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The formation of the English working class is probably the most creative postwar work in English social history. The study of artisan society and the working class in their formative years, from 1780 to 1832, adds an important dimension to our understanding of the 19th century. Thompson does not see the people of England as statistics or as victims of political repression and industrial alienation: for him, the English working class was a definitive part of its own formation.
From the ear of Edgar Salvadori of Decca:
In an interview, EP Thompson was once asked his opinion of English historiography. He responded something like this: "I believe that much of historiography, especially in England, has viewed society from the perspective of the expectations and self-image of the ruling class: the propaganda of the victors . Therefore, I believe that recovering an alternative history almost always involves polemicizing with the dominant ideology."
I believe this statement still shocks those who watch over Brazilian historiography. Especially since *The Making of the English Working Class* is not the result of any doctoral thesis. According to the author himself, "it was not a book written for an academic audience. My work for many years was teaching adult classes for workers and trade unionists. In addition to this audience, I had in mind the old and new left and the labor movement."
EP Thompson's long career has transformed him into a historian committed to popular causes and a vigorous critic of the dominant ideology, without ever losing his humor and irony. When I intended to publish a book with his most important articles from the 1970s, I wrote to him asking for a final review of the texts. His final response, very kind and ironic, was disconcerting: "I can't review my texts; I'm quite removed from the work of a historian. I dedicate all my time and writing to the anti-nuclear cause. I believe that if Ronald Reagan gives me some peace, I can return to my desk and finish reviewing the articles you requested."
The formation of the English working class doesn't just argue with the victors' propaganda; it also criticizes Marxist conceptions of the working class, which transformed it into the result of the equation of steam energy + industrial system, into a mere factor of production. This reminds me of Charles Chaplin's solitary line: " You are not machines! You are men! " This book is the story of an experience and a popular culture.
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