Re: The CPA and Aboriginal Activismwas RE: Scholarship and politics (was Re: Proyect v Woods)

[Greg Schofield <gschofield@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am glad you asked this one as I very much like Vere Gordon Childe.

Officially he was in the left of the ALP (the Labour  party) and was quite
close to Lang (a state premier that was dismissed by the Kings
representative when he moved to forestall paying off British debts during
the depression - I had the privilege to meet Lang as a schoolboy - there
will be some who don't paint quite the same rosy picture of him - I might
also mentioned that when he died I stood in the silent crowds of ordinary
Australians who lined the streets in their thousands to bid goodbye).

What has to be remembered is that during the 20's and 30's (despite the
social-fascist policies - older comrades would remark about the silliness
this entailed) there was a good deal of overlap between communist and Labor.

There was a much latter communist splinter from the labor party, basically
because there were so many non-card carrying communists in the ALP  - ie
who were not CPA members but worked hand in hand - that is made communist
within the labor party rather than infiltrated into it.

Childe was in this milieu and I know he had many friends in the CPA, but
left for Europe in the 30's. From what I can gather from conversations held
decades ago, his personal loyalties kept him in Labor, but politically he
was very much a communist or sympathizer (this may well have been
overstated based on his latter importance).

I don't think Childe had a direct influence on way or another on the CPA,
though doubtless his work on archaeology flowed to it. I have always wished
that some small monument could be erected where he suicided to commemorate
a life's contribution (I believe it was at a particularity beautiful spot
in the Blue Mountains "Govet's Leap" one that has often been used to end
life) - I believe his death was partly motivated by his political despair
at the Cold war and the way the ALP was going, no-doubt more personal
things played a bigger part as they often do in such things.

Nestor I don't know that this is particularity useful to you, Australian
politics (at least in the past) was not always as cut and dried as it may
have been elsewhere. I found Childe has some shortcomings theoretically but
none of the obvious ones and he is still well ahead in some areas (despite
his archaeological findings now being turned on their heads - his work on
prehistoric Europe is in fact the foundations of all modern assessments - I
don't think he would have been disappointed in this).

I am certain Childe did not influence the CPA leadership - they were
perfectly able to bugger up good theory by themselves (Childe's work has
some shortcomings but it is not all that bad).


Greg Schofield
Perth Australia

At 01:28  22/05/01 -0400, you wrote:
>En relación a Re: The CPA and Aboriginal Activismwas RE: Schola,
>el 22 May 01, a las 10:58, Greg Schofield dijo:
>
> > Gary, I agree with what you have added. The social darwinist strain never
> > quite disappeared though it did transform itself in latter years.
> >
> > There is a distinction that must be also maintained which is the
> diversity that
> > existed within the CPA, it was not a case, as I can make out that
> > social-darwinist views were so much promoted but that a rather superficial
> > understanding of Engels tended to guard against a thorough critical
> disposing of
> > social-darwinist ideas which were not only widespread in Australia but
> > officially promoted.
>
>What was the relation between Vere Gordon Childe and the CPA?
>
>Néstor Miguel Gorojovsky
>gorojovsky@xxxxxxxxxxxx