Marxist Writers: Chris Harman
Marxists’ Internet Archive
Chris Harman
(1942 – 2009)
If we look at the way society is developing today in many parts of the globe we can see, all too vividly, the face of barbarism. But we can also see struggles against the system that repeatedly throw up notions of real advance, based on solidarity, on cooperation, on people caring for each other as they consciously and collectively work out their own futures. Those who preach halfhearted reform of the existing system preach a capitulation to barbarism. Those of us who look to revolution see in these struggles the possibility of going forward, not back. There is still, as Marx and Engels wrote at the end of the Communist Manifesto, ‘a world to win’.
Economics of the Madhouse, 1995
Biography:
Born in 1942, Chris Harman joined the Socialist Review Group – predecessor to the International Socialists (IS), which became the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) – as a schoolboy in Watford. After studying at Leeds University in 1961–4, he went on to pursue doctoral research at the London School of Economics (LSE). However, he became a leading activist in the struggles at LSE in the late 1960s and abandoned his academic career.
For the rest of his life he worked full-time for IS and the SWP, initially as editor of International Socialism and a journalist on Socialist Worker. He edited Socialist Worker in 1975–7 and then again between 1982 and 2004. Finally he returned to edit International Socialism until his death. He died on the eve of his 67th birthday while attending a socialist conference in Cairo. He was one of the most important theoreticians of the International Socialist Tendency (IST).
In addition to his journalistic work he was a prolific writer. He wrote The Fire Last Time, a study of the significance of 1968 and the following years for revolutionary politics, The Lost Revolution, 1918-1923, a study of the German Revolution, The Prophet and the Proletariat, a controversial study of radical Islam, A People’s History of the World, an ambitious survey of the history of humanity, and Explaining the Crisis, Economics of the Madhouse and Zombie Capitalism, attempts to show the relevance of Marxism to understanding the recurrent economic crisis of recent decades, as well a innumerable articles in International Socialism, Socialist Review and Socialist Worker and other publications.
Obituaries
Works:
Autumn 1963:
Polish October (book review)
Winter 1964/65:
Osagyefo Pensant (book review)
Winter 1964/65:
Nobly Wrong (book review) (written as Colin Humphrey)
Summer 1965:
Sociological Strivings (book review)
Summer 1965:
Stalin’s Great Shadow (book review)
Summer 1965:
Summer 1965:
Working Classes (book review)
Autumn 1965:
Return to Utopia (book review)
Winter 1965:
Irish Problems (book review)
Spring 1966:
The Restoration (book review)
Spring 1966:
Autumn 1966:
Looking Glasses (book review) (written as Colin Humphries)
Autumn 1966:
Categorically Thinking (book review) (written as Colin Humphries)
November 1966:
Winter 1966/67:
Australian Mirrors (book review) (written as Colin Humphries)
Winter 1966/67:
Liberal Evasions (book review) (written as Colin Humphries)
Winter 1966/67:
Join and Collapse (book review)
Spring 1967:
Italian Theory (book review)
Spring 1967:
Mud Cannot Split (book review)
March 1967:
Autumn 1967:
Russia – How the Revolution was Lost (pamphlet)
Autumn 1967:
Marxist Morals? (book review)
Autumn 1967:
Paper Radicals (book review)
Winter 1967/68:
Success and Failure (book review)
Spring 1968:
Gramsci (book review)
June 1968:
June 1968:
A Revolutionary Socialist Manifesto (unpublished pamphlet)
- Appendix: I.S. Manifesto
August 1968:
7 September 1968:
Autumn 1968:
Vietnam (book review)
10 October 1968:
Winter 1968/69:
Party and Class (pamphlet)
January 1969:
March 1969:
April 1969:
Dubcek’s downfall – now it’s back to ‘orthodox’ repression ...
June 1969:
June 1969:
Ruling Ideas (book review)
28 August 1969:
December 1969:
The Inconsistencies of Ernest Mandel (extended book review)
February 1970:
Their Election and Us (editorial)
February 1970:
April 1970:
Students (editorial)
July 1970:
The Pilkingtons Strike (survey)
July 1970:
Capitalism Eastern Style (book review)
November 1970:
Tory Government Policy (editorial)
November 1970:
Cuba – The End of a Road? (survey)
30 January 1971:
February 1971:
[Industrial Relations Bill] (editorial)
February 1971:
Bother on the Baltic (survey)
February 1971:
April 1971:
Two Offensives (editorial)
June 1971:
The Years of Revolt (written with Joan Smith as Christopher Smith)
June 1971:
Autumn 1971:
Autumn 1971:
Hue and Cry (book review)
Autumn 1971:
Two Marx’s or One? (book review) (written as Colin Humphries)
Autumn 1971:
Bounced Czech (book review) (written as Colin Humphries)
20 November 1971:
April 1972:
Antonio Gramsci (book review) (written as Colin Humphreys)
July 1972:
Hungary – Failure of Economic Reform (survey)
July 1972:
January 1973:
January 1973:
US Arms for Chile’s Generals (survey)
March 1973:
Let History Judge (book review)
April 1973:
The Politics of Soviet Agriculture (book review)
May 1973:
British Steel in Crisis (with Rob Clay)
July 1973:
September 1973:
Chile – End of the parliamentary road (with Ian Birchall)
October 1973:
October 1973:
Middle East (notes of the month)
November 1973:
[Phase 3 – Fire Down Below] (notes of the month)
November 1973:
In Brief (book review)
November 1973:
The Axe (book review) (written as Stuart Morgan)
November 1973:
Romania’s Ceausescu (book review)
November 1973:
The Spanish Civil War (extended book review)
December 1973:
[Capitalism in Crisis] (notes of the month)
February 1974:
Danger Tory Crisis (notes of the month)
March 1974:
[The New Labour Government] (notes of the month)
April 1974:
[Labour Government] (notes of the month)
April 1974:
Students (notes of the month)
April 1974:
Scottish Nationalism (notes of the month)
May 1974:
An Alienated Man (book review) (written as Colin Humphreys)
June 1974:
[After Phase 3] (notes of the month)
June 1974:
Fists Against Fascists (notes of the month)
June 1974:
Portugal (notes of the month)
June 1974:
September 1974:
[A New Election] (notes of the month)
October 1974:
[The New Labour Government] (notes of the month)
October 1974:
Ireland and the British Crisis (notes of the month)
October 1974:
October 1974:
The Private Sector in Soviet Agriculture (book review) (written as Colin Humphreys)
24 November 1974:
1975:
The Struggle in Ireland (pamphlet)
March 1975:
March 1975:
May 1975:
November 1975:
November 1976:
1977:
The workers’ government (with Tim Potter)
January 1977:
March 1977:
One Small Mistake (letter)
April 1977:
The Politics of Spain (book review)
May 1977:
May 1977:
Inside German communism/Hamburg at the Barricades (book review)
June 1977:
July 1977:
27 August 1977:
The day we stopped the Nazis ... and the police ran amok (with John Rose)
September 1977:
Eurocommunism – The State and Revolution (extended book review)
April 1978:
July 1978:
July 1978:
Mandel’s Late Capitalism (extended book review)
September 1978:
No more Grunwicks (with Lindsey German)
September 1978:
Autumn 1978:
Forward from 1968 – or back to 1928? – A reply to Martin Shaw
October 1978:
What’s happening in Iran? (with Ali Ahmadi)
November 1978:
Ideas for here & now (book review)
November 1978:
January 1979:
Is a Machine After Your Job? (pamphlet)
Spring 1979:
March 1979:
May 1979:
How Marxism Works (book)
May 1979:
Rebels without a cause? (book review)
June 1979:
Why Labour fails (pamphlet)
November 1979:
January 1980:
The Revolution that never was (book review)
February 1980:
February 1980:
February 1980:
March 1980:
March 1980:
April 1980:
May 1980:
When the Ruhr was Red (book review)
Summer 1980:
June 1980:
Ever-decreasing circles (book review)
July 1980:
An exchange of views (correspondence with the International Marxist Group)
July 1980:
B. Traven – Voice of the hanged (writer reviewed)
September 1980:
October 1980:
November 1980:
Fighting Back Against the Sack – Organising for occupation (interview)
November 1980:
December 1980:
Bob Wright – What went wrong in the AUEW? (interview)
Winter 1981:
January 1981:
January 1981:
For Marxists only (book review)
January 1981:
February 1981:
Between war and revolution (book review)
February 1981:
May 1981:
May 1981:
it wasn’t always thus ... (book review)
May 1981:
Summer 1981:
June 1981:
Interview with Ken Livingstone – Leading London leftwards? (with Pete Goodwin)
July 1981:
Drawing the class line (book review)
September 1981:
Autumn 1981:
October 1981:
From the editor (letter)
November 1981:
Contours at the crisis (book review)
November 1981:
December 1981:
Debate on the Labour Party:
- Tariq Ali: Why I’m Joining the Labour Party
- Chris Harman & Pete Goodwin: Why you are wrong
December 1981:
December 1981:
What produced Solidarity (book review)
Spring 1982:
State capitalism, armaments and the general form of the current crisis
March 1982:
The road to Jaruzelski (book review)
April 1982:
September 1982:
In defence of Marx (book review)
May 1983:
What Gramsci didn’t say (book review)
June 1983:
Increasing blindness (book review)
September 1983:
Interesting titbits (book review)
Autumn 1983:
January 1984:
1984:
Explaining the Crisis (book)
Spring 1984:
March 1984:
Squaddism in Nazi Germany (book review)
April 1984:
Bureaucratic strikes (letter)
May 1984:
Summer 1984:
The revolutionary press (pamphlet)
September 1984:
September 1984:
The Origins of the Family (extended review article)
September 1984:
Socialist detectives? (book review)
October 1984:
December 1984:
Ireland – The Missing Key (extended book review)
December 1984:
A liberal apology (book review)
January 1985:
April 1985:
Missed opportunities (book review)
Summer 1985:
November 1985:
How the Working Class votes (extended book review)
November 1985:
The impossible change (book review)
1986:
February 1986:
Stalinist heroism (book review)
March 1986:
March 1986:
April 1986:
Men of metal (book review) (as Colin Humphries)
April 1986:
Summer 1986:
June 1986:
Charting the struggle (book review)
June 1986:
Marx – ideas and struggle (book review)
Autumn 1986:
September 1986:
The German Revolution (extended book review)
September 1986:
25 October 1986:
December 1986:
A moral majority? (book review)
January 1987:
July 1987:
January 1988:
Ducking the issues (reply to an Open Letter from Hilary Wainwright)
February 1988:
March 1988:
April 1988:
April 1988:
To be and not to be (book review)
May 1988:
Summer 1988:
Glasnost – before the storm (with Andy Zebrowski)
June 1988:
The gravedigger (extended book review)
June 1988:
July 1988:
Crisis in Eastern Europe (with Simon Terry & Andy Zebrowski)
September 1988:
October 1988:
November 1988:
December 1988:
December 1988:
January 1989:
When will the bubble burst? (interview)
February 1989:
Spring 1989:
May 1989:
Summer 1989:
The Market and the future of Eastern Europe (notes for a speech)
June 1989:
C.L.R. James: writer and revolutionary (obituary)
June 1989:
July 1989:
Birth of resistance (book review)
July 1989:
September 1989:
October 1989:
October 1989:
Valuable Volumes (extended book review)
Winter 1989:
December 1989:
The right medicine (book review)
December 1989:
January 1990:
January 1990:
Spring 1990:
March 1990:
April 1990:
May 1990:
Clash of two systems (review article)
May 1990:
Summer 1990:
From Trotsky to state capitalism (extended book review)
June 1990:
July 1990:
July 1990:
Why they can’t deliver (interview)
October 1990:
November 1990:
Winter 1990:
Criticism which does not withstand the test of logic – A Reply to Ernest Mandel
December 1990:
February 1991:
February 1991:
Spring 1991
An open letter to New Left Review (with Alex Callinicos, Mike Gonzalez, Paul Foot & John Molyneux)
March 1991:
April 1991:
May 1991:
Summer 1991:
June 1991:
Back to our roots (book review)
July 1991:
Myth and magic (book review)
July 1991:
September 1991:
October 1991:
November 1991:
A class of robots? (book review)
November 1991:
December 1991:
January 1992:
Hidden treasure (book review)
January 1992:
Spring 1992:
Blood simple (book review)
February 1992:
The evolution revolution – Interview with James Moore (with Lindsey German)
February 1992:
March 1992:
April 1992:
May 1992:
Bonfire of the certainties (review article)
May 1992:
June 1992:
July 1992:
Autumn 1992:
October 1992:
November 1992:
7 November 1992:
Dave Widgery – Carrying the spirit of revolt (obituary)
December 1992:
January 1993:
Mutual destruction (book review)
January 1993:
Spring 1993:
March 1993:
April 1993:
May 1993:
June 1993:
June 1993:
Where we came from (review article)
July 1993:
Autumn 1993:
October 1993:
Red letters (book review)
October 1993:
The workers’ weekly (interview)
November 1993:
December 1993:
Christmas Crackers (book review)
December 1993:
1994:
Islamism – An Analysis (draft of part of The Prophet and the Proletariat)
January 1994:
January 1994:
Spring 1994:
Change at the first millennium (book review)
February 1994:
February 1994:
Upsetting the stall (book review)
March 1994:
April 1994:
April 1994:
Nato’s new frontier (book review)
May 1994:
Half a critique of political economy (book review)
June 1994:
July 1994:
July 1994:
Unlocking the prison house (book review)
Autumn 1994:
The Prophet and the Proletariat (pamphlet)
September 1994:
October 1994:
November 1994:
Winter 1994:
December 1994:
1995:
Economics of the Madhouse (book)
January 1995:
January 1995:
Missing the point (theatre review)
January 1995:
Touching base (book review)
February 1995:
Capital gains (book review)
February 1995:
March 1995:
March 1995:
Novel approach (book review)
April 1995:
May 1995:
Summer 1995:
June 1995:
Is there an alternative to the market? (with Meghnad Desai) (debate)
July 1995:
My Favourite Films (film review)
July 1995:
July 1995:
Town and country (book review)
September 1995:
October 1995:
November 1995:
Mistaken identity (theatre review)
November 1995:
December 1995:
January 1996:
February 1996:
February 1996:
Northern star (book review)
March 1996:
March 1996:
Ghosts in the machine (theatre review)
March 1996:
April 1996:
April 1996:
The vicious circle (book review)
May 1996:
No place like home (book review)
June 1996:
June 1996:
July 1996:
October 1996:
November 1996:
Winter 1996:
December 1996:
January 1997:
January 1997:
Workers’ blow to Moscow (book review)
February 1997:
February 1997:
A tour of capitals (book review)
March 1997:
April 1997:
May 1997:
May 1997:
No fear of contradiction (theatre review)
May 1997:
Writing on the wall (book review)
June 1997:
June 1997:
July 1997:
September 1997:
Academy awards (book review)
September 1997:
October 1997:
October 1997:
When east meets west (book review)
November 1997:
December 1997:
January 1998:
January 1998:
Subjects and objects (book review)
February 1998:
Spring 1998:
April 1998:
May 1998:
June 1998:
July 1998:
August 1998:
October 1998:
November 1998:
1999:
A people’s history of the world (book) (extract)
February 1999:
March 1999:
April 1999:
April 1999:
A clash of values (theatre review)
May 1999:
July 1999:
Imperialism, war and resistance (with Robin Blackburn)
Autumn 1999:
The 20th century – an age of extremes or an age of possibilities?
September 1999:
September 1999:
Too hot to handle? (book review)
October 1999:
Winter 1999:
December 1999:
11 December 1999:
January 2000:
January 2000:
Redrawing the maps of the past (book review)
February 2000:
March 2000:
April 2000:
May 2000:
Movie with an open ending (obituary)
June 2000:
July 2000:
Autumn 2000:
Anti-capitalism – Theory and Practice (pamphlet)
September 2000:
October 2000:
November 2000:
December 2000:
January 2001:
6 January 2001:
February 2001:
10 February 2001:
24 February 2001:
Spring 2001:
March 2001:
April 2001:
Learning from the past to shape the future (book review)
April 2001:
May 2001:
May 2001:
June 2001:
July 2001:
Creative tension (book review)
September 2001:
September 2001:
13 September 2001:
October 2001:
1 October 2001:
27 October 2001:
November 2001:
24 November 2001:
Trollope – Similar story now and then (television review)
Winter 2001
December 2001:
1 December 2001:
January 2002:
Breadth of vision and a zest for life (book review)
January 2002:
February 2002:
Spring 2002:
March 2002:
16 March 2002:
April 2002:
13 April 2002:
20 April 2002:
May 2002:
June 2002:
8 June 2002:
22 June 2002:
29 June 2002:
29 June 2002:
Ten million strike against Tory who’s Blair’s ‘best friend’ (with Judy Cox)
July 2002:
13 July 2002:
13 July 2002:
From the horse’s mouth (book review)
20 July 2002:
3 August 2002:
Autumn 2002:
September 2002:
September 2002:
28 September 2002:
28 September 2002:
Duncan Hallas 1925–2002 (obituary)
October 2002:
All about Eric – A cautionary tale (book review)
October 2002:
12 October 2002:
Freedom, struggle and constraint (book review)
November 2002:
December 2002:
Blood Sacrifice (review of exhibition)
December 2002:
December 2002:
In a material world (book review)
14 December 2002:
21 December 2002:
January 2003:
January 2003:
January 2003:
The Working Class or the Multitude (transcript of debate with Michael Hardt at World Social Forum, Porto Alegre)
4 January 2003:
25 January 2003:
February 2003:
1 February 2003:
Against a world of war and poverty (with Chris Nineham)
22 February 2003:
March 2003:
1 March 2003:
15 March 2003:
22 March 2003:
23 March 2003:
29 March 2003:
29 March 2003:
April 2003:
April 2003:
Permanent legacy (obituary)
5 April 2003:
26 April 2003:
May 2003:
5 May 2003:
Summer 2003:
June 2003:
July 2003:
A blast from the past (book review)
23 August 2003:
September 2003:
6 September 2003:
October 2003:
11 October 2003:
25 October 2003:
November 2003:
November 2003:
November 2003:
Weak foundations (book review)
1 November 2003:
8 November 2003:
22 November 2003:
29 November 2003:
December 2003:
2004:
2004:
The Hindutva and European fascism – Some comparisons and some lessons
January 2004:
17 January 2004:
24 January 2004:
World Social Forum in Mumbai – many battles, one enemy (with Yuri Prasad)
29 January 2004:
February 2004:
14 February 2004:
28 February 2004:
28 February 2004:
March 2004:
6 March 2004:
20 March 2004:
20 March 2004:
Spring 2004:
May 2004:
May 2004:
The great gamble (speech)
22 May 2004:
June 2004:
10 June 2004:
Ronald Reagan – If only the bloody thug had died 20 years earlier (obituary)
19 June 2004:
A decade the right will never forget or forgive (television review)
Summer 2004:
July 2004:
10 July 2004:
17 July 2004:
24 July 2004:
Paul Foot 1937–2004 (obituary)
24 July 2004:
Autumn 2004:
Digging deeper (book review)
Autumn 2004:
Pick of the month (review)
Autumn 2004:
October 2004:
November 2004:
December 2004:
Winter 2005:
Contested values (book review)
Winter 2005:
Empty method man (book review)
Winter 2005:
January 2005:
February 2005:
March 2005:
12 March 2005:
Spring 2005:
Spring 2005:
Forgotten subversives (book review)
Spring 2005:
18 June 2005:
The myth of Mao (book review)
Summer 2005:
Booms, slumps and theory (book review)
Summer 2005:
Summer 2005:
Summer 2005:
September 2005:
Autumn 2005:
Half-explaining the crisis (book review)
Autumn 2005:
Making sense of socialism today (extended book review)
Autumn 2005:
Pick of the quarter (magazine review)
Autumn 2005:
October 2005:
November 2005:
November 2005:
The Works are complete (book review)
12 November 2005:
December 2005:
Winter 2006:
Winter 2006:
Pick of the quarter (magazine review)
Winter 2006:
Shedding new light on the Dark Ages (book review)
February 2006:
March 2006:
Spring 2006:
Spring 2006:
Pick of the quarter (magazine review)
April 2006:
May 2006:
June 2006:
Criticising capitalism in order to save it (obituary)
Summer 2006:
The battle over Venezuela’s union (editorial)
Summer 2006:
Cuba behind the myths (extended book review)
Summer 2006:
New Labour’s meltdown? (editorial)
Summer 2006:
The origins of capitalism (debate with Robert Brenner)
Summer 2006:
Pick of the quarter (magazine review)
Summer 2006:
Springtime in Europe (editorial)
Summer 2006:
Taking on the multinationals in Bolivia (editorial)
July 2006:
September 2006:
2 September 2006:
Autumn 2006:
Between ritual and revolt (book review)
Autumn 2006:
Autumn 2006:
1956 and the rebirth of socialism from below (editorial)
Autumn 2006:
The painful passing of Tony Blair (editorial)
October 2006:
An enemy of empire (book review)
November 2006:
25 November 2006:
December 2006:
Winter 2007:
Dialectics of morality (book review)
Winter 2007:
Pick of the quarter (magazine review)
Winter 2007:
Winter 2007:
When Reason was revolt (book review)
Winter 2007:
January 2007:
13 January 2007:
27 January 2007:
Spring 2007:
Forgotten treasure – a new biography of Grossman (book review)
Spring 2007:
Spring 2007:
Spring 2007:
Latin America – the return of Popular Power (editorial)
Spring 2007:
Surging out of control (editorial)
May 2007:
June 2007:
Summer 2007:
Britain after Blair (editorial)
Summer 2007:
The merchant and the Middle Ages (book review)
Summer 2007:
Summer 2007:
Summer 2007:
Sarkozy – the French Thatcher? (editorial)
July 2007:
July 2007:
July 2007:
September 2007:
September 2007:
15 September 2007:
29 September 2007:
Autumn 2007:
Market turmoil – the shape of the chaos to come? (editorial)
Autumn 2007:
Autumn 2007:
Shedding some light on Lenin (book review)
Autumn 2007:
The shifting fronts of Bush’s war (editorial)
Autumn 2007:
Where will the Brown bounce land? (editorial)
October 2007:
November 2007:
The Outbreak of the 2007 Crisis (speech)
November 2007:
December 2007:
2008:
Chris Wickham, Feudalism and Forces of Production (comments on an article)
Winter 2008:
Winter 2008:
Lessons from Venezuela’s referendum (editorial)
Winter 2008:
The misery of New Labour (editorial)
Winter 2008:
Winter 2008:
January 2008:
February 2008:
2 February 2008:
March 2008:
Spring 2008:
Spring 2008:
Returning to the Russian question (book review)
April 2008:
5 April 2008:
May 2008:
10 May 2008:
Socialists and history – a battle for the past (interview)
28 June 2008:
Summer 2008:
Britain’s resurgent Tories (editorial)
Summer 2008:
Italian lessons (editorial)
Summer 2008:
Summer 2008:
The politics of a double crisis (editorial)
July 2008:
September 2008:
Autumn 2008:
Dented hegemony and Georgia’s nasty little war (editorial)
Autumn 2008:
Four unknowns and a certainty (editorial)
Autumn 2008:
New Labour pains (editorial)
Autumn 2008:
October 2008:
Capitalism’s New Crisis (pamphlet)
October 2008:
18 October 2008:
The Market vs. Marx (debate with Eamonn Butler)
November 2008:
December 2008:
Winter 2009:
Brown’s left bounce? (editorial)
Winter 2009:
From Bush to Obama (editorial)
Winter 2009:
MacIntyre’s forgotten answers (book review)
Winter 2009:
Winter 2009:
The trillion dollar crash (editorial)
January 2009:
17 January 2009:
Understanding a system caught in deep crisis (report of speech)
23 January 2009:
February 2009:
March 2009:
Spring 2009:
Desperate debates over desperate measures (editorial)
May 2009:
Leap of faith – The ruling classes’ “solution” to the economic crisis
27 June 2009:
Zombie capitalism (interview)
Summer 2009:
Summer 2009:
Gold dust (book review)
Summer 2009:
Green shoots or wilting blossoms? (editorial)
Summer 2009:
Toxic shocks – after the Euro elections (editorial)
July 2009:
July 2009:
Zombie Capitalism (book)
September 2009:
5 September 2009:
Autumn 2009:
Left behind? (editorial)
Autumn 2009:
Wishful thinking (editorial)
October 2009:
November 2009:
Winter 2010:
The emperor has no clothes (extended book review)
Winter 2010:
Last updated on 13 March 2023