G.D.H. Cole
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George Douglas Howard Cole (25 September 1889 – 14 January 1959) was an English
political theorist A political theorist is someone who engages in constructing or evaluating political theory, including political philosophy. Theorists may be Academia, academics or independent scholars. Here the most notable political theorists are categorized b ...
, economist, and historian. As a believer in common ownership of the means of production, he theorised
guild socialism Guild socialism is a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds "in an implied contractual relationship with the public". It originated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influent ...
(production organised through worker guilds). He belonged to the
Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...
and was an advocate for the
co-operative movement The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...
.


Early life

Cole was born in Cambridge to George Cole, a jeweller who later became a surveyor; and his wife Jessie Knowles. Cole was educated at St Paul's School and Balliol College, Oxford, where he achieved a
double first The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
.


First World War

As a conscientious objector during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, 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 Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, where Cole started writing for ''
The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. In 1915, Cole became an unpaid research officer at the
Amalgamated Society of Engineers The Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) was a major British trade union, representing factory workers and mechanics. History The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the Journeymen Steam Engine, Machine Makers' and M ...
. He advised the union on how to respond to wartime legislation including the Munitions Act. This role enabled him to escape conscription on the grounds that he was conducting work of national importance. Having secured exemption from military service in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, during the war years Cole developed a political theory of
guild socialism Guild socialism is a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds "in an implied contractual relationship with the public". It originated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influent ...
.Marc Stears, ‘Cole, George Douglas Howard(1889–1959)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 25 Oct 2017
/nowiki>


Professional life

Cole authored several economic and historical works including biographies of
William Cobbett William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restrain foreign ...
and Robert Owen. In 1925, he became reader in economics at
University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...
. In 1929, he was appointed to the National Economic Advisory Council when it was set up by the
second Labour government The second (symbol: s) is the unit of Time in physics, time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally t ...
. In 1944, Cole became the first
Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory Chichele is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Henry Chichele ( 1364–1443), English religious leader **Chichele Professorship The Chichele Professorships are statutory professorships at the University of Oxford named in honou ...
at Oxford. He was succeeded in the chair by Isaiah Berlin in 1957. Cole was initially a pacifist, but he abandoned this position around 1938, stating: "Hitler cured me of pacifism". During the 1930s, Cole sought to construct a British popular front against
fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...
. He identified the extent of the military threat before many of his colleagues had abandoned their pacifism. Cole lent strong support to the republican cause in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
. He was listed in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's Black Book of prominent subjects to be arrested in the case of a successful invasion of Britain. In 1941, Cole was appointed sub-warden of
Nuffield College, Oxford Nuffield College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college and specialises in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. Nuffield is one of Oxford's newer c ...
. He was central to the establishment of the Nuffield College Social Reconstruction Survey which collected a large amount of demographic, economic and social data. This information was used to advocate for an extensive programme of social reform.


Socialism

Cole became interested in Fabianism while studying at Balliol College, Oxford. He joined the
Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. T ...
's executive under the sponsorship of Sidney Webb. Cole became a principal proponent of
guild socialist Guild socialism is a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds "in an implied contractual relationship with the public". It originated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influent ...
ideas, a
libertarian socialist Libertarian socialism, also known by various other names, is a left-wing,Diemer, Ulli (1997)"What Is Libertarian Socialism?" The Anarchist Library. Retrieved 4 August 2019. anti-authoritarian, anti-statist and libertarianLong, Roderick T. (20 ...
alternative to Marxian
political economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...
. These ideas he put forward in ''
The New Age ''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938), inspired by Fabian socialism, and credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It publishe ...
'' before and during the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and also in the pages of ''
The New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'', the weekly founded by the Beatrice Webb and
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
. Cole said his interest in socialism was kindled by his reading ''
News from Nowhere ''News from Nowhere'' (1890) is a classic work combining utopian socialism and soft science fiction written by the artist, designer and socialist pioneer William Morris. It was first published in serial form in the ''Commonweal'' journal begin ...
'', the
utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', describing a fictional island society ...
novel by
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...
, writing: Neither a Marxist nor a
social democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...
, Cole envisioned a
guild socialism Guild socialism is a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds "in an implied contractual relationship with the public". It originated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influent ...
of decentralised association and active,
participatory democracy Participatory democracy, participant democracy or participative democracy is a form of government in which citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their lives, rather than through elected repr ...
, whose basic units would be sited at the workplace and in the community rather than in any central apparatus of the state. Cole criticized both
state socialism State socialism is a political and economic ideology within the socialist movement that advocates state ownership of the means of production. This is intended either as a temporary measure, or as a characteristic of socialism in the transition ...
and
syndicalism Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of prod ...
as leaving open the possibility of tyranny, and envisioned a form of socialism where all enterprises would be democratically run by the workers through trade unions with the state remaining to guarantee consumers' rights and civil liberties. Cole's ideas were influential in intellectual circles but were generally dismissed by Labour Party leaders such as Ramsay MacDonald. In the 1920s, Hugh Gaitskell, a student of Cole, became his driver during the 1926 United Kingdom general strike. Cole formed the Society for Socialist Inquiry and Propaganda to advance his views, which combined with former members of the
Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...
defecting to the mainstream Labour Party after its disaffiliation to form the Socialist League in 1932. In 1936, Cole began calling for a
popular front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...
movement in Britain in which the Labour Party would ally with other political parties against appeasement and the threat of fascism. 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. Cole wrote at least seven books for the Left Book Club, all of which were published by
Victor Gollancz Ltd. Victor Gollancz Ltd () was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century and continues to publish science fiction and fantasy titles as an imprint of Orion Publishing Group. Gollancz was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz, an ...
They are marked with LBC in the list of his books given below. He and his wife,
Margaret Cole Dame Margaret Isabel Cole (née Postgate; 6 May 1893 – 7 May 1980) was an English socialist politician, writer and poet. She wrote several detective stories jointly with her husband, G. D. H. Cole. She went on to hold important posts in Lon ...
, together wrote 29 popular detective stories,Marc Stears, ‘Cole , Dame Margaret Isabel (1893–1980)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 7 May 2017
/ref> featuring the investigators Superintendent Wilson, Everard Blatchington and Dr. Tancred. Cole and his wife created a partnership but not a marriage. Cole took little interest in sex and he regarded women as a distraction for men. Margaret documented this comprehensively in a biography she wrote of her husband after his death. Although Cole admired the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
for creating a
socialist economy Socialist economics comprises the economic theories, practices and norms of hypothetical and existing socialist economic systems. A socialist economic system is characterized by social ownership and operation of the means of production that may ...
, he rejected its dictatorial government as a model for socialist societies elsewhere. In a 1939 lecture, Cole stated: In his book ''Europe, Russia and the Future'' published in 1941, Cole claimed that however immoral the new Nazi-dominated Europe was in some ways it was better than the "impracticable" system of sovereign states that had preceded it. In economic terms, it could be said that "it would be better to let
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
conquer all
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
short of the Soviet Union, and thereafter exploit it ruthlessly in the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
interest, than to go back to the pre-war order of independent
Nation States A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may i ...
with frontiers drawn so as to cut right across the natural units of production and exchange". Cole also stated:


Co-operative studies

Cole was also a theorist of the
co-operative movement The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...
and made a number of contributions to the fields of co-operative studies,
co-operative economics Cooperative (or co-operative) economics is a field of economics that incorporates cooperative studies and political economy toward the study and management of cooperatives. History Cooperative economics developed as both a theory and a concret ...
and the history of the co-operative movement. 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 Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail, wholesale, e-pharmacy, insurance and legal services, and funeral care. The Co-operative Group has over ...
), evaluated its possibility of achieving a Co-operative Commonwealth without state assistance and hypothesised what the role the co-operative might have in a
socialist state A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The term '' communist state'' is of ...
. A second book, titled ''A Century of Co-operation'', examined the history of the movement from the very first co-operatives to the contribution of the
Chartists Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of 1838 and was a national protest movement, ...
and Robert Owen, through to the
Rochdale Pioneers The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, founded in 1844, was an early consumers' co-operative, and one of the first to pay a patronage dividend, forming the basis for the modern co-operative movement. Although other co-operatives preceded it, ...
as well as the movement's development (in Great Britain) over the following century. Cole contributed to '' An Outline of Modern Knowledge'', ed. William Rose (
Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing causes. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism, but he defined himself as a Chris ...
, 1931) along with other leading authorities of the time, including
Roger Fry Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 – 9 September 1934) was an English painter and 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 developme ...
, C. G. Seligman, Maurice Dobb and F. J. C. Hearnshaw.


Personal life

In August 1918, Cole married Margaret Isabel Postgate (1893–1980). Margaret was the daughter of the classical scholar John Percival Postgate. The couple had one son and two daughters in a marriage that lasted forty-one years. However, the marriage does not seem to have been especially happy. Cole expressed little interest in actual romantic attachment and even less in sexual relations. Friends observed that emotional attachments tended to be with men rather than women. Cole was very fond of some of his male students. They included the future leader of the Labour Party Hugh Gaitskell. There is no evidence of any homosexual encounters either before or during his marriage. Cole and his wife jointly wrote a number of books and articles, including twenty-nine detective stories. Cole could not accept the idea of a "determinate human superior". His wife recalled that "he... never gave orders except in a purely routine and non-significant sense (this somehow did not conflict that he employed household servants throughout his life)". His dislike of all forms of hierarchy and hatred of ritual led to atheism at an early age, though he never engaged in anti-religious
polemics Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...
. While no
luddite The Luddites were a secret oath-based organisation of English textile workers in the 19th century who formed a radical faction which destroyed textile machinery. The group is believed to have taken its name from Ned Ludd, a legendary weaver ...
, he greatly admired everything produced by
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...
including his affection for the Cotswolds. Though he enjoyed classical music, he derided the
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
as "so much noise." Almost allergic to
higher mathematics Further Mathematics is the title given to a number of advanced secondary mathematics courses. The term "Higher and Further Mathematics", and the term "Advanced Level Mathematics", may also refer to any of several advanced mathematics courses at man ...
(he did not understand
Algebra Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary ...
) he distrusted
science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
, as it was being used to quantify things that were best left to interpretation. In literature and poetry he enjoyed (after Morris)
Defoe Defoe may refer to: People *Defoe (surname), most notably English author Daniel Defoe Places *Defoe, Webster County, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Other uses *Defoe (comics), a zombie story *Defoe Shipbuilding Company, a former ship ...
,
Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...
,
William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...
,
Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...
,
Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
,
William Cobbett William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restrain foreign ...
,
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...
,
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
and Samuel Butler, but he found
Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">N ...
and
Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...
pretentious. He disliked the "imperialism" of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
and hated D. H. Lawrence. He was admired by his students, but Gaitskell said he was much too sensitive, self-critical and sardonic to play the part of the master at all willingly. In the Spring of 1929 the Coles returned to London, living in
West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden in north-west London. Mainly defined by the railway stations of the same name, it is situated between Childs Hill to the north, Frognal and Hampstead to the north-east, Swiss Cottage ...
for six years until buying a "rambling Victorian" house called "Freeland" in Hendon where he lived for most of the last three decades of his life. In early 1957 he and his wife moved to a flat in Holland Park, Kensington. He died after going into a diabetic coma in the early hours of 14 January 1959 in hospital in Hampstead. In lieu of religious rites his brother-in-law,
Raymond Postgate Raymond William Postgate (6 November 1896 – 29 March 1971) was an English socialist, writer, journalist and editor, social historian, mystery novelist, and gourmet who founded the '' Good Food Guide''. He was a member of the Postgate fa ...
, read two passages from the works of
William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...
at his funeral in
Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...
. His estate was offered for probate at £46,617 (equivalent to £1,097,364 in 2020).


Bibliography


Non-fiction works


''The World of Labour''
(1913, revised 1920)
''Labour in War Time''
(1915)
''Trade Unionism on the Railways''
(1917) ith_R._Page_Arnot.html" ;"title="R._Page_Arnot.html" ;"title="ith R. Page Arnot">ith R. Page Arnot">R._Page_Arnot.html" ;"title="ith R. Page Arnot">ith R. Page Arnot
''Self-Government in Industry''
(1917, revised 1920)
''The Payment of Wages''
(1918) * ''The Regulation of Wages During and After the War'' (1918)
''An Introduction to Trade Unionism''
(1918)
''Labour in the Commonwealth''
1919)
''Social Theory''
(1920)
''Guild Socialism Restated''
(1920)
''Chaos and Order in Industry''
(1920)
''Guild Socialism - A plan for Economic Democracy''
(1921)
''The Future of Local Government''
(1921)
''Rousseau's Social Contract and Discourses''
edited and translated in Everyman's Library (1923) * ''Robert Owen'' (1923)
''Workshop Organisation''
(1923)
''Trade Unionism and Munitions''
(1923)
''The Life of William Cobbett''
(1925) * ''The Life of Robert Owen'' (1925, second ed. 1930, third ed. 1965)
''Some Essentials of Socialist Propaganda''
(1932)
''The Intelligent Man's Guide through World Chaos''
(1932)
''The Intelligent Man's Review of Europe Today''
(1933) ith Margaret Cole
''Studies in World Economics''
(1934) * ''What Marx Really Meant'' (1934)
''Principles of Economic Planning''
(1935) * ''The Condition of Britain'' (Left Book Club, 1937) ith Margaret Cole* ''The People's Front'' (Left Book Club, 1937) * ''Practical Economics''(Penguin Books, 1937)
''Persons & Periods''
(1938) * ''Socialism in Evolution'' (1938) Pelican
''The War on the Home Front''
(1939) * ''War Aims'' (Left Book Club, 1939) * ''Europe, Russia and the Future'' (Left Book Club, 1941)
''British Working Class Politics 1832-1914''
(1941) * ''Great Britain in the Post-War World'' (Left Book Club, 1942)
''The Fabian Society, Past and Present''
(1942) * ''Fabian Socialism'' (1943) * ''Monetary Systems and Theories'' (1943) * ''The Means to Full Employment'' (Left Book Club, 1943)
''A Century of Cooperation''
(1944)
''Money: Its Present And Future''
(1944) * ''The Common People, 1746–1946'' (1946) ith_ ith_Raymond_Postgate">Raymond_Postgate.html"_;"title="ith_Raymond_Postgate">ith_Raymond_Postgate
''A_Short_History_of_the_British_Working_Class_Movement,_1789–1947''
(1947)_ *_''An_Intelligent_Man's_Guide_to_the_Post-War_World''_(1947) *_''A_History_of_the_Labour_Party_from_1914''_(London:_Routledge_&_K._Paul,_1948) *_''The_Meaning_of_Marxism''_(1948;_a_rewrite_of_''What_Marx_Really_Meant'')
''Consultation_or_Joint_Management?''
(1949)
''Labour's_Second_Term''
(1949) *_''The_Meaning_of_Marxism''_(1950)_ *_''The_British_Co-operative_Movement_in_a_Socialist_Society,''_(London,_Allen_&_Unwin_1951) *_''Introduction_to_Economic_History_1750–1950''_(London:_Macmillan_1952) *_''A_History_of_Socialist_Thought_(Cole_books).html" ;"title="Raymond_Postgate.html" ;"title="Raymond_Postgate.html" ;"title="ith Raymond Postgate">ith Raymond Postgate">Raymond_Postgate.html" ;"title="ith Raymond Postgate">ith Raymond Postgate
''A Short History of the British Working Class Movement, 1789–1947''
(1947) * ''An Intelligent Man's Guide to the Post-War World'' (1947) * ''A History of the Labour Party from 1914'' (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1948) * ''The Meaning of Marxism'' (1948; a rewrite of ''What Marx Really Meant'')
''Consultation or Joint Management?''
(1949)
''Labour's Second Term''
(1949) * ''The Meaning of Marxism'' (1950) * ''The British Co-operative Movement in a Socialist Society,'' (London, Allen & Unwin 1951) * ''Introduction to Economic History 1750–1950'' (London: Macmillan 1952) * ''A History of Socialist Thought (Cole books)">A History of Socialist Thought'' (five "volumes" in seven "parts", Macmillan, 1953 to 1961; reissued, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) * ''Studies in Class Structure'' (London, Routledge and Kegan Paul 1955)
''Capitalism in the Modern World''
(1957)
''Early Pamphlets and Assessment''
(2011, originally published between 1921 and 1956)


Detective fiction


Novels and short story collections


G D H Cole

*''The Brooklyn Murders'' (1923)


G D H and M Cole

*''The Death of a Millionaire'' (1925) *''The Blatchington Tangle'' (1926); serialised in ''The Daily Herald'' (1926) *''The Murder at Crome House'' (1927) *''The Man from the River'' (1928) *''Superintendent Wilson's Holiday'' (1928) *''Poison in the Garden Suburb'' (1929); serialised in ''The Daily Herald'' (1929). Also known as ''Poison in a Garden Suburb'' *''Burglars in Bucks'' (1930) aka ''The Berkshire Mystery'' *''Corpse in Canonicals'' (1930) aka ''The Corpse in the Constable's Garden'' *''The Great Southern Mystery'' (1931) aka ''The Walking Corpse'' *''Dead Man's Watch'' (1931) *''Death of a Star'' (1932) *''A Lesson in Crime'' (1933) **''A Lesson in Crime''; ''A Question of Coincidence''; ''Mr. Steven's Insurance Policy''; ''Blackmail in the Village''; ''The Cliff Path Ghost''; ''Sixteen Years Run''; ''Wilson Calling'' (Wilson); ''The Brentwardine Mystery''; ''The Mother of the Detective''; ''A Dose of Cyanide''; ''Superintendent Wakley's Mistake''. *''The Affair at Aliquid'' (1933) *''End of an Ancient Mariner'' (1933) *''Death in the Quarry'' (1934) *''Big Business Murder'' (1935) *''Dr Tancred Begins'' (1935) *''Scandal at School'' (1935) aka ''The Sleeping Death'' *''Last Will and Testament'' (1936) *''The Brothers Sackville'' (1936) *''Disgrace to the College'' (1937) *''The Missing Aunt'' (1937) *''Mrs Warrender's Profession'' (1938) *''Off with her Head!'' (1938) *''Double Blackmail'' (1939) *''Greek Tragedy'' (1939) *''Wilson and Some Others'' (1940) **''Death in a Tankard'' (Wilson); ''Murder in Church'' (Wilson); ''The Bone of the Dinosaur'' (Wilson); ''A Tale of Two Suitcases'' (Wilson); ''The Motive'' (Wilson); ''Glass'' (Wilson); ''Murder in Broad Daylight'' (Wilson); ''Ye Olde Englysshe Christmasse or Detection in the Eighteenth Century''; ''The Letters''; ''The Partner''; ''A Present from the Empire''; ''The Strange Adventures of a Chocolate Box''; ''Strychnine Tonic''. *''Murder at the Munition Works'' (1940) *''Counterpoint Murder'' (1940) *''Knife in the Dark'' (1941) *''Toper's End'' (1942) *''Death of a Bride'' (1945) *''Birthday Gifts'' (1946) *''The Toys of Death'' (1948)


Radio plays


G D H and M Cole

* ''Murder in Broad Daylight''. BBC Home Service, 1 June 1934 * ''The Bone of the Dinosaur''. (Detection Club: Series 1, Episode 6). BBC Home Service, 23 and 27 November 1940


Short stories


G D H and Margaret Cole

* ''Death in the Tankard''. (London) Daily News, 15 to 19 January 1934 * ''Too Clever by Half''. (London) Daily News, 20 to 24 April 1936


References


Sources

* Margaret Cole, ''The Life of G. D. H. Cole,'' Macmillan/St. Martin's (1971) * A. W. (Tony) Wright, ''G. D. H. Cole and Socialist Democracy'' New York, Oxford (1979) * L. P. Carpenter, ''G.D.H. Cole: An Intellectual Biography,'' Cambridge (1974)
Chris Wyatt, "A Recipe for a Cookshop of the Future: G. D. H. Cole and the Conundrum of Sovereignty
''Capital and Class'' 90 (2006)


External links

* *
''Guild Socialism'' (1920)

''Some Essentials of Socialist Propaganda'' (1932)

''The War on the Home Front'' (1939)

''Capitalism in the Modern World'' (1957)

''New Statesman'' article on G.D.H. Cole (2012)


by Ray Challinor.
Mike Grost on Cole's detective novels
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, G. D. H. 1889 births 1959 deaths 20th-century British economists 20th-century English historians 20th-century British short story writers People from Cambridge Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford British conscientious objectors British cooperative organizers English male journalists English mystery writers English socialists English anti-fascists Libertarian socialists Fellows of University College, Oxford People educated at St Paul's School, London Members of the Detection Club English political philosophers Chichele Professors of Social and Political Theory Chairs of the Fabian Society Presidents of the Fabian Society European democratic socialists Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Labour Party (UK) politicians Postgate family Deaths from diabetes