The People's Choice?

Chris Harman’s book, A People’s History of the World: From the Stone Age to the New Millennium, is a world history intended for public consumption. While that seems like an awkward introduction, keeping the intended audience in mind is essential in order to appreciate the merits of the book. Harman uses Marxist theory to craft a history of the world from below. Harman makes sure to avoid the sometimes overly narrow and isolated focus of history from the bottom approaches by making important interconnections between events, trends and people.
The political underpinnings and intent of the book are overtly addressed throughout the text. The title of his book proudly proclaims his socialist allegiance of A People’s History while the narrative often focuses on the continual process of exploitation of the masses by those who control the means and modes of production. Harman uses the past to tell, “about the sequence of events that led to the lives we lead today…understanding it is the key to finding out if and how we can further change the world in which we live.” Harman’s statement in itself is not that revolutionary or contradictory to the texts that many historians produce. Most historians research topics that they think are important. In fact, a basic question that should be addressed before tackling a project is, “why is this important?” In fact, constructing a world history with a contemporary goal in mind is exactly what global historian Bruce Mazlich advocates. Mazlich defines global history as an approach with a clear political agenda and resulting policy implications in mind.
Harman’s narrative is incredibly effective not only throughout the main part of the book detailing historical events but in the introduction and the conclusion. The introduction brings up many historiographical issues that are relayed with amazing ease for a general reading public to read and understand. For instance, Harman subtly defends his polemic argument and call to contemporary action in the introduction when he brings up issues of usable history. This argument echoes Jeremy Black’s assertion that nation states desire a cohesive national myth that presents a useable history easily comprehensible and accessible by its citizens. By brining up ideas of useable history and historical authority Harman is able to convince readers from the start that the met-narratives that they know are perhaps not totally true or the product of the ruling class. This ensures that his arguments are not dismissed out of hand early in the text and in addition the idea of learning new historical facts that contradict allegedly fabricated useable history is an effective hook.
Another interesting point that Harman brings up in the introduction is that, “‘Human nature’ as we know it today is a product of our history, not its cause.” This is an essential argument in Harman’s book and helps intrigue and captivate readers from the very beginning in Part I: The Rise of Class Societies. Harman follows through on his assertion throughout the narrative by illustrating the lack of societies based on “competition, inequality and oppression,” in the past and how these traits were gradually developed through political, social and commercial structures that allowed ruling elites to control the means of production.
Harman’s explicit use of Marxist social theory throughout his text does not exclude the book from belonging with other academic world histories. According to Alun Munslow, Chris Harman seemingly fits quite well into the second historical epistemology as a constructionist. “The constructionist…opts for a self-consciously social-scientific and theory laden style that practitioners believe produces the most likely meaning of the past. ... [finding] the underling structural character of historical change.” As a constructionist, Harman utilizes Marxist theory to reveal to readers, “the general pattern that has led to the present. It was Karl Marx who provided an insight into this general pattern.” The constructionist nature of Harman’s book makes it appealing as a public history in contrast to a deconstructionist interpretation. This is because it offers a definitive past and not a qualified and sometimes complex historical rendering typical of deconstructionist history. The major pitfall in crafting a constructionist history for the public is the use of theoretical arguments. However, Harman does an admirable job not overindulging in Marxist theory and instead hinting at socialist arguments through his historical examples throughout the narrative. In fact, Harman demonstrates that a constructionist approach with an effective narrative is most likely the best approach for writing a popular history. Whereas a reconstructionist approach satisfies readers with definitive answers, it does not necessarily provoke interest because the lack of a prominent argument, implicit in a constructionist approach.
In many ways Chris Harman’s book was a nice complement to the ideas and evidence put forth by Mike Davis and Giovanni Arrighi. For instance, Harman echoes Mike Davis’ argument about the real causes of widespread famines when he criticizes ruling class exploitation and its devastating implications, “At that point it only required a slight change in climate for people to starve and society to shake to its core.” Chris Harman’s assertion rings true after reading about the colonial exploitation of the British in India, China and Brasil in Mike Davis’ book. Davis’ argument that the western imperial powers in the nineteenth century were responsible for the creation of the “third world,” resonates with Harman’s assertion of a pattern of exploitation by the ruling classes over the masses. Davis focuses on the British and their colonial exploitations but Harman takes the idea of exploitation and ambitiously maps its history from the beginning of humankind to the present. Harman thus extends Davis’ argument to other parts of the world and across time to see similar exploitation practiced by other civilizations. For instance, Harman uses Africa to demonstrate British ruling class exploitation with slavery. The slave trade provided immense wealth to involved ruling elites while undermining African societies and helping create militaristic African regimes that still dominate the continent to this day.
Harman also complements Arrighi’s book, The Long Twentieth Century, quite well. An important part of Harman’s book is a Marxist critique of capitalism as the latest structure in which the ruling class exploits the masses. Unlike Arrighi’s broad perspective, Harman looks at the market interactions that illustrate human exploitation due to capitalism. Harman also uses his search for historical patterns to reveal the part revolutions and the masses behind them played in the formation of market-based economies, “Like the Dutch, English and American revolutions before it, the French Revolution had cut away the great obstacles inherited from the past to a fully market based society.” The most interesting connection between Arrighi and Harman is their conclusions about the future of capitalism. Arrighi is uncertain if any individual state might be able to construct a more complex and bigger foundation for a future systemic cycle of accumulation or if a conglomerate of multi-national organizations or some type of world government might be the ultimate successors to the US cycle of accumulation. Harman on the other hand also suggests the collapse of capitalism but more along the lines of a Marxist interpretation with an organized rising of the masses. The conclusions reveal the purpose of each book. While Arrighi’s text is a cautionary tale about the future of US global economic hegemony and capitalism in large, Harman’s is a call to action against the continuing pattern of exploitation that has continually afflicted human history.
Harman’s book falls short as a scholarly world history in several ways but not necessarily because of Harman’s call to action. Many of these are technical and understandable, like the lack of footnotes, due to the intended audience and nature of the text. Others are a little worrying like the use of dated sources and small factual missteps interspersed in the narrative. That said, the narrative flow of the history is exemplary and the un-academic medium allows Harman to express opinions that simultaneously differentiates his book from academic scholarship while also appealing to a general public audience. For instance when Harman characterizes the Crusaders as, “a bunch of robbers gathered under the direction of religious fanatics,” he is making overly simplistic characterizations that might offend historians but which enliven and paint vivid pictures and understandings for readers.
The one world history that we have read this year that seemingly straddles the line between public world history and academic scholarship is Late Victorian Holocausts by Mike Davis. Davis also writes with a powerful polemic in mind but differs in its delivery. While Harman often conveys his views in the text, Davis does so through powerful evidence. Davis’ evidence is conveyed through stories, statistics and perhaps most importantly, pictures. The fact that the pictures are, “intended as accusations not illustrations,” does not diminish their impact.
While perhaps not up to Mike Davis’ standards in terms of satisfying historians’ demands, Harman’s work should be appreciated immensely for delivering to its intended audience. The ten printings is evidence that the widespread reading public enjoys good narrative. More importantly, while historians often produce works that create more questions than they answer, Harman’s book satiates readers with clear-cut answers. Also important, Harman does not overly complicate an early dichotomy that he establishes between the poor masses and the rich controllers of the means of production. By conveying an easily understood hero and villain construct throughout the text, and ultimately history, Harman persuades readers to take up the cause of the historically downtrodden masses and help realize their heroic triumph.