A Short History of the British People [antikvár]

Readers who have seen previous editions of this book will notice considerable changes in the appearance of this edition. The previous sub-divisions of chapters (A, B, C) have disappeared. This means that most of the material has been rewritten and new material added. This is particularly true of chapter VI and IX. The first chapter is almost entirely new, starting with history from earliest times. I hope that critical readers will appreciate the improvements made, butalso that they will go on making helpful criticisms of the kind that have helped me so much since the book first appeared. This short outline of British history was conceived as an introduction to the study of Britain for students and teachers of English. An understanding of the life and problems of the country whose language one studies is an essential part of an all-round socialist education. And these problems of modern Britain are rooted in history. This is, of course, true of any country, but is especially important for the country with the longest history of capitalist and imperialist development, and of working-class struggle and organisation. Britain pro vided the basis for the study of the historical development of bourgeois society for Marx, Engels and Lenin. Their work must, therefore, be taken as the essential foundation for the study of British history. One of the main problems in making a study of British history is to get the correct balance between the generál laws of capitalist development and the specific features of one particular capitalist country. Engels pointed otlt the complexity of the dialectical process in history: "The basis of the right of inheritance... is an economic one. Nevertheless, it would be difficult to prove, for instance, that the absolute liberty of the testator in England and the severe restrictions in every detail imposed on him in Francé are due to economic causes alone."') In such a short outline there is always the danger of over-simplification. But what is provided is a sketch of the historical development of British society, of its capitalist economy, of the class basis and nature of its state apparatus and especially of the working-class movement. The book as a whole tries to show the inter-relationship of these different aspects of history. For the suggestion which led to the production of this book I am indebted to teachers taking part in éxternal courses at the "Kari Liebknecht" Pádagogische Hochschule, Potsdam, and to my colleagues at this college. For the education in Marxism-Leninism which was an indispensable basis for my work I owe an immense debt to innumerable comrades in the Communist Party of Great Britain. ') Engels to Schmidt, 27.10.1890, in Marx/Engels, Selected Correspondence, Moscow, 1965, p.423. (In Germán: Marx/Engels, Werke, Bd.37, Berlin 1967, S. 492).