Philip Bounds
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Philip Bounds was a Marxist historian, journalist and critic. He held a PhD in Politics from the
University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...
and wrote a number of books, including ''Orwell and Marxism'' and ''British Communism and the Politics of Literature, 1928–1939''.


Work

Much of Bounds's work was concerned with the intellectual history of the British Left. His book on George Orwell advanced the controversial argument that Orwell's literary and cultural criticism was deeply influenced by the work of British communists. The book was praised for its originality by leading Orwell scholars such as Peter Davison, John Newsinger and Jean-Jacques Rosat. Bounds's last book was a memoir of life on the British left entitled ''Notes from the End of History''. Drawing on his own experience of organisations like the
Socialist Party of Great Britain The Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB) is a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1904 as a split from the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), it advocates using the ballot box for revolutionary purposes and oppo ...
and the
Communist Party of Britain The Communist Party of Britain (CPB) is a communist party in Great Britain which emerged from a dispute between Eurocommunists and Marxist-Leninists in the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1988. It follows Marxist-Leninist theory and s ...
, Bounds evokes the evolution of the Marxist left over the last thirty years in a style that is simultaneously affectionate and satirical. In her review of the book in the journal ''New Welsh Review'', Helen Pendry described it as "a romp of a read...politically searching ndgloriously well written". A review in the ''Socialist Standard'' described it as "exceptionally well written" and suggested that "Bounds wishes to challenge his readers to move beyond the stock-in-trade reformism and sloganeering of the far left". Philip Bounds described himself as a "
libertarian Marxist 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 ...
" and said that his "enduring belief is that individual liberty can only be achieved in a socialist society". In some of his writings he expressed cautious sympathy with free-market libertarians, and he wrote pamphlets for the
Libertarian Alliance The Libertarian Alliance (LA) refers to two libertarian think tanks in the UK. Originally one organisation, it split in 1982. One Libertarian Alliance was renamed "Mises UK" in 2017; the remaining Libertarian Alliance holds regular meetings i ...
. He once claimed that "The great virtue of right-wing libertarians is that they stolidly defend freedom even in the hardest cases." Bounds's work on the history of the left has been supplemented by shorter pieces on an eclectic range of subjects, including the music of
Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...
, film and the paranormal. His articles, essays and reviews appeared in a range of journals and newspapers including ''Critique'', ''Socialist History'', ''Socialism and Democracy'', ''Nature, Society and Thought'', ''Cultural Logic'', ''The Individual'', ''Key Words'' and ''George Orwell Studies''.


Select bibliography

*
Orwell and Marxism: The Political and Cultural Thinking of George Orwell
', London: I.B. Tauris, 2009. *

', London: Merlin Press, 2012. *

', London: Merlin Press, 2012. *
Cultural Studies
', Plymouth: Studymates, 1999. * Edited with Mala Jagmohan,
Recharting Media Studies: Essays on Neglected Media Critics
', Oxford: Peter Lang, 2008. * Edited with David Berry,
British Marxism and Cultural Studies: Essays on a Living Tradition
', Abingdon: Routledge, 2016. *
A Spy in the House of Art: The Marxist Criticism of Anthony Blunt
', ''Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory'', Vol. 46 No. 2, 2018. *
The Marxist Outsider: T.A. Jackson as Autobiographer and Critic
', ''Socialism and Democracy'', Vol. 31, No. 2, 2017. *
The Necessity of Interpretation: Arnold Kettle and Communist Literary Criticism
', ''Socialist History'', No. 51, 2017. * "Science, Art and Dissent: Jack Lindsay and the Communist Theory of Culture" in Philip Bounds and David Berry (eds),
British Marxism and Cultural Studies
', Abingdon: Routledge, 2016. * "Sectarians on Wigan Pier: George Orwell and the Anti-Austerity Left in Britain" in Richard Lance Keeble (ed),
George Orwell Now!
', New York: Peter Lang, 2014. * "Poetry versus Cinema: Meena Kumari as a Critic of Popular Culture" (with Daisy Hasan) in Noorul Hasan (ed),

', Delhi: Roli Books, 2014. * "Just Say No: Herbert Marcuse and the Politics of Negationism" in David Berry (ed),
Revisiting The Frankfurt School: Essays on Culture, Media and Theory
', Farnham: Ashgate, 2012. * "Learning from his Enemies: George Orwell and British Communism" in Richard Keeble (ed),
Orwell Today
', Bury St. Edmunds: Abramis, 2012. *
Remembering Communism: The Experience of Political Defeat
', in Shuddha Sengupta et al. (eds), ''Sarai Reader 06: Turbulence'', Delhi: Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, 2006. *
From Folk to Jazz: Eric Hobsbawm, British Communism and Cultural Studies
', ''Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory'', Vol. 40 No. 4, 2012. *
Orwell and Englishness: The Dialogue with British Marxism
', ''Cultural Logic: An Electronic Journal of Marxist Theory and Practice'', 2007. *
Beyond Ways of Seeing: The Media Criticism of John Berger
', ''Fifth Estate Online: An International Journal of Radical Mass Media Criticism'', May 2008. *
Unlikely Bedfellows: Orwell and the British Cultural Marxists
', ''Nature, Society and Thought'', Vol. 20 No. 1, 2007. *
The Case for Revolution
' n Zizek ''The Caravan: A Journal of Politics and Culture'', May 2010. *
Exasperating but Necessary
' n Ayn Rand ''The Caravan: A Journal of Politics and Culture'', November 2010.


Selected discussions of Bounds's work

* Peter Davison,
Review of Orwell and Marxism
', ''American Communist History'', Vol. 9 No. 3, 2010. * Peter Arkell,

', ''A World to Win'', August 2010. * Christopher Pawling,
Review of British Communism and the Politics of Literature
', ''Rethinking Marxism'', Vol. 26 No. 4, 2014. * Jack Farmer,
Review of British Communism and the Politics of Literature 1928–1939
', ''Socialist Review'', April 2012. * Lawrence Parker,
Review of British Communism and the Politics of Literature 1928–1939
', ''Weekly Worker'', 926, August 2012. * Andy Brooks,

', ''New Worker'', May 2012. * "DAP",
Review of Notes from the End of History
', ''Socialist Standard'', November 2014.


References


External links


Website


* ttp://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Book-demand-aids-Oxfam/story-16493074-detail/story.html Books sell out at book launch in aid of Oxfam {{DEFAULTSORT:Bounds, Philip Living people British historians British Marxists English libertarians British libertarians Libertarian Marxists Year of birth missing (living people)