G. D. H. Cole
Encyclopedia
George Douglas Howard Cole (25 September 1889 – 14 January 1959) was an English
political theorist, economist
, writer
and historian
. As a libertarian socialist he was a long-time member of the Fabian Society
and an advocate for the cooperative movement
. He and his wife Margaret Cole
(1893-1980) together wrote many popular detective stories, featuring the investigators Superintendent Wilson, Everard Blatchington and Dr Tancred.
Cole was educated at St Paul's School and Balliol College, Oxford
.
As a conscientious objector
during World War One
, Cole's involvement in the campaign against conscription
introduced him to a co-worker, Margaret Postgate
, whom he married in 1918. The couple both worked for the Fabian Society for the next six years before moving to Oxford
, where Cole started writing for the Manchester Guardian. During these years, he also authored several economic and historical works including biographies of William Cobbett
and Robert Owen
. In 1925, he became reader in economics
at University College, Oxford
. In 1944, Cole became the first Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory
at Oxford. He was succeeded in the chair by Isaiah Berlin
in 1957.
. He joined the Fabian Society's executive under the sponsorship of Sidney Webb. Cole became a principal proponent of Guild Socialist
ideas, a libertarian socialist alternative to Marxist political economy
. These ideas he put forward in The New Age
before and during the First World War
, and also in the pages of The New Statesman
, the weekly founded by the Webbs
and George Bernard Shaw
.
Cole said his interest in socialism was kindled by his reading News from Nowhere
, the utopian novel by William Morris
. He wrote,
Neither a Marxist nor a Social Democrat, Cole envisioned a Socialism of decentralized association and active, participatory democracy, whose basic units would be sited at the workplace and in the community rather than in any central apparatus of the State.
Cole was a powerful influence on the life of the young Harold Wilson
, whom he taught, worked with and convinced to join the Labour Party
. Before him, Hugh Gaitskell
was a student of G.D.H Cole.
Cole wrote at least seven books for the Left Book Club
, all of which were published by Victor Gollancz Ltd. These are marked with LBC in the list of his books given below.
, and has made a number of contributions to the fields of Co-operative studies
, Co-operative economics
and the study of Co-operative History. In particular, his book "The British Co-operative Movement in a Socialist Society" examined the economic status of the English CWS (the predecessor of the modern Co-operative Group), evaluated its possibility of achieving a Co-operative Commonwealth without State assistance, and hypothesised what the role the Co-operative movement
might have in a Socialist State.
A second book, A Century of Co-operation, examined the history of the Co-operative movement from the very first Co-operatives, to the contribution of the Chartists
and Robert Owen
, through to the Rochdale Pioneers
, as well as the movement's development (in Great Britain) over the following century.
Cole contributed to the omnibus An Outline of Modern Knowledge
Ed. William Rose (Victor Gollancz
, 1931) along with other leading authorities of the time, including Roger Fry
, C. G. Seligman, Maurice Dobb
and F. J. C. Hearnshaw
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
political theorist, economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
. As a libertarian socialist he was a long-time member of the Fabian Society
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
and an advocate for the cooperative movement
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
. He and his wife Margaret Cole
Margaret Cole
Dame Margaret Isabel Cole, DBE was an English socialist politician.Daughter of John Percival Postgate and Edith Allen, Margaret was educated at Roedean School and Girton College, Cambridge. While at Girton, through her reading of H. G...
(1893-1980) together wrote many popular detective stories, featuring the investigators Superintendent Wilson, Everard Blatchington and Dr Tancred.
Cole was educated at St Paul's School and Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
.
As a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
during World War One
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Cole's involvement in the campaign against conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
introduced him to a co-worker, Margaret Postgate
Margaret Cole
Dame Margaret Isabel Cole, DBE was an English socialist politician.Daughter of John Percival Postgate and Edith Allen, Margaret was educated at Roedean School and Girton College, Cambridge. While at Girton, through her reading of H. G...
, whom he married in 1918. The couple both worked for the Fabian Society for the next six years before moving to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, where Cole started writing for the Manchester Guardian. During these years, he also authored several economic and historical works including biographies of William Cobbett
William Cobbett
William Cobbett was an English pamphleteer, farmer and journalist, who was born in Farnham, Surrey. He believed that reforming Parliament and abolishing the rotten boroughs would help to end the poverty of farm labourers, and he attacked the borough-mongers, sinecurists and "tax-eaters" relentlessly...
and Robert Owen
Robert Owen
Robert Owen was a Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement.Owen's philosophy was based on three intellectual pillars:...
. In 1925, he became reader in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
at University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
. In 1944, Cole became the first Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory
Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory
The Chichele professorial chair in social and political theory is one of the statutory Chichele Professorships at All Souls College, Oxford. This Chair was established 1944.-Chichele Professors of Social and Political Theory:* G. D. H...
at Oxford. He was succeeded in the chair by Isaiah Berlin
Isaiah Berlin
Sir Isaiah Berlin OM, FBA was a British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian of ideas of Russian-Jewish origin, regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century and a dominant liberal scholar of his generation...
in 1957.
Socialism
Cole became interested in Fabianism while studying at Balliol College, OxfordBalliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
. He joined the Fabian Society's executive under the sponsorship of Sidney Webb. Cole became a principal proponent of Guild Socialist
Guild socialism
Guild socialism is a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds. It originated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influential in the first quarter of the 20th century. It was strongly associated with G. D. H...
ideas, a libertarian socialist alternative to Marxist political economy
Political economy
Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
. These ideas he put forward in The New Age
The New Age
The New Age was a British literary magazine, noted for its wide influence under the editorship of A. R. Orage from 1907 to 1922. It began life in 1894 as a publication of the Christian Socialist movement; but in 1907 as a radical weekly edited by Joseph Clayton, it was struggling...
before and during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and also in the pages of The New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, the weekly founded by the Webbs
Beatrice Webb
Martha Beatrice Webb, Lady Passfield was an English sociologist, economist, socialist and social reformer. Although her husband became Baron Passfield in 1929, she refused to be known as Lady Passfield...
and George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
.
Cole said his interest in socialism was kindled by his reading News from Nowhere
News from Nowhere
News from Nowhere is a classic work combining utopian socialism and soft science fiction written by the artist, designer and socialist pioneer William Morris...
, the utopian novel by William Morris
William Morris
William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...
. He wrote,
I became a Socialist because, as soon as the case for a society of equals, set free from the twin evils of riches and poverty, mastership and subjection, was put to me, I knew that to be the only kind of society that could be consistent with human decency and fellowship and that in no other society could I have the right to be content.”
Neither a Marxist nor a Social Democrat, Cole envisioned a Socialism of decentralized association and active, participatory democracy, whose basic units would be sited at the workplace and in the community rather than in any central apparatus of the State.
Cole was a powerful influence on the life of the young Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, whom he taught, worked with and convinced to join the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. Before him, Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell CBE was a British Labour politician, who held Cabinet office in Clement Attlee's governments, and was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955, until his death in 1963.-Early life:He was born in Kensington, London, the third and youngest...
was a student of G.D.H Cole.
Cole wrote at least seven books for the Left Book Club
Left Book Club
The Left Book Club, founded in 1936, was a key left-wing institution of the late 1930s and 1940s in the United Kingdom set up by Stafford Cripps, Victor Gollancz and John Strachey to revitalise and educate the British Left. The Club's aim was to "help in the struggle For world peace and against...
, all of which were published by Victor Gollancz Ltd. These are marked with LBC in the list of his books given below.
Co-operative studies
Cole was also a theorist of the Co-operative movementCooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
, and has made a number of contributions to the fields of Co-operative studies
Co-operative studies
The purpose of Co-operative education and Co-operative studies, according to the ICA's Statement on the Co-operative Identity, is that Co-operative societies "provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the...
, Co-operative economics
Co-operative economics
Co-operative economics is a field of economics, socialist economics, co-operative studies, and political economy, which is concerned with co-operatives.-History:...
and the study of Co-operative History. In particular, his book "The British Co-operative Movement in a Socialist Society" examined the economic status of the English CWS (the predecessor of the modern Co-operative Group), evaluated its possibility of achieving a Co-operative Commonwealth without State assistance, and hypothesised what the role the Co-operative movement
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
might have in a Socialist State.
A second book, A Century of Co-operation, examined the history of the Co-operative movement from the very first Co-operatives, to the contribution of the Chartists
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
and Robert Owen
Robert Owen
Robert Owen was a Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement.Owen's philosophy was based on three intellectual pillars:...
, through to the Rochdale Pioneers
Rochdale Pioneers
The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, founded in 1844, was an early consumer co-operative, and the first to pay a patronage dividend, forming the basis for the modern co-operative movement....
, as well as the movement's development (in Great Britain) over the following century.
Cole contributed to the omnibus An Outline of Modern Knowledge
An Outline of Modern Knowledge
An Outline of Modern Knowledge, published by Victor Gollancz in 1931, was an “omnibus” volume intended to survey the full range of human knowledge....
Ed. William Rose (Victor Gollancz
Victor Gollancz
Sir Victor Gollancz was a British publisher, socialist, and humanitarian.-Early life:Born in Maida Vale, London, he was the son of a wholesale jeweller and nephew of Rabbi Professor Sir Hermann Gollancz and Professor Sir Israel Gollancz; after being educated at St Paul's School, London and taking...
, 1931) along with other leading authorities of the time, including Roger Fry
Roger Fry
Roger Eliot Fry was an English artist and art critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent developments in French painting, to which he gave the name Post-Impressionism...
, C. G. Seligman, Maurice Dobb
Maurice Dobb
Maurice Herbert Dobb , was a British Marxist economist, and a lecturer 1924-1959 and Reader 1959-1976 at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge 1948-1976.-Life:...
and F. J. C. Hearnshaw
F. J. C. Hearnshaw
Fossey John Cobb Hearnshaw was an English professor of history, specializing in medieval history. He was noted for his conservative interpretation of the past, showing an empire-oriented ideology in defence of hierarchical authority, paternalism, deference, the monarchy, Church, family, nation,...
.
Non-fiction works
- Trade Unionism on the Railways (with R Page Arnot, 1917)
- Self-Government in Industry (1917)
- The Payment of Wages (1918)
- The Regulation of Wages During and After the War (1918)
- Guild Socialism Restated (1920)
- The World of Labour (1923)
- The Life of William Cobbett (1925)
- Robert Owen (1923)
- The Intelligent Man's Guide Through World Chaos (1932)
- The Condition of Britain (with his wife, Margaret Cole, 1937) LBC
- The People's Front (1937) LBC
- Practical Economics(1937) Pelican Books, London
- War Aims (1939) LBC
- Europe, Russia and the Future (1941) LBC
- Great Britain in the Post-War World (1942) LBC
- Monetary Systems and Theories (1943)
- The Means to Full Employment (1943) LBC
- A Century of Cooperation (1944)
- Persons & Periods (1945)
- The Common People, 1746-1946 (with Raymond Postgate, 1946)
- A Short History of the British Working Class Movement, 1789-1947 (1947) ISBN 0415265649
- A History of the Labour Party from 1914, (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1948)
- The Meaning of Marxism, (1950) LBC
- The British Co-operative Movement in a Socialist Society, (London, G. Allen & Unwin 1951)
- Introduction to Economic History 1750-1950, (London: Macmillan 1952)
- A History of Socialist Thought: 7 Volumes, (London: Palgrave Macmillan (2003) ISBN 1-4039-0264-X)
Detective stories
- Cole, G. D. H. (1923) The Brooklyn Murders
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1925) The Death of a Millionaire
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1926) The Blatchington Tangle
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1927) The Murder at Crome House
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1928) The Man from the River
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1928) Superintendent Wilson's Holiday
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1929) Poison in the Garden Suburb aka Poison in a Garden Suburb
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1930) Burglars in Bucks aka The Berkshire Mystery
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1930) Corpse in Canonicalsaka The Corpse in the Constable's Garden
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1931) The Great Southern Mystery aka The Walking Corpse
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1931) Dead Man's Watch
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1932) Death of a Star
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1933) A Lesson in Crime (short stories)
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1933) The Affair at Aliquid
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1933) End of an Ancient Mariner
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1934) Death in the Quarry
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1935) Big Business Murder
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1935) Dr Tancred Begins
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1935) Scandal at School aka The Sleeping Death
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1936) Last Will and Testament
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1936) The Brothers Sackville
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1937) Disgrace to the College
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1937) The Missing Aunt
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1938) Mrs Warrender's Profession
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1938) Off with her Head!
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1939) Double Blackmail
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1939) Greek Tragedy
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1940) Wilson and Some Others
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1940) Murder at the Munition Works
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1940) Counterpoint Murder
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1941) Knife in the Dark
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1942) Toper's End
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1945) Death of a Bride
- Cole, G. D. H. and Cole, M. I. (1946) Birthday Gifts
Literature
- Margaret Cole, The Life of G. D. H. Cole, Macmillan/St. Martin's (1971) ISBN 1-4191-0535-3
- A. W. (Tony) Wright, G. D. H. Cole and Socialist Democracy New York, Oxford (1979) ISBN 0-19-827421-1
- L. P. Carpenter, G.D.H. Cole: An Intellectual Biography, Cambridge (1974) ISBN 0521087025
- C. Wyatt, "A recipe for a cookshop of the future: G. D. H. Cole and the conundrum of sovereignty" Capital and Class 90 (2006)