Lives of the Left
1 total work
This biography examines the ideas and political career of perhaps the most significant and influential American Marxist in the period 1890-1914. The text examines how De Leon, as leader of the Socialist Labour Party, and editor of its journal, the "Daily People", played a key role in the development of the early American Marxist socialist movement. The author describes a complex and committed Marxist thinker who refused to compromise his belief that capitalism had to be abolished. He traces De Leon's career from joining the SLP in 1890, through his relationship with the American Federation of Labour. He also explores De Leon's influence on other thinkers such as Lenin, and assesses his role in the failure of socialism to take root in the USA.