Intellectual History Commons^™

Rediscovering Radical History, Terry Irving

Terence H Irving, Dr (Terry)

This article examines aspects of the connection between radical history and labour history in Australia. It begins by resurrecting the forgotten history work by intellectuals in the labour movement from the 1880s to the 1950s, and the conservative attacks on radical history in the 50s and 60s. It continues by highlighting the early attempts to keep this radical tradition alive among labour historians, and concludes by criticising Robin Gollan's failure to distinguish popular democracy from the democratic possibilities of representative government.