Marxists’ Internet Archive

Michael Kidron

1930 – 2003

Michael Kidron was a leading theoretician of the British Socialist Review Group and its successor, the International Socialists, from the mid-1950s, when he joined the group, until the mid-1970s, when he dropped out of active politics. In particular he developed the theory of the Permanent Arms Economy as an explanation of the long post-war boom. Another important contribution was a critique of Lenin’s Imperialism, or rather of the way it was (and is) interpreted by many socialists. He was later managing editor of Pluto Press, one of the most influential socialist imprints in Britain.

At the moment the following texts are available either here in the Archive or by links to other Websites:

Feb.–Dec. 1954	Our Programme (series)
March 1954	Letter to the Socialist Review
August 1954	The Steel Scandal
November 1954	For Democracy Within the Labour Movement
August 1956	Automation (pamphlet)
December 1956	Policy for Redundancy
January 1957	Nationalisation is a Class Issue
April 1957	The Mixed Economy
May 1957	The Decline of British Capitalism
Dec. 1957–Sept. 1958	The Fight for Socialism (series)
Summer 1958	The economic background of the recent strikes
June 1959	The Limits of Reform: A Reply to Ken Alexander
November 1959	Labour after the Election: The Future of the Left
January 1960	The Flow of Money (book review)
January 1960	After the end of Empire
February 1960	A note on the Limitations of Reforming “Realism”
Autumn 1960	Two left feet (book review)
Spring 1961	Washington or Moscow? (book review)
Autumn 1961	Inflation (book review)
Winter 1961	Reform and Revolution – Rejoinder to Left Reformism II
Spring 1962	Inside Britain (book review)
Spring 1962	Tunnel or Bridge (book review)
Summer 1962	Imperialism: highest stage but one
Summer 1963	Bright-Wing Boy (book review)
Autumn 1964	Badly Served (book review)
Spring 1965	The Fire Last Time
Spring 1965	International Capitalism
Spring 1965	Letter to Readers on India (editorial)
Summer 1965	C&A Marx (book review)
August 1965	World Trade
August 1965	State Capitalist Handbook
Winter 1965/66	Coal, Gas & Sparks (book review)
Winter 1965/66	Crooked Sixpence (book review)
Winter 1965/66	Manual in Mufti (book review)
Spring 1966	Centre for Socialist Education (discussion document)
Spring 1966	Some Trees, No Wood (book review)
Spring 1966	Whiff of Decay (book review)
Autumn 1966	Pregnant Choice (book review)
Autumn 1966	[Yugoslavia]
Spring 1967	A Permanent Arms Economy
Autumn 1967	Indonesian Communists
1968	Still a chance for the reformers
Spring 1968	Marx’s Theory of Value
Autumn 1968	[Russia]
April/May 1969	Maginot Marxism: Mandel’s Economics
3 July 1969	Tropical Trotskyism
Oct./Nov. 1969	ABM
1970	Western Capitalism Since the War (book)
Feb. 1971	SALT in the wounds
Mar. 1971	Memories of Development
Mar. 1973	For Every Prince There is a Princess
July 1977	Two insights don’t make a theory
Winter 2002	Failing growth and rampant costs: two ghosts in the machine of modern capitalism

Obituaries	From The Guardian by Richard Kuper From Socialist Review by Chris Harman From Socialist Worker (GB) by Alex Callinicos From Socialist Worker (US) by Lee Sustar