13 The ‘confounded socialists’ and the ‘Commonwealth Co-operative Society’
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Charlotte Lydia Riley
Abstract
This chapter examines the often uncertain attitudes of British cartoonists towards imperialism in the post-war, Attlee period (1945–1951). This period is often perceived as one of declining imperial power for Britain, marked by the independence of India and the loss of Palestine. However, the imperial policies of the Attlee Labour government were not simply those of managed decline. In this period the Colonial Office – under Arthur Creech Jones, the Colonial Secretary – pursued a series of ambitious projects of growth and development in the empire, from social welfare projects to the notorious ‘Groundnut Scheme’. Far from being ‘anti-imperial’, Labour embraced its new colonial role, rejecting immediate independence for the African colonies in favour of a gradual move towards decolonisation. Cartoon representations of Labour’s imperial policies in this period focus on several key themes. Firstly, the Labour Party’s reputation for anti-imperialism, and the Attlee government’s actual ideological stance towards empire; secondly, the colonial development projects (both successful and unsuccessful) pursued by the Colonial Office; thirdly, decolonisation, independence, and colonial nationalist movements. This chapter explores these three themes, considering how accurately Labour’s imperial policies are depicted, and how prominently colonial concerns feature in cartoon representations of the Labour government in general.
Abstract
This chapter examines the often uncertain attitudes of British cartoonists towards imperialism in the post-war, Attlee period (1945–1951). This period is often perceived as one of declining imperial power for Britain, marked by the independence of India and the loss of Palestine. However, the imperial policies of the Attlee Labour government were not simply those of managed decline. In this period the Colonial Office – under Arthur Creech Jones, the Colonial Secretary – pursued a series of ambitious projects of growth and development in the empire, from social welfare projects to the notorious ‘Groundnut Scheme’. Far from being ‘anti-imperial’, Labour embraced its new colonial role, rejecting immediate independence for the African colonies in favour of a gradual move towards decolonisation. Cartoon representations of Labour’s imperial policies in this period focus on several key themes. Firstly, the Labour Party’s reputation for anti-imperialism, and the Attlee government’s actual ideological stance towards empire; secondly, the colonial development projects (both successful and unsuccessful) pursued by the Colonial Office; thirdly, decolonisation, independence, and colonial nationalist movements. This chapter explores these three themes, considering how accurately Labour’s imperial policies are depicted, and how prominently colonial concerns feature in cartoon representations of the Labour government in general.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- List of contributors xvi
- Acknowledgements xxi
- 1 Introduction 1
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PART I: High imperialism and colonialism
- 2 Courting the colonies 31
- 3 ‘Master Jonathan’ in Cuba 66
- 4 ‘The international Siamese twins’ 92
- 5 ‘“Every dog” (no distinction of color) “has his day”’ 134
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PART II: The critique of empire and the context of decolonisation
- 6 The making of harmony and war, from New Year Prints to propaganda cartoons during China’s Second Sino-Japanese War 161
- 7 David Low and India 192
- 8 Between imagined and ‘real’ 216
- 9 The iconography of decolonisation in the cartoons of the Suez Crisis, 1956 242
- 10 Punch and the Cyprus emergency, 1955–1959 277
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PART III: Ambiguities of empire
- 11 Outrage and imperialism, confusion and indifference 305
- 12 Ambiguities in the fight waged by the socialist satirical review Der Wahre Jacob against militarism and imperialism 334
- 13 The ‘confounded socialists’ and the ‘Commonwealth Co-operative Society’ 362
- 14 Australian cartoonists at the end of empire 393
- Index 426
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vii
- List of contributors xvi
- Acknowledgements xxi
- 1 Introduction 1
-
PART I: High imperialism and colonialism
- 2 Courting the colonies 31
- 3 ‘Master Jonathan’ in Cuba 66
- 4 ‘The international Siamese twins’ 92
- 5 ‘“Every dog” (no distinction of color) “has his day”’ 134
-
PART II: The critique of empire and the context of decolonisation
- 6 The making of harmony and war, from New Year Prints to propaganda cartoons during China’s Second Sino-Japanese War 161
- 7 David Low and India 192
- 8 Between imagined and ‘real’ 216
- 9 The iconography of decolonisation in the cartoons of the Suez Crisis, 1956 242
- 10 Punch and the Cyprus emergency, 1955–1959 277
-
PART III: Ambiguities of empire
- 11 Outrage and imperialism, confusion and indifference 305
- 12 Ambiguities in the fight waged by the socialist satirical review Der Wahre Jacob against militarism and imperialism 334
- 13 The ‘confounded socialists’ and the ‘Commonwealth Co-operative Society’ 362
- 14 Australian cartoonists at the end of empire 393
- Index 426
