Well-conducted interview, thanks. Reviews I saw suggested Evans’ biography of Hobsbawm was a deeply competent work of disciplined piety fulfilling a commission, and perhaps mainly that, but Evans really brings Hobsbawm alive in this interview; it’s rekindled my interest in Hobsbawm’s work, and it’s made me want to read the book which I’m ordering now!
I wish you had delved more with Richard into the nature of Hobsbawm's Marxism. In the biography and, unfortunately, in this interview Evans seems to scant much of the theoretical discussions/debates that preoccupied much of Eric's life, substituting instead a slew of superfluous biographical minutiae. Hobsbawm's actual reading of Marx, and how vastly different it was to the various currents of reading Marx that were on offer during his era (Althusser, Della Volpe, Dobb, etc) is huge piece of his life. In fact, Hobsbawm's most influential essays -- On Antonio Gramsci, the origins of Capitalism, Marx's Grundrisse/Pre-Capitalist Economic Formations and On the Labour Question -- were not just explicit interventions in historical materialism, but were transformative to his fundamental understanding of capitalism as a mode of production, which is the great theme of his entire body of work. Nevertheless, Excellent Interview !
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. And you're right, that's certainly something that would have been worth delving into. Unfortunately, I'm not well-versed in Hobsbawm's in-depth writings on Marxism, although I did enjoy much of How to Change the World. I'll certainly look into those essays you note.
Really fascinating discussion, that was far too short, particularly when discussing the Age of series.
Thank you for this.
Thanks for watching Bill.
Well-conducted interview, thanks. Reviews I saw suggested Evans’ biography of Hobsbawm was a deeply competent work of disciplined piety fulfilling a commission, and perhaps mainly that, but Evans really brings Hobsbawm alive in this interview; it’s rekindled my interest in Hobsbawm’s work, and it’s made me want to read the book which I’m ordering now!
Thanks Jeffrey!
I ADORE READING
this is a great interview well done thanks for the free content. I didn't know Evans had new book but now I really want to read it
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.
I wish you had delved more with Richard into the nature of Hobsbawm's Marxism. In the biography and, unfortunately, in this interview Evans seems to scant much of the theoretical discussions/debates that preoccupied much of Eric's life, substituting instead a slew of superfluous biographical minutiae.
Hobsbawm's actual reading of Marx, and how vastly different it was to the various currents of reading Marx that were on offer during his era (Althusser, Della Volpe, Dobb, etc) is huge piece of his life. In fact, Hobsbawm's most influential essays -- On Antonio Gramsci, the origins of Capitalism, Marx's Grundrisse/Pre-Capitalist Economic Formations and On the Labour Question -- were not just explicit interventions in historical materialism, but were transformative to his fundamental understanding of capitalism as a mode of production, which is the great theme of his entire body of work.
Nevertheless, Excellent Interview !
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. And you're right, that's certainly something that would have been worth delving into. Unfortunately, I'm not well-versed in Hobsbawm's in-depth writings on Marxism, although I did enjoy much of How to Change the World. I'll certainly look into those essays you note.