George Douglas Howard Cole (25 September 1889 – 14 January 1959) was an English

political theorist A political theorist is someone who engages in constructing or evaluating political theory, including political philosophy. Theorists may be academics or independent scholars. Ancient * Aristotle * Chanakya * Cicero * Confucius * Mencius * ...

, economist, historian, and novelist. As a believer in common ownership of the means of production, he theorised

guild socialism Guild socialism is an ideology and a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds "in an implied contractual relationship with the public". It originated in the United Kingdom and was at ...

(production organised through worker guilds). He belonged to the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...

and was an advocate for the co-operative movement.

Early life

Cole was born in Cambridge to George Cole, a jeweller who later became a surveyor; and his wife Jessie Knowles. Cole was educated at St Paul's School and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, where he achieved a First in

Classical Moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ...

in 1910 and a First in Literae Humaniores ('Greats', a combination of Philosophy and Ancient History) in 1912.

First World War and early career

In the autumn of 1912 Cole accepted a post as lecturer in philosophy at Armstrong College,

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. Conditions were far from ideal, since Cole's students were mainly students studying technical subjects who attended his lectures merely because they were compulsory. In the same year, however, he was elected to a Prize Fellowship at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, which ran for seven years; he had an annual income of several hundred pounds and no obligation to teach. He could research and write. Cole, personally a pacifist, took a pragmatic approach to the 1914-18 war. In 1915, however, he became an unpaid research officer at the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. He advised the union on how to respond to wartime legislation including the Munitions of War Act 1915. This role enabled him to escape

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

on the grounds that he was conducting work of national importance. Cole's involvement in the campaign against conscription introduced him to a co-worker, Margaret Postgate, whom he married in 1918. Having secured exemption from military service, Cole was practically active first with his union work and with journalism in defence of workers' rights; he also found time to develop a political theory of

. which had first engaged his attention during his undergraduate years. Cole's Prize Fellowship ended in 1919. He needed employment. He moved to London. His first job, provided by

Arthur Henderson Arthur Henderson (13 September 1863 – 20 October 1935) was a British iron moulder and Labour Party (UK), Labour politician. He was the first Labour Cabinet of the United Kingdom, cabinet minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934 and, uniqu ...

, was as part-time secretary to the Advisory Committees which had been established by the Labour Party in 1918 to create a clear and comprehensive political programme, a programme for a full-fledged political party and not a pressure group. The work was congenial and satisfactory but the requirements of the job proved too much for Cole's part-time commitment. He then secured a job with the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' as its Labour Correspondent. He did not stay with the paper for long. His wife commented:

Professional life

Cole authored several economic and historical works including biographies of

William Cobbett William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an Agrarianism, agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restr ...

and

Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist, political philosopher and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement, co-operative movement. He strove to ...

. In 1925, he became reader in economics at

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

. In 1929, he was appointed to the National Economic Advisory Council when it was set up by the second Labour government. In 1944, Cole became the first Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory at Oxford. He was succeeded in the chair by

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

in 1957. Cole's pacifism of 1914-18 was abandoned by 1940 when he said: "Hitler cured me of pacifism". During the 1930s, Cole sought to construct a British popular front against

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

. He identified the extent of the military threat before many of his colleagues had abandoned their pacifism. Cole lent strong support to the republican cause in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. He was listed in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

's Black Book of prominent subjects to be arrested in the case of a successful invasion of Britain. In 1941, Cole was appointed sub-warden of

Nuffield College, Oxford Nuffield College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. N ...

. He was central to the establishment of the Nuffield College Social Reconstruction Survey which collected a large amount of demographic, economic and social data. This information was used to advocate for an extensive programme of social reform.

Socialism

Cole became interested in Fabianism while studying at

. He joined the

's executive under the sponsorship of

Sidney Webb Sidney James Webb, 1st Baron Passfield, (13 July 1859 – 13 October 1947) was a British socialist, economist and reformer, who co-founded the London School of Economics. He was an early member of the Fabian Society in 1884, joining, like Geo ...

. Cole became a principal proponent of

guild socialist Guild socialism is an ideology and a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds "in an implied contractual relationship with the public". It originated in the United Kingdom and was at ...

ideas, a

libertarian socialist Libertarian socialism is an anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist political current that emphasises self-governance and workers' self-management. It is contrasted from other forms of socialism by its rejection of state ownership and from other ...

alternative to Marxian

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

. These ideas he put forward in ''

The New Age ''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938),credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It published work by many of the chief politi ...

'' before and during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and also in the pages of '' The New Statesman'', the weekly founded by the

Beatrice Webb Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield, (née Potter; 22 January 1858 – 30 April 1943) was an English sociology, sociologist, economist, feminism, feminist and reformism (historical), social reformer. She was among the founders of the Lo ...

and

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

. Cole said his interest in socialism was kindled by his reading ''

News from Nowhere ''News from Nowhere'' is an 1890 classic work combining utopian socialism and soft science fiction written by the artist, designer and socialist pioneer William Morris. It was first published in serial form in the ''Commonweal (UK), Commonwea ...

'', the

utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', which describes a fictional island soci ...

novel by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

, writing: Neither a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

nor a

social democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

, Cole envisioned a

of decentralised association and active,

participatory democracy Participatory democracy, participant democracy, participative democracy, or semi-direct democracy is a form of government in which Citizenship, citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their ...

, whose basic units would be sited at the workplace and in the community rather than in any central apparatus of the state. Cole criticized both

state socialism State socialism is a political and economic ideology within the socialist movement that advocates state ownership of the means of production. This is intended either as a temporary measure, or as a characteristic of socialism in the transition ...

and

syndicalism Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through Strike action, strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goa ...

as leaving open the possibility of tyranny, and envisioned a form of socialism where all enterprises would be democratically run by the workers through trade unions with the state remaining to guarantee consumers' rights and

civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...

. Cole's ideas were influential in intellectual circles but were generally dismissed by Labour Party leaders such as

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

. In the 1920s,

Hugh Gaitskell Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (9 April 1906 – 18 January 1963) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1955 until ...

, a student of Cole, became active supporter of the

1926 United Kingdom general strike The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government ...

. Cole also was a powerful influence on the life of the young

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

, whom he taught, worked with and convinced to join the Labour Party. Cole formed the Society for Socialist Inquiry and Propaganda to advance his views, which combined with former members of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

defecting to the mainstream Labour Party after its disaffiliation to form the Socialist League in 1932. In 1936, Cole began calling for a popular front movement in Britain in which the Labour Party would ally with other

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

against

appeasement Appeasement, in an International relations, international context, is a diplomacy, diplomatic negotiation policy of making political, material, or territorial concessions to an aggressive power (international relations), power with intention t ...

and the threat of fascism. Cole wrote at least seven books for the

Left Book Club The Left Book Club is a publishing group that exerted a strong left-wing influence in Great Britain, during its initial run, from 1936 to 1948. It was relaunched in 2015 by Jan Woolf and Neil Faulkner, in collaboration with Pluto Press. Pionee ...

, all of which were published by Victor Gollancz Ltd. They are marked with LBC in the list of his books given below. He and his wife,

Margaret Cole Dame Margaret Isabel Cole ( Postgate; 6 May 1893 – 7 May 1980) was an English socialist politician, writer and poet. She wrote several detective stories jointly with her husband, G. D. H. Cole. She went on to hold important posts in London ...

, together wrote 29 popular detective stories,Marc Stears, ‘Cole, Dame Margaret Isabel (1893–1980)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 7 May 2017
/ref> featuring the investigators Superintendent Wilson, Everard Blatchington and Dr. Tancred. Cole and his wife created a partnership but not a marriage. Cole took little interest in sex and he regarded women as a distraction for men. Margaret documented this comprehensively in a biography she wrote of her husband after his death. Although Cole admired the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

for creating a

socialist economy Socialist economics comprises the economic theories, practices and norms of hypothetical and existing socialist economic systems. A socialist economic system is characterized by social ownership and operation of the means of production that m ...

, he rejected its dictatorial government as a model for socialist societies elsewhere. In a 1939 lecture, Cole stated: In his book ''Europe, Russia and the Future'' published in 1941, Cole claimed that however immoral the new Nazi-dominated Europe was in some ways it was better than the "impracticable" system of

sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...

s that had preceded it. In economic terms, it could be said that "it would be better to let

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

conquer all

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

short of the Soviet Union, and thereafter exploit it ruthlessly in the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

interest, than to go back to the pre-war order of independent

Nation States A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the State (polity), state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly ...

with frontiers drawn so as to cut right across the natural units of production and exchange". Cole also stated:

Co-operative studies

Cole was also a theorist of the co-operative movement and made a number of contributions to the fields of co-operative studies,

co-operative economics Cooperative (or co-operative) economics is a field of economics that incorporates co-operative studies, cooperative studies and political economy toward the study and management of cooperatives. History Cooperative economics developed as both a ...

and the history of the co-operative movement. In particular, his book ''The British Co-operative Movement in a Socialist Society'' examined the economic status of the English CWS (the predecessor of the modern

Co-operative Group The Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op and formerly known as the Co-operative Wholesale Society, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses, including grocery retail and wholesale, leg ...

), evaluated its possibility of achieving a Co-operative Commonwealth without state assistance and hypothesised what the role the co-operative might have in a

socialist state A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. This article is about states that refer to themselves as socialist states, and not specifically ...

. A second book, titled ''A Century of Co-operation'', examined the history of the movement from the very first co-operatives to the contribution of the

Chartists Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of ...

and

, through to the Rochdale Pioneers as well as the movement's development (in Great Britain) over the following century. Cole contributed to '' An Outline of Modern Knowledge'', ed. William Rose (

Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollancz (; 9 April 1893 – 8 February 1967) was a British publisher and humanitarian. Gollancz was known as a supporter of left-wing politics. His loyalties shifted between liberalism and communism; he defined himself as a Christian ...

, 1931) along with other leading authorities of the time, including

Roger Fry Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 – 9 September 1934) was an English painter and art critic, critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent ...

, C. G. Seligman,

Maurice Dobb Maurice Herbert Dobb (24 July 1900 – 17 August 1976) was an English economist at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He is remembered as one of the pre-eminent Marxist economists of the 20th century. Dobb was high ...

and F. J. C. Hearnshaw.

Personal life

In August 1918, Cole married Margaret Isabel Postgate (1893–1980). Margaret was the daughter of the classical scholar John Percival Postgate. The couple had one son and two daughters in a marriage that lasted forty-one years. However, the marriage does not seem to have been especially happy. Cole expressed little interest in actual romantic attachment and even less in sexual relations. Friends observed that emotional attachments tended to be with men rather than women. Cole was very fond of some of his male students. They included the future leader of the Labour Party

. There is no evidence of any homosexual encounters either before or during his marriage. Cole and his wife jointly wrote a number of books and articles, including twenty-nine detective stories. Cole could not accept the idea of a "determinate human superior". His wife recalled that "he... never gave orders except in a purely routine and non-significant sense". His dislike of all forms of hierarchy and hatred of ritual led to

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

at an early age, though he never engaged in anti-religious

polemics Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...

. While no

luddite The Luddites were members of a 19th-century movement of English textile workers who opposed the use of certain types of automated machinery due to concerns relating to worker pay and output quality. They often destroyed the machines in organ ...

, he greatly admired everything produced by

including his affection for the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

. Though he enjoyed

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

, he regarded the radio as making a horrible noise Almost allergic to higher mathematics (he did not understand

Algebra Algebra is a branch of mathematics that deals with abstract systems, known as algebraic structures, and the manipulation of expressions within those systems. It is a generalization of arithmetic that introduces variables and algebraic ope ...

) he distrusted

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

, as he believed it was being used to quantify things that were best left to interpretation. In literature and poetry he enjoyed (after Morris) Defoe,

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIF ...

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

and Samuel Butler, but he found

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

and

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

pretentious. He disliked the "imperialism" of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and hated D. H. Lawrence. He was admired by his students, but Gaitskell said he was much too sensitive, self-critical and sardonic to play the part of the master at all willingly. In the spring of 1929 the Coles returned to London, living in

West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden. Neighbouring areas includes Childs Hill to the north, Frognal to the east, Swiss Cottage to the south-east, South Hampstead to the south and Kilburn to the south-west. The neighbourh ...

for six years until buying a "rambling Victorian" house called "Freeland" in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

where he lived for most of the last three decades of his life. In early 1957 he and his wife moved to a flat in

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that lies within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and largely surrounds its namesake park, Holland Park. Colloquially referred to as 'Millionaire's Row', ...

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

. He died after going into a

diabetic coma Diabetic coma is a life-threatening but reversible form of coma found in people with diabetes mellitus. Three different types of diabetic coma are identified: #Severe diabetic hypoglycemia, low blood sugar in a diabetic person #Diabetic ketoac ...

in the early hours of 14 January 1959 in hospital in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

. In lieu of religious rites his brother-in-law, Raymond Postgate, read two passages from the works of

at his funeral in

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £136,000 in 2021), ...

. His estate was offered for

probate In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the e ...

at £46,617 (equivalent to £1,097,364 in 2020).

Bibliography

Non-fiction works

''The World of Labour''
(1913, revised 1920)
''Labour in War Time''
(1915)
''Trade Unionism on the Railways''
(1917) ith R. Page Arnot">R._Page_Arnot.html" ;"title="ith R. Page Arnot">ith R. Page Arnot
''Self-Government in Industry''
(1917, revised 1920)
''The Payment of Wages''
(1918) * ''The Regulation of Wages During and After the War'' (1918)
''An Introduction to Trade Unionism''
(1918)
''Labour in the Commonwealth''
1919)
''Social Theory''
(1920)
''Guild Socialism Restated''
(1920)
''Chaos and Order in Industry''
(1920)
''Guild Socialism - A plan for Economic Democracy''
(1921)
''The Future of Local Government''
(1921)
''Rousseau's Social Contract and Discourses''
edited and translated in Everyman's Library (1923) * ''Robert Owen'' (1923)
''Workshop Organisation''
(1923)
''Trade Unionism and Munitions''
(1923)
''The Life of William Cobbett''
(1925) * ''The Life of Robert Owen'' (1925, second ed. 1930, third ed. 1965)
''The next ten years in British social and economic policy''
(1929)
''Some Essentials of Socialist Propaganda''
(1932)
''The Intelligent Man's Guide through World Chaos''
(1932)
''The Intelligent Man's Review of Europe Today''
(1933) ith Margaret Cole
''Studies in World Economics''
(1934) * ''What Marx Really Meant'' (1934)
''Principles of Economic Planning''
(1935) * ''Planned Socialism: The Plan du Travail of the Belgian Labour Party, drawn up and explained by Henri de Man, translated and edited by G. D. H. Cole'' (London: New Fabian Research Bureau, pamphlet 25, December 1935) * ''The Condition of Britain'' (Left Book Club, 1937) ith Margaret Cole* ''The People's Front'' (Left Book Club, 1937) * ''Practical Economics''(Penguin Books, 1937)
''Persons & Periods''
(1938) * ''Socialism in Evolution'' (1938) Pelican * ''British Trade Unionism To-day. A Survey'' (1939)
''The War on the Home Front''
(1939) * ''War Aims'' (Left Book Club, 1939) * ''Europe, Russia and the Future'' (Left Book Club, 1941)
''British Working Class Politics 1832-1914''
(1941) * ''Great Britain in the Post-War World'' (Left Book Club, 1942)
''The Fabian Society, Past and Present''
(1942) * ''Fabian Socialism'' (1943) * ''Monetary Systems and Theories'' (1943) * ''The Means to Full Employment'' (Left Book Club, 1943)
''A Century of Cooperation''
(1944)
''Money: Its Present And Future''
(1944) * ''The Common People, 1746–1946'' (1946) Raymond Postgate">ith Raymond Postgate
''A Short History of the British Working Class Movement, 1789–1947''
(1947) * ''An Intelligent Man's Guide to the Post-War World'' (1947) * ''A History of the Labour Party from 1914'' (London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1948) * ''The Meaning of Marxism'' (1948; a rewrite of ''What Marx Really Meant'')
''Consultation or Joint Management?''
(1949)
''Labour's Second Term''
(1949) * ''The Meaning of Marxism'' (1950) * ''The British Co-operative Movement in a Socialist Society,'' (London, Allen & Unwin 1951) * ''Introduction to Economic History 1750–1950'' (London: Macmillan 1952) * '' A History of Socialist Thought'' (five "volumes" in seven "parts", Macmillan, 1953 to 1961; reissued, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) * ''Studies in Class Structure'' (London, Routledge and Kegan Paul 1955)
''Capitalism in the Modern World''
(1957)
''Early Pamphlets and Assessment''
(2011, originally published between 1921 and 1956)

Detective fiction

Novels and short story collections

G D H Cole

*
The Brooklyn Murders
' (1923)

G D H and M Cole

*''The Death of a Millionaire'' (1925) *''The Blatchington Tangle'' (1926); serialised in ''The Daily Herald'' (1926) *''The Murder at Crome House'' (1927) *'' The Man from the River'' (1928) *''Superintendent Wilson's Holiday'' (1928) *''Poison in the Garden Suburb'' (1929); serialised in ''The Daily Herald'' (1929). Also known as ''Poison in a Garden Suburb'' *''Burglars in Bucks'' (1930) aka ''The Berkshire Mystery'' *''Corpse in Canonicals'' (1930) aka ''The Corpse in the Constable's Garden'' *''The Great Southern Mystery'' (1931) aka ''The Walking Corpse'' *''Dead Man's Watch'' (1931) *''Death of a Star'' (1932) *''A Lesson in Crime'' (1933) **''A Lesson in Crime''; ''A Question of Coincidence''; ''Mr. Steven's Insurance Policy''; ''Blackmail in the Village''; ''The Cliff Path Ghost''; ''Sixteen Years Run''; ''Wilson Calling'' (Wilson); ''The Brentwardine Mystery''; ''The Mother of the Detective''; ''A Dose of Cyanide''; ''Superintendent Wakley's Mistake''. *''The Affair at Aliquid'' (1933) *''End of an Ancient Mariner'' (1933) *'' Death in the Quarry'' (1934) *''Big Business Murder'' (1935) *''Dr Tancred Begins'' (1935) *''Scandal at School'' (1935) aka ''The Sleeping Death'' *''Last Will and Testament'' (1936) *''The Brothers Sackville'' (1936) *''Disgrace to the College'' (1937) *''The Missing Aunt'' (1937) *''Mrs Warrender's Profession'' (1938) *''Off with her Head!'' (1938) *''Double Blackmail'' (1939) *'' Greek Tragedy'' (1939) *''Wilson and Some Others'' (1940) **''Death in a Tankard'' (Wilson); ''Murder in Church'' (Wilson); ''The Bone of the Dinosaur'' (Wilson); ''A Tale of Two Suitcases'' (Wilson); ''The Motive'' (Wilson); ''Glass'' (Wilson); ''Murder in Broad Daylight'' (Wilson); ''Ye Olde Englysshe Christmasse or Detection in the Eighteenth Century''; ''The Letters''; ''The Partner''; ''A Present from the Empire''; ''The Strange Adventures of a Chocolate Box''; ''Strychnine Tonic''. *'' Murder at the Munition Works'' (1940) *''Counterpoint Murder'' (1940) *''Knife in the Dark'' (1941) *'' Toper's End'' (1942) *''Death of a Bride'' (1945) *''Birthday Gifts'' (1946) *''The Toys of Death'' (1948)

Radio plays

G D H and M Cole

* ''Murder in Broad Daylight''. BBC Home Service, 1 June 1934 * ''The Bone of the Dinosaur''. (Detection Club: Series 1, Episode 6). BBC Home Service, 23 and 27 November 1940

Short stories

G D H and Margaret Cole

* ''Death in the Tankard''. (London) Daily News, 15 to 19 January 1934 * ''Too Clever by Half''. (London) Daily News, 20 to 24 April 1936

References

Sources

* Margaret Cole, ''The Life of G. D. H. Cole,'' Macmillan/St. Martin's (1971) * A. W. (Tony) Wright, ''G. D. H. Cole and Socialist Democracy'' New York, Oxford (1979) * L. P. Carpenter, ''G.D.H. Cole: An Intellectual Biography,'' Cambridge (1974)
Chris Wyatt, "A Recipe for a Cookshop of the Future: G. D. H. Cole and the Conundrum of Sovereignty
''Capital and Class'' 90 (2006)

Early life

First World War and early career

Professional life

Socialism

Co-operative studies

Personal life

Bibliography

Non-fiction works

Detective fiction

Novels and short story collections

G D H Cole

G D H and M Cole

Radio plays

G D H and M Cole

Short stories

G D H and Margaret Cole

References

Sources

External links