Miliband the Younger speaks of Miliband the Elder

The announcement by Ed Miliband that he'll be competing with brother David for the leadership of the Labour Party reminded me of a tale he told during his first conference speech a few years ago, in which he jokingly referred to the political views of his Marxist father.

Or was it a joke? And did he have any more to say at a fringe meeting when Gordon wasn't around?

More seriously, did the far left views of Ralph Miliband leave no impression whatsoever on his two sons?

As an erstwhile sociologist, it's something I've often wondered about. If you're not aware of their Professor Miliband's contribution to the discipline, the titles of his main publications (below) will give you the general idea, or you can learn more HERE.


Books by the late Ralph Miliband
  • Parliamentary Socialism: A Study of the Politics of Labour (1961).
  • The State in Capitalist Society (1969).
  • Marxism and Politics (1977).
  • Capitalist Democracy in Britain (1982).
  • Class Power and State Power (1983).
  • Divided Societies: Class Struggle in Contemporary Capitalism (1989).
  • Socialism for a Sceptical Age (1994).

1 comment:

DSA said...

Also just as interesting is Ed Milipede's appearance on Echo Moskvy, a Moscow radio programme when a Russian, Sofia rang in to say she was a relative. This was first of all rejected by the radio hosts but it was true, see The mail on Sunday http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1218838/Shock-Ed-Miliband-Moscow-radio-phone-long-lost-relative-makes-contact.html

BigBro