What is the Center for Socialist History ?

The Center for Socialist History is a non-profit corporation founded to promote research and publication in the field of the history of socialism.

We strongly believe that (to paraphrase) socialists who don't know their own history are doomed to repeat all the old mistakes. And the history of socialism shows that they do. The socialist movement is an amnesiac: socialists know little about where they are coming from no wonder they hardly know where they are going. The fact is that little work or publication goes on in the field by socialists; most is by nonsocialists or antisocialists. They too can serve; but socialists concern with their own history is not of an academic character. A living movement has to know the lessons of the past.

There is a big gap that needs closing up, a vacuum that needs filling. We think this can and should be done on an all-inclusive basisCacross the lines of schools, tendencies, sects and viewpoints. Ideology and program are surely important, but it will not be the task of CSH to work them out or promote organizational forms. We simply think that people who know the socialist past will be better able to solve the problems of the present.

Not to know what happened before one was born is always to remain a child.

CICERO

History is philosophy teaching by examples.

DIONYSIUS OF HALICARNASSUS

An historian is a prophet in retrospect.

A. W. von SCHLEGEL


About this Site

The site at present consists of four major sections—this home page, a list of our publications and how to order them, an archive section that at present consists mainly of unpublished material by Hal Draper, and links to other sites. The archive section also includes some photographs and tapes. We are working on setting up the three-volume Marx–Engels Cyclopedia originally published by Schocken books. This is a heavily cross-referenced work and a digital version should be much easier to use than the “hard-copy” version.

The Publications, Archive and Links sections are all reached by means of “hover-buttons” contained in the banner.  The banner at the top provides a link to the home page in the form of the “Sower” logo.  Each page consists of an index which points to the various texts and graphics that can be viewed in the main frame.


Credits

Much of the material in our archive called the “CSH Hal Draper Archive” was originally put in digital form by Chris Croome. Chris’ work is much appreciated.

We would also like to thank Rick Kuhn who pointed out a missing paragraph in the Two Souls of Socialism text which we have restored here. He has put up this monograph at www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/marx.html which contains a lot of interesting material.


Promises, promises ...

Over the next year we hope to include more material to our archive section. One major project will be an online version of Hal Draper's three-volume Marx-Engels Cyclopedia. Volume one is a year-by-year chronology of their political and literary activity, volume two is a bibliography of their major published works including the political circumstances surrounding them, and the third volume is a glossary containing personal names, periodicals and organizations which appear in the first two volumes.

Navigation tips

The basic navigation technique is to place an index in the left frame of the window. This can be done in one of two ways:

1) You can click on one of the hover buttons at the top of the page.

2) You can use the index frame itself.

Indexes:

There are three types of entries in an index list:

1)Navigational entries which point back to a higher index or forward to a subordinate one.

2) Index items which point to a bookmark in a document. Clicking on these alters the content of the main frame. These items are italicized.

3) “Blind” links which indicate a future document or project. These are included because this website is, like most, continually under construction.

Two example are given below. The first is the main Index and the second gives the content of the Center publication Zionism, Israel, & the Arabs. 

(These two examples are merely illustrative of the structure of the index they are not actual links.)

Master Index (This index is the one present when the site is entered.)

Who We Are.

About this Site.

Credits.

Promises, promises ...

How to Contact Us.

Index to the Publication Zionism, Israel, & the Arabs

Preface 

Chapter I  WAR OF INDEPENDENCE OR EXPANSION?

Chapter II HOW TO DEFEND ISRAEL

Chapter III ISRAEL'S ARAB MINORITY; THE BEGINNING OF A TRAGEDY

Chapter IV  ISRAEL'S ARAB MINORITY: THE GREAT LAND ROBBERY

Chapter V THE SUEZ INVASION: ISRAEL'S ALLIANCE WITH IMPERIALISM

Chapter VI  THE TRUTH ABOUT THE FEDAYEEN

Chapter VII THE ORIGINS OF THE MIDDLE EAST CRISIS

Chapter VIII  THE MISTAKES OF THE ARAB SOCIALISTS

Chapter IX THE TRIPLE CRISIS OF ZIONISM

Chapter X "THOU SHALT NOT CRITICIZE ISRAEL"

Chapter XI GERMAN REPARATIONS AND 'BLOOD-RESPONSIBILITY'

Chapter XII ZIONISM vs. THE JEWS: ISRAEL'S NATIONALITY ACT .

Chapter XIII ANTI-SEMITISM AND ARAB PROPAGANDA

Chapter XIV SACRILEGE & ANATHEMA: Notes on CHRISTIANITY & JUDAISM TODAY

Chapter XV TO BREAK THE VICIOUS SPIRAL

Reference Notes

 

 

 

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