 April 1974
June 1975
Shelley: The trumpet of a prophecy (extended book review)
1976
Stop the Cuts (pamphlet)
1977
25 June 1977
How much longer must these people be hounded and humiliated? (with Lionel Starling)
April 1978
For law, read class (book review)
1979
The Woman who Built Barricades – Louise Michel and the Paris Commune
June 1979
Blair – our brother, our friend (obituary)
2 February 1980
March 1980
May 1981
Shirley, Shirley, quite contrary, how will your garden grow?
June 1981
“This bright day of Summer”: The Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 (pamphlet)
March 1982
Three letters to a Bennite (pamphlet)
July 1983
January 1984
May 1984
1985
February 1985
Late Developer (book review)
February 1985
May 1985
January 1986
‘An Agitator of the Worst Type’: A portrait of miners’ leader A.J. Cook (pamphlet)
15 February 1986
17 May 1986
101 years of not thinking (obituary)
December 1986
Off the Christmas tree (book review)
December 1986
March 1987
Without a paddle (extended book review)
May 1987
June 1987
October 1987
Victor Gollancz – From Marx to muddle (book review)
January 1988
January 1988
January 1988
February 1988
Poor on pioneers (letter) (with Margaret Renn)
April 1988
Harry McShane (obituary)
July 1988
September 1988
The great times they could have had (book review)
7 January 1989
March 1989
June 1989
July 1989
July 1989
15 July 1989
22 July 1989
November 1989
Dead ringer (film review)
11 November 1989
January 1990
Tribunes and the people (extended theatre review)
March 1990
July 1990
The Case for Socialism (book)
21 July 1990
November 1990
17 November 1990
February 1991
Spring 1991
An open letter to New Left Review (with Alex Callinicos, Mike Gonzalez, Chris Harman & John Molyneux)
April 1991
1 June 1991
July 1991
July 1991
Toussaint L’Ouverture: The Haitian Slave Revolt of 1791 (lecture)
November 1991
14 December 1991
February 1992
Saints and devils (book review)
May 1992
27 June 1992
July 1992
11 July 1992
October 1992
November 1992
7 November 1992
12 December 1992
23 January 1993
February 1993
13 February 1993
10 April 1993
May 1993
Vision of a new world (extended book review)
1 May 1993
June 1993
3 July 1993
September 1993
9 September 1993
December 1993
Christmas Crackers (book review)
May 1994
June 1994
18 June 1994
30 July 1994
10 September 1994
October 1994
16 October 1994
November 1994
May 1995
Summer 1995
June 1995
Pipe dreams (obituary)
July 1995
15 July 1995
29 July 1995
12 August 1995
19 August 1995
What Have They Got To Hide? Tories, arms and the Scott report
26 August 1995
October 1995
7 October 1995
November 1995
December 1995
16 December 1995
February 1996
March 1996
June 1996
A Passionate Prophet of Liberation (extended book review)
29 June 1996
July 1996
In the colonial style (book review)
13 July 1996
October 1996
7 November 1996
30 November 1996
December 1996
January 1997
April 1997
5 April 1997
May 1997
July 1997
12 July 1997
September 1997
The triple whammy (book review)
January 1998
February 1998
The Lessing legend (book review)
March 1998
Beyond the Powell (obituary)
July 1998
December 1998
January 1999
February 1999
2000
JanUary 2000
11 April 2000
Tony Cliff (obituary)
May 2000
Tribune of the People (interview)
October 2000
Big Business and Government: Tony Blair’s well oiled machine
November 2000
2001
Why You Should Vote Socialist (pamphlet)
January 2001
Ireland: Come all you young rebels (preview)
20 January 2001
Ross Pritchard – dedicated socialist (obituary)
February 2001
March 2001
Haunted by the Future (theatre review)
June 2001
November 2001
November 2001
December 2001
January 2002
19 January 2002
March 2002
March 2002
Doing the Deed of Death (theatre review)
May 2002
June 2002
Red Barbara’s Rocky Road (obituary)
July 2002
Slaughterhouse Six (theatre review)
14 September 2002
Shaking up New Labour (interview)
28 September 2002
Duncan Hallas: We owe him a huge debt (obituary)
23 November 2002
December 2002
Stocking Thriller (book review)
15 February 2003
April 2003
June 2003
July 2003
26 July 2003
25 October 2003
November 2003
December 2003
2004
How capitalism corrupts Labour politicians (extract from The Vote)
24 January 2004
February 2004
April 2004
Last updated on 17 January 2021