Sidney, Beatrice and The BOOK: making of Webbs’ partnership History Trade Unionism

This book examines the early partnership of Sidney and Beatrice Webb and the making of their first big book, The History of Trade Unionism (1894). It was Beatrice who decided that their marriage was to produce books rather than babies. She was born into a wealthy home, but aimed to develop for herself a career as a social investigator. She did her apprenticeship in the social sciences by working with Charles Booth.When she first met Sidney Webb, he was a rising star within the socialist movement. Beatrice Potter was on the opposite end of the 'liberal' continuum to her future husband. At that time she was a disciple of Hebert Spencer, an anti-socialist. Sidney taught her to read Spencer and other prominent thinkers of their day differently. Beatrice appreciated Sidney's historical explanation for inevitability of a socialist future and she was soon convinced and converted.Their first book laid out their plan for the control of the means of production and distribution by government regulation-guided by the working class vote-and by the efforts of trade unions to raise the workers' standard of life. With Sidney's encouragement, Beatrice turned from her ideal of scientifically pure research to his policy of partisan advocacy.

Pagina's: 139, Paperback, Independently published