Harvey Goldberg
Welcome to Rainbow's Harvey Goldberg section. To order a particular set of CDs, click on its title, highlighted in green.
“Without History we’re walking around with no eyes… We’re really walking around blind.” –Harvey Goldberg, November 1976
The Harvey Goldberg "Bootleg Lectures" - a re-mastered CD selection of twenty-eight of the renowned radical historian's legendary lectures are now available through Rainbow.
Produced through a joint project of Madison's community-based Harvey Goldberg Memorial Fund and the Harvey Goldberg Center for the Study of Contemporary History at the University of Wisconsin Department of History, this collection of Harvey's unsurpassed lessons on the origins of our contemporary world -- all of them at least 30 years old and as salient as ever -- will certainly stir those who knew him back in the day and open new vistas for those who never had the privilege of hearing him in person.
Gathered in from a number of former students' cassette tape recordings, the sound quality varies across the collection. Most of the lectures, thanks to the wizardry of recent digital technology, are remarkably clear. Some contain extraneous noises and briefly inaudible or blank passages that reflect the circumstances under which they were recorded and their storage for over thirty years on an unstable medium.
The majority of lectures in the collection were given during Goldberg’s highly popular “Contemporary Societies” course during 1974 & 1976. An effort to demystify the post-World War II era and to shed light on US foreign policy and imperial strivings for a "Pax Americana" -- a new world order under US hegemony in the aftermath of the war -- the course extended from an explanation of the hsitoric US imperial quest for a global “Open Door” – the free access to markets, investment opportunity abroad, to other’s resources and cheap labor.
The lectures assay the resistance to that post-war “new world order” by national liberation movements with origins in the war period and before, their development through the late 1940s and 1950s in countries including Greece, Vietnam and China. In that sense, the course provided case studies and important lessons drawn from the successes and failings of various anti-colonial struggles; of revolution and counter-revolution, of the obstacles to meaningful independence placed in the way by an aggressive US interventionism and the impediments placed in the way of those communist-led movements that looked to Moscow for assistance and guidance in the post war era.
Rich in longer historical context and in the portrayal of events as they unfolded in the early years of the “Cold War,” this sampling of lectures, when listened to either individually, in specific case study series, or in their entirety, provides alternative understandings of the US role in the world that are fundamentally salient and meaningful for the present.
Set #1: US Imperialism and Postwar Europe. (Twelve lectures, sold as a set, $60.00)
Goldberg sets the stage for the semester course with a longer overview of US strategic interest extending back to the earlier moments of U.S. overseas expansion following the crisis of the 1890s. He quickly moves forward to explore the World War II and very early post-war years, to provide the context for the rise of the “Pax Americana, resistance to it, and the meaning of the "Cold War”.
Lecture #1: Introduction: The Origins of U.S. Imperialism and the End of World War II. (September 10, 1976)
Examines the ideology of US expansionism, the desire for “informal empire” – the desire for an “Open Door” abroad, and its interventionist corollary of counter revolution. A survey of US foreign policy extending from the early 20th century, the meaning of the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 for US planners, the effects of the Great Depression of the ‘30s, and the perceived need to crack the exclusionary policy of the British Empire’s Sterling Bloc, the significance of Lend Lease during World War II.Lecture #2: Lessons of the 1930s and the World War.
US planners explore ways to overcome rival trade blocs and exert economic leverage against former allies. The perspective and designs of war-time strategic planners for the post-war world centered upon the breaking down of restrictions on US trade and finance. Expansion as vital to continued US prosperity and stability. The importance of a reconstructed Germany and Japan, the dismantling of colonial empires and the focus on Britain’s weakened empire as primary goals. Surveys Iran as a case of long-term US meddling from the pre-war decades through the war years.
Lecture #3: Resistance Movements of World War II (September 15,1976)
US policy “haunted by spector of communism,” not from Soviet Union, but from communist led anti-colonial liberation struggles in Asia and Europe. Growth in communist parties internationally the result of their role in war-time resistance. Critical appraisal of Soviet willingness to curtail revolutionary movements and subordinate affiliated parties to its interests. Protection of US interest paramount. Possibility of democratic change from below in Europe and elsewhere counter to US needs.
Lecture 4#: US Intervention and the Soviet Sellout of Italy (September 17, 1976)
Italy as a “trial run” of the corollary of intervention against a burgeoning Left. Collapse of Mussolini’s regime, US support for king and replacement by Bodoglio. Restoration of “old order,” integration of Italy into US orbit amidst growth of resistance and non-stop struggle by popular classes. Moves to preclude British. Aspirations to devitalize Left assisted by Soviet concern for security and turn against movements that would endanger war-time alliance. Italy as “proving ground” for strategy of containment, defeat of popular movement in late war period.
Lecture #5: The Post-War Politics of “Lend Lease” (September 22, 1976)
US power supreme, 1945-1954. Foreign aid, loans as political weapon to contain mass movement, restore the power of capital and impose the new order. Use of food and relief, importance of loans to “feed clients and starve the Reds”. US strategy, 1945 and beyond – the thwarting of revolution and imperial rivals. Capitalist restoration under US hegemony. Examination of Eastern Europe and Soviet Union as a case study of “Lend Lease” politics. Use of aid to contain British rival and prevent revival of the Sterling Bloc. Anti-communism and “Soviet threat” as “selling point” for US interventionism, economic imperialism. “Open Door multilateralism” with British in Middle East. Global strategy of interventionism as anti-communism - the Truman Doctrine.
The second part of Set #1 deals with the “Greek Tragedy: A Case Study”.
Determined to restore a conservative status quo in a region viewed vital for the control of the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, the US intervenes in the Greek Civil War. In this series, Goldberg gives a detailed survey of the modern history of Greece to set the context for the origins of the Cold War and the Truman Doctrine -- the US replacement of British colonialism in the Eastern Mediterranean and claims of a “Soviet threat” in the region utilized to gain public support and Congressional funding for an aggressive US policy abroad.
Lecture #6: The Greek Tragedy – the Longer Context (September 24, 1976)
Greece in the late 1940s as the launching pad for US expansionism based on economic aid, military intervention and anti-communism. A case study of post-war neo-colonialism set within the longer of context of 19th and early 20th century underdevelopment and politics. Origin of the Greek CP. Crisis of the 1930s, ascendancy of the Greek variant of fascism.
Lecture #7: Greek Fascism and Resistance
Context of 100 years of semi-colonial status under the British – the installation of the monarchy, a client “lumpen bourgeoisie” set against meaningful development, the contradictory role of the army. Great Depression growth of the popular mass movement, working class militancy and Metaxis dictatorship in response. Role of the Greek CP and the effects of shifts in Comintern line. The war years – dual struggle against German occupation and domestic dictatorship. Growth of resistance organizations communist-led EAM and nationalist EDES amidst occupation hardships.
Lecture #8: The Greek Resistance Examined (September 29, 1976)
The Greek CP beholden to Comintern prior to the War. Forging of the National Liberation front, September ’41. Examination of nationalist led EDES and communist centered EAM resistance movements during the war. Contention within EAM between Moscow-oriented urban-based leadership and rural Kapetanios. Growth and success of EAM. British strategic concerns and restoration of king, pre-war rightist regime and semi-colonial status. Direct British military intervention against the resistance. (Due to some deterioration of the original tape cassette from which this CD was made, there's a segment where the quality, while listenable, is not the best.)
Lecture #9: Defeat of the Greek Partisans, 1944-47 (October 6, 1976),p>
Events leading up to the “great turn” of 1947 – establishment of US dominion over Greece. EAM strength upon Nazi withdrawal, October ’44. Britain counter-revolution in middle of the war against fascism with acquiescence of US and Soviets. Re-imposition of rightist regime assisted by tactical blunders and outlook of the Greek CP. Open conflict in Athens. Defeat and capitulation, followed by repression. Immediate context for announcement of the Truman Doctrine – the Marshall Plan and the “Greek Crisis”.
Lecture #10: Greece as Laboratory for Containment & Counter-Revolution, 1946-49. (October 10, 1976)
US decision to intervene in Greece in context of global expansionism, deployment of power in Mediterranean. Turkish situation, determination to contain Soviets “designs” in Middle East. Greek crisis as struggle between “free world and communism or opportunity for US expansion? Examination of the motivations behind the Truman Doctrine. Greek and Turkish “crisis” as pretext for anti-communist crusade at home and abroad. Factors that broke the Greek resistance – role of Stalin and opposition of Soviets, Tito and Yugoslavs. The Marshall Plan.
Lecture #11: 1950s U.S Imperialism in Puerto Rico, Japan and France.
Following up on the Greek excursion, here Harvey lays out several distinct models of US post-war intrusion and intervention into three sharply contrasting societies and cultures. A survey of transformation of Puerto Rico, from colonial “sugar plantation” to neo-colonial “industrial playground”. The “long shadow of imperialism” and the restoration of capitalism in post-war Japan, 1945-52; Japan as junior partner in counter-revolution, from Korean War through the1960s. The case of France: economic and cultural penetration, “American consumerism” and distorted development.
Lecture #12: The post-Truman Doctrine Era: 30 Years of US Imperialism in Greece
The “critical question”: What happens to societies under US imperialism? Increase of investment abroad, exports, 1946-1965, combined with multinational intrusion into politics, military aid and “muting of the revolutionary question”. The “naked dictatorship”, 1967-73. US-backed repression and anti-communist purge of key institutions. A study in neo-colonialism – “enclaves of consumerism in a desert of underdevelopment” with locus of power in Washington. The 1965 coup.Set # 2: France: Empire in Decline – Vichy, Vietnam and Algeria (10 Lectures Sold as a Set, $50.00).
Contains four lectures surveying the modern Vietnamese struggle against French colonialism up through Dienbienphu and the arrival of the US. That quartet surveys the origins and evolution of the national liberation struggle and the role of Vietnamese communist movement.
The set also includes lectures on the Vichy collaboration during World War II, set against the backdrop of the Popular Front of the 1930s, French ruling class fear of the popular classes and concern for order as the bases for Nazi collaboration.
In addition, the set includes an analysis of the Algerian liberation movement as a case study of the dilemmas of independence and neo-colonialism. It concludes with a discussion of the underlying causes of France in May, 1968.
Lecture #1: Introductory Lecture on Vietnam (November 15th, 1976)
The distinctive character of the Vietnamese national liberation struggle – the communist-led strategy “anchored deeply in national aspirations”. A survey of the pre-communist 20th c. anti-colonial resistance. The Vietnamese nationalist movement, 1927-1930s. Early years of the Viet CP –“the road to revolution through the creation and restoration of the nation” and the “revolutionary hegira” of Ho Chi Minh. The Depression years, the Anam crisis, the “White Terror” repression of 1931, the Popular Front and the founding of the Vietminh.
Lecture #2: Vietnam 1931-45. (November 17th, 1976)
The early 1930s: The French colonial police state – Challenge for the Viet CP. Organization in the prisons. 1936: the Popular Front and the development of “mass struggle” patriotic popular class alliance, popular organizations. The strike wave of 1937 and the legacy of mass action. The Japanese deal with French colon. Tragedy of the war period. Sketch of Ho Chi Minh. Launching of Vietminh, May ’41. The Bao Dai satrapy. Early US interest. Plans for post war Indochina, restoration of French rule.
Lecture #3: Vietnam, 1945-1954 (November 19, 1976)
A coveted country. Potsdam,’45: the Four Power trusteeship. Occupation by Chinese & British. Vo Nguyen Giap. Vietminh offensive, mass action, March ’45. August ’45 national insurrection, Vietminh in power. Floods, famine and the squeeze of imperialism. Chinese occupation, withdrawal; return of the French with British assistance. Guerilla struggle against French. Accord of 1946 and country divided. First Indochina War, ’46-‘54. US involvement, 1950-’54. Initial aid and advisors. Dienbienphu.
Lecture #4: Vietnam, 1954 (November 24, 1976)
No alternative but for French to quit Vietnam. Dienbienphu , the last straw. Geneva Accords, agreement for provisional partition to precede elections, at odds with US imperatives, goals. US reluctance to abide by Geneva, opposition to reunification. US option: Ngo Dinh Diem in the South. Reconstruction and “primitive socialist accumulation,” “authentic development,” “village revolution” in North. Distorted development, dictatorship and repression in the South. 1956-1958: White terror campaign to destroy Vietminh. 1957-1959: political actions, demonstrations, move toward armed struggle. Formation of NLF, Dec., 1960.
Lecture #5: The Crisis in France: The Popular Front and Vichy. (February 6, 1974)
Analysis of the short-lived Popular Front of the mid-1930s as the context for the basis of French ruling class collaboration with the German occupation after 1940. The concern for order and fear of the popular classes as a guiding principle underlying Vichyite cooperation and alliance with the Nazis. Calculation within French ruling circles that Germany had won the war, and that it was better to make a deal and share in the colonial spoils, especially those taken from the British. Vichy dispossession of France’s Jews prior to the German deportations. Refutations of mainstream historical assessments of the Vichy collaboration.
Lecture #6: The Vichy Regime. (February 8, 1974)
A deepening of the analysis of Vichy. Willingness of French ruling class to accept military defeat in exchange for political victory against popular classes and the Left. “Collaboration with enthusiasm” in hopes of gaining share of British empire as part of integrated Europe under German rule. The “architecture of counter–revolution”. Survey of different interpretations of nature of Vichy; examination of “French Nazis”. Discussion of early resistance. Role of the Communists under the Nazi/Soviet Pact. DeGaulle and the London-based “resistance”. US presence, emissaries at Vichy.
Lecture #7: Installation of American Power Behind French Re-Militarization. Vietnam (March 17, 1971)
Post-war decade France. Anti-communism as strategy for assuring US presence in Western Europe and return of old elites. Marshall Plan, 1947, NATO, 1949. US revitalization of France through re-militarization. Americanization of economy. Weakening of French Left. Strike movement of ’47-’48. Failings of French CP. Decline of workers’ movement, early 1950s. Longer context for French defeat in Vietnam – survey of long history of Viet resistance. Origins of Viet communist movement. Ho Chi Minh and uniqueness of Viet movement.
Lecture # 8: American Support for New Forms of Intelligence Gathering. Introduction to Algeria. (April 22, 1974)
Cracks in empire, challenge to “American Century” made visible by “loss” of China and development of liberation movements. Imperial strategic adaptation. Turn away from “massive retaliation” toward new technologies of containment and strategies of “flexible response.” Counter-insurgency programs under Kennedy -- Rapid deployment, electronic battlefield, use of mercenaries and surrogates, social engineering. Project Camelot . Vietnam as laboratory. Formal “decolonization” and neocolonialism. The dilemma of nationalist movements – nominal independence under imperial domination. Algeria as the case study. Revolt of 1954, seven year war. Sketch of colonial experience, the French “civilizing mission”.
Lecture #9: Algeria: the Limits of Decolonization. (April 29, 1974)
The limitations of decolonization. The problem of national front coalitions comprised of antagonistic classes. The tragedy of Algeria – ideological confusion. The issue of armed struggle. Absence of real party, but coalition under FLN banner. Revolution without content, program. Illusions with French Left. ’58-’62: the war of attrition. French opposition to the war in Algeria as the seedbed for events of 1968. (Note: Gap in recording, picks up after long pause)
Lecture #10: May ’68 & Its Implications for the Developing World. (May 1, 1974)
An optimistic assessment of the events of May, 1968 that surveys the underlying causes rooted of strikes in advanced capitalism. A counter to the arguments of the “post industrial” ideologists. The failure of the Gaullist “plan of stabilization.” An overview examination of the various strata of the French working class that discusses the objective and subjective conditions leading up to the explosion of May. The preceding spontaneous strikes of the 1960s. The failures of the established Left parties and unions.The role of the students and Nanterre.
Set #3. The Chinese Revolution. (5 Lectures Sold as a Set, $25.00) Five lectures explaining the broader context for the victory of the Chinese Communist Party of 1949.
Lecture #1: The Chinese Revolution. (December 8, 1976)
Fifty years of Chinese development. “A critical approach without apologia”. The 1920s: Comintern dominion over the Chinese CP. The United front of 1924-27 between the CCP and the Kuomintang – subordination of social struggle to national struggle. Inherent class contradictions of imposed alliance. Canton, 1924. Passing of Sun Yat Sen and ascendancy of Chiang Kai-shek. Shanghai explosion, 1925; Canton revolt from below, 1926; Chiang and the Coimntern; Mao in Hunan; Shanghai insurrection of March, 27 and assault by Chiang’s KMT –destruction of urban movement. Mountain retreat of Mao. Beginning of protracted war, 1931-34. Arrival of Bolshevik “advisors”. Defeat and the “Long March” to Yenan 1943-35.
Lecture #2: China. (December 10, 1976)
Longer context for revolution of 1949: 19th century imperial meddlings, destabilization of “a society rent with contradictions”. Chiang or Manchu Dynasty - survey of social structure. The “three headed monster” of rents, taxes and interest. Crisis, pressure on land and the Manchu state. Asiatic mode of production. Confucianism and proto-capitalism. British desire for China market. The Opium Wars and rise of “most favored nation” treaty system. Opening of interior. Popular uprisings, the Taiping rebellion.
Lecture #3: 20th Century China. (December 13, 1976)
Importance of the CCP in revolutionizing nationalist struggle for independence. Transformation of aspirations for strong China into coherent mass movement against feudal order and imperialism and for socialism. Sino-Japanese war; humiliation and destabilization, further partitioning by European powers. “Boomerang effect” of Manchu reforms from the top. Officer’s revolt, failure of 1911. World War I: catastrophe for China – entry of Japanese. May 4th Movement, 1919. Enter Mao. Early history of CCP.
Lecture #4: The “Third Stage” of the Chinese Civil War, 1945-1949.(April 3, 1974)
The climax of the Chinese Revolution. The collision between US imperialism and Chinese communism; between desire for empire and Chinese development. Collusion of Soviets and US in attempt to contain the revolution. Bankruptcy of the KMT. The civil war- KMT aided by US. Erosion of support for KMT. What is “Maoism,” its contribution to revolutionary theory? Guerilla war & the 8th Route Army. The role of the Party. US White Paper of ’49 - the “big lie” of Soviet role in the revolution and the “loss” of China.
Lecture #5: The Cultural Revolution. (April 10, 1974)
An assessment of “monumental events” 0f 1966-’69. The meaning of “revolution”? Survey of events -- Response to veiled criticisms of Mao and “Great Leap Forward”. The offensive against “revisionists” & “capitalist roaders”. On contradictions. The university movment. Struggle within Party. Movement off campus. The “Red Guard”. Shifts in motives, location of the movement, offensive against “economism”. Problems and dilemmas of the Cultural Revolution.
A separate, additional CD is also available:
On Rosa Luxemburg (December 1, 1975) $10.00
Survey of revisionist and reformist disputes within German Social Democracy (SPD), -- the rise of party apparatus, trade union bureaucracy, parliamentary road as context for Understanding Rosa’s political interventions. A biographical sketch of Rosa. Analysis of her polemics regarding the principle of continual struggle, the relation of the party to the mass, the question of spontaneity and the mass strike. The question of trade union versus revolutionary consciousness.
Those acquiring the first three sets -- On War and Imperialism, France, and China -- will also receive the additional set – the single Rosa Luxemburg lecture, the Memorial Service recording including the William Appleman lecture, and the CD of brief Goldberg commentaries on a number of historic and contemporary questions.