Research On Edward Thompson’s Theory Of The Formation Of The Working Class

Edward Palmer Thompson(1924-1993)is a famous British Marxist historian and the main representative of the first generation of New Left Movement in Britain.In his youth,Thompson joined the British Communist Party under the influence of his elder brother.The formation of his thoughts was positively influenced by the British "Communist Historian Group".Although he quit the British Communist Party in 1956,he has always adhered to the relevant research of Marxist theory.Thompson’s theory of the formation of the working class inherits Marxist class theory,and at the same time absorbs the British national cultural tradition,which has a unique theoretical connotation.During the period of the New Left Movement in Britain,Thompson focused his theoretical research on the history of the formation of the working class in Britain and made certain achievements.Through research and academic argumentation,Thompson still adheres to the dominant position of the British working class in the British Revolution,while also expressing sympathy for the tragic life experiences of the British working class and adhering to his original intention to speak up for the working class.But Thompson pushed the scope of class application forward to capitalist society,separating the concept of class from the capitalist system,which is the biggest difference from Marxism.Thompson’s theory of the formation of the working class was formed in the context of the World Cold War and the decline of Britain’s international status,as well as the weakening of domestic working class consciousness.In the New Left Movement,Thompson insisted on studying the history of the formation of the British working class.Thompson reinterpreted class and culture in his theory of working class formation,while relying on his works "The Formation of the British Working Class" and "Shared Habits" to elaborate on the process and factors of the formation of the British working class.The innovation of Thompson’s theory on the formation of the working class lies in exploring the common cultural genes and national traditions of the British working class,and interpreting the formation of the British working class from a cultural perspective.Thompson believed that the class struggle of the British working class predated its own formation.As early as the mid to late 18 th century before the Industrial Revolution,the British working class had already begun class struggle under the influence of traditional patriarchal customary law in England,and through continuous struggle,it formed a mature class consciousness,and then class was formed.Therefore,Thompson’s theory on the formation of the working class mainly focuses on the cultural traditions of the formation of the British working class.Thompson,based on the reality of Britain,responded to the question of whether the British working class is still revolutionary,enriched the Marxist theory of class formation in the cultural dimension,and widened the research perspective of the theory of working class formation.Due to the limitations of Thompson’s academic research,there are corresponding theoretical limitations in his theory of the formation of the working class,but it is of great theoretical value for us to study the history of the formation of the working class in developed capitalist countries and explore the historical role of the working class in our country.