Customs in Common is the remarkable companion to E. P. Thompson's landmark volume of social history The Making of the English Working Class. The product of years of research and debate, Customs in Common describes the complex culture from which working-class institutions emerged in England--a panoply of traditions and customs that the new working class fought to preserve well into Victorian times.
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By providing a fuller sense of the way of life capitalism destroyed, Customs in Common helps us understand why the resistance to it was so protracted and tenacious. . . [This] long-awaited collection. . . is a signal contribution. . . [from] the person most responsible for inspiring the revival of American labor history during the past thirty years. -- The Nation
Customs in Common is meticulously researched, elegantly argued and deeply humane. -- New York Times Book Review
This book signals the return to historical writing of one of the most eloquent, powerful and independent voices of our time. At his best he is capable of a passionate, sardonic eloquence which is unequalled. -- The Observer [London]
Customs in Common is meticulously researched, elegantly argued and deeply humane. -- New York Times Book Review
This book signals the return to historical writing of one of the most eloquent, powerful and independent voices of our time. At his best he is capable of a passionate, sardonic eloquence which is unequalled. -- The Observer [London]
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great social analysis of XVIIIth century England!,
This review is from: Customs in Common: Studies in Traditional Popular Culture (Paperback)
E. P. Thompson was one of the founders of social history. He was part of a group of marxist British historians, among them were Raymond Williams and Eric Hobsbawm. Costums in Common offers a great social analysis of XVIIIth century England. His main thesis is that XVIIIth century England saw sort of a tacit agreement of social behavior and stability between the gentry and the poor. They were both allowed to take certain measures to achieve their aims--the gentry did it via the parliament, and the poor via civil desobedience. Most interestingly, however, was the symbolic struggle, or cultural struggle--what E. P. Thompson calls the theatre and counter-theatre. The theatre meant the social attitudes--the gentry had its wigs, its fancy outfits, and its arrogant attitude, and the poor had its popular culture. This was a way to channel power and discontent through cultural manifestations. All in all, E. P. thompson demonstates how all these tacit agreements and symbolic struggles allowed England to go through the XVIIIth century without going through a revolution (unlike the rest of Europe did or would later), although let's not forget that this was the rural poor and the haute bourgoisie and aristocracy, but the real bourgois were barely emerging. For that we'll have to turn to his other (and lenghtier too) book: The Making of the English Working-Class.
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