Chris Harman (1942-2009)

by wageslave - personal capacity Sat Nov 07, 2009 22:10

I would appreciate it if people do not use Chris's death as an excuse to vent their spleens about the SWP.
IMHO It's not appropriate to do so on this thread. Start a new thread (if you must) to address those kinds of "concerns" ok?
Thanks
WS

by obit Sat Nov 07, 2009 22:51

Rest in Peace comrade.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Harman

his death notice on the Spanish language anarchosyndicalist umbrella site "Kaos en la Red"
http://www.kaosenlared.net/noticia/chris-harman-vida-co...lucha
"he worked and thought at the heart of struggle"

completely support the last commentator's sentiments. This thread is not the place to argue about party politics or the splits in leftism.

by Gino Kenny Sun Nov 08, 2009 14:05 ginokenny at hotmail dot com 7211574 085

RIP Chris Harman

by Darren C - L5I (pc) Sun Nov 08, 2009 14:53

The death on Friday of Chris Harman, one of the leading members of the Socialist Workers Party and the International Socialist Tendency, is a serious shock to the Left in Britain and around the world.

Harman was one of the principal theoreticians of the SWP, and the author of numerous books on Marxist theory and history, including A People's History of the World, How Marxism Works, 1968: the Fire Last Time and The Lost Revolution: Germany 1918-1923. He was for many years editor of the weekly newspaper Socialist Worker and recently of International Socialism Journal.

Harman joined the International Socialists (the forerunner of the SWP) back in the 1960s and quickly became one of its leading student members, before joining the leadership team around Tony Cliff.

Cliff always valued Harman as a member of the Central Committee and close political ally. During an interview with New Statesman magazine, Cliff was asked whose opinion he trusted the most, he replied "Chris Harman, the editor of Socialist Worker and Lindsey German, editor of Socialist Review. I can't think of a single other living person I could consult."

It would be wrong to say that relations between Chris and Workers Power were cordial. We had major differences with him and the SWP’s political tradition and these would often be aired in public, sometimes sharply. Yet recently, in the midst of the global financial crisis, Chris twice shared platforms with Workers Power editor Richard Brenner and Marxist theoretician Istvan Meszaros to discuss the implications of the credit crunch for the struggle against capitalism. Harman’s writings, including his last book Zombie Capitalism, were important contributions to the debate around the crisis.

There is no doubt that Chris’ untimely death is a real loss for the workers movement. Our condolences go to his family, friends and comrades.

http://www.fifthinternational.org/content/obituary-chri...arman

by Chicherin Thu Nov 12, 2009 16:38

James Turley offers an appreciation of the life of Chris Harman, 1942-2009

http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/793/theworking.php