Tom Nairn Explained Why Britain’s Constitution Stifles Democracy
Scottish historian Tom Nairn died at age 90 last month. He grasped how nationalism molds the class struggle — and how Britain’s monarchical order has suffocated the Left’s ideas of social transformation.
Tom Nairn died on January 21, 2023. (@NewLeftReview / Twitter)
An old joke starts with a British, a French, and a German socialist in a bar, discussing how to start the revolution.
The Frenchman insists they should immediately set off to stir up the masses, build barricades all over the city, and storm Parliament. The German disagrees, “Comrade, surely we must first theoretically reorient the revolution before attempting to rally the masses!” He suggests publishing a new edition of Capital, with a new preface theorizing the current historical conjuncture.
The two argue for some time, with no compromise in sight. Finally, they turn to the Briton, “Comrade, which of us is right?”
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