Tom Kemp
Encyclopedia
Tom Kemp was a prominent Marxist economic historian and political theorist. He was influential in socialist and Trotskyist parties in the UK, and published several influential books on Marxist theory and economic development, in particular Theories of Imperialism which made an important contribution to assimilating globalisation into Marxist theology.
and during his school years Kemp became involved with the Young Communist League (UK) and Communist Party of Great Britain
.
In 1939 he enrolled at the London School of Economics
, breaking his studies after a year to serve in the Royal Navy as a rating in landing craft, participating in the Dieppe Raid
. Towards the end of the war Kemp was stationed in liberated Marseille and met the Frenchwoman who he married after the war. Kemp was a lifelong Francophile and wrote important texts on French economic history and the history of Stalinism in France.
Kemp returned to his studies at LSE in 1946 and in 1950 joined economics faculty of the University of Hull
, where he taught for over 30 years.
, and in 1968 was the opponent in that year's Socialist Party of Great Britain debates
. Kemp also wrote contributions for the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
In the 1970s, University of Hull was one of the leading centers for economic history, fuelled in-part by the intellectual division between John Saville
and the New Left
and Kemp on the Trotskyist left.
, one of the theoreticians behind the Socialist Labour League and the Workers Revolutionary Party.
Like many others, Kemp left the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1956 at the time of the Soviet Invasion of Hungry. In 1957 he joined The Club (Trotskyist)
, the Trotskyist group within the Labour Party
led by Gerry Healy
. Kemp was an important thinker and activist within the group and its successor organisations the Socialist Labour League and the Workers Revolutionary Party.
In 1967 Kemp took a stand against the party's cataclysmic projections of the imminent economic end of the capitalist system, submitting an alternate document on economic perspectives to the party conference and refusing to back down. Only he voted for the document, and he was nearly driven from the party.
However, he regained influence and continued to be an important thinker in the party until 1980 when, according to Cyril Smith, disillusionment with Healy’s leadership led him to withdraw from party activities. After Healy’s expulsion from the party in 1985 Kemp resumed an active role in WRP, continuing until his death in 1993.
Kemp also played a central role in the theoretical work of the International Committee of the Fourth International
, and co-edited the Fourth International Journal.
Early life
Kemp was born in Wandsworth, London to a working class family. He gained a scholarship to the independent school Emanuel SchoolEmanuel School
Emanuel School is a co-educational independent school in Battersea, south-west London. The school was founded by Lady Dacre and Elizabeth I in 1594. Today it has some 710 pupils, aged between ten and eighteen.-History:...
and during his school years Kemp became involved with the Young Communist League (UK) and Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
.
In 1939 he enrolled at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, breaking his studies after a year to serve in the Royal Navy as a rating in landing craft, participating in the Dieppe Raid
Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied...
. Towards the end of the war Kemp was stationed in liberated Marseille and met the Frenchwoman who he married after the war. Kemp was a lifelong Francophile and wrote important texts on French economic history and the history of Stalinism in France.
Kemp returned to his studies at LSE in 1946 and in 1950 joined economics faculty of the University of Hull
University of Hull
The University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
, where he taught for over 30 years.
Academic work
Kemp wrote a number of works on Marxist theory and economic development, in particular Theories of Imperialism which made an important contribution to assimilating globalisation into Marxist theology. His works on economic development are also important. He was prolific contributor to Marxist journals including the Labour Review and the International Socialist ReviewInternational Socialist Review
International Socialist Review may refer to:*International Socialist Review *International Socialist Review *International Socialist Review...
, and in 1968 was the opponent in that year's Socialist Party of Great Britain debates
Socialist Party of Great Britain debates
Debates between the Socialist Party of Great Britain and other groups were of particular importance in bringing the party case to an outside audience without the sometimes off-putting rhetoric of platform speaking, or the one-sidedness of educational talks...
. Kemp also wrote contributions for the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
In the 1970s, University of Hull was one of the leading centers for economic history, fuelled in-part by the intellectual division between John Saville
John Saville
John Saville was a Greek-British Marxist historian, long associated with Hull University. He was one of the most influential writers on British Labour History in the second half of the twentieth century.- Life and career :...
and the New Left
New Left
The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
and Kemp on the Trotskyist left.
Political activity
As a political activist Kemp was, together with Cliff SlaughterCliff Slaughter
-Life:During the Second World War, Cliff Slaughter worked in a coal mine as one of the Bevin Boys. While there, he was injured when kicked by a pit pony.He later became a lecturer and writer on sociology and Marxism...
, one of the theoreticians behind the Socialist Labour League and the Workers Revolutionary Party.
Like many others, Kemp left the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1956 at the time of the Soviet Invasion of Hungry. In 1957 he joined The Club (Trotskyist)
The Club (Trotskyist)
The Club was a Trotskyist group in the United Kingdom. It operated inside the Labour Party and was the official section of the Fourth International from 1950 until 1953 when, after the FI split, it became part of the International Committee of the Fourth International...
, the Trotskyist group within the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
led by Gerry Healy
Gerry Healy
Thomas Gerard Healy, known as Gerry Healy , was a political activist, a co-founder of the International Committee of the Fourth International, and, according to former prominent U.S. supporter David North, the leader of the Trotskyist movement in Great Britain between 1950 – 1985...
. Kemp was an important thinker and activist within the group and its successor organisations the Socialist Labour League and the Workers Revolutionary Party.
In 1967 Kemp took a stand against the party's cataclysmic projections of the imminent economic end of the capitalist system, submitting an alternate document on economic perspectives to the party conference and refusing to back down. Only he voted for the document, and he was nearly driven from the party.
However, he regained influence and continued to be an important thinker in the party until 1980 when, according to Cyril Smith, disillusionment with Healy’s leadership led him to withdraw from party activities. After Healy’s expulsion from the party in 1985 Kemp resumed an active role in WRP, continuing until his death in 1993.
Kemp also played a central role in the theoretical work of the International Committee of the Fourth International
International Committee of the Fourth International
The International Committee of the Fourth International is the name of two Trotskyist internationals; one with sections named Socialist Equality Party which publishes the World Socialist Web Site and another linked to the Workers Revolutionary Party in Britain.-Foundation:The International...
, and co-edited the Fourth International Journal.
Selected works
- Theories of Imperialism (Dobson, 1967)
- Industrialization in Nineteenth Century Europe (Longman 1969)
- Economic Forces in French History: Essay on the Development of the French Economy, 1760-1914 (Dobson, 1971)
- French Economy, 1913-39 (Longman, 1972)
- Historical Patterns of Industrialization (Longman, 1978)
- Karl Marx's "Capital" Today (New Park Publications 1982)
- Industrialization in the Non-Western World (Longman, 1983)
- Stalinism in France: The First Twenty Years of the French Communist Party (New Park Publications 1984)
- The Climax of Capitalism: The US Economy in the Twentieth Century (Longman 1990)
External links
- http://www.revolutionaryhistory.co.uk/allobits/kemp.html
- http://www.marxists.org/archive/higgins/1993/xx/1956.htm