Harry Pollitt [antikvár]

PREFACEOn a wet Saturday afternoon in 1921 a workmate took me to a meeting where Harry Pollitt was to speak.Socialism was already much in my mind; I had the good fortune to find on my father's shelves Marx's Capital, Engels' Socialism, Utopian and Scientific, Lissagaray's Paris Commune, Morris's Dream of John Ball and News from Nowhere. I had heard many Labour speakersSnowden, eloquent but aloof, Ramsay MacDonald leaving me in a roseate trance, Jack Jones of the S.D.F., a wonderful voice, and H.M. Hyndman, kindly approving Marx but sternly disapproving Bolshevism. None of them gave me any definite idea of how we should actually get socialism, none explained what Lenin had done.To hear Harry Pollitt was something entirely different. In making the case for representation at a congress of the Red International of Labour Unions, he opened a fascinating perspecdve of how the workers could, in striving for their daily needs, also gather strength to conquer political power so that instead of having to scramble for crumbs from the rich men's tables they could build socialism and master their own destiny.Since then I have heard Harry Pollitt at hundreds of meetings. WhetherT,his audience was a cheering crowd of thousands, or a handful of people in^a smoky back room, he never failed to strengthen their socialist purpose, tot^inspire them to further effort in the cause of the liberation of mankind.'Such men are rare. My impulse to write this book arose from my feeling that Harry's life should be recorded before memories fade and documents disappear. For the rising generation of new fighters for socialism can draw strength from his example.My aim has been to give an accurate account of Harry Pollitt's life, of the influences that shaped him, of the contribution he made to the labour, socialist and communist movement, and to present his views in his own words wherever possible.I hope I have verified all dataif errors have crept in I should be glad to be told of them. The esdmation in the final chapter is my responsibility, though I have listened carefully to others: the reader will find its basis in the previous chapters. I have made full use of such papers as were|preserved by Harry Pollitt and of others given to me while wriung the book. These papers and any which may yet be sent to me, will be later made available to those interested.The necessary reading of many old socialist pamphlets and journals has|more deeply impressed upon me how much the Labour movement off itoday owes to the pioneers who were not afraid to blaze an unknown trail.j