Orwell’s anti-communism is primarily seen through his two great works, ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘1984.’ But for a deeper understanding of his beliefs it is necessary to read his two major works of non-fiction. The events described in “The Road to Wigan Pier’ and ‘Homage to Catalonia’ take place well before he achieved any fame and acclaim and go a long in explaining why he initially achieved infamy in left-wing circles. In ‘Wigan Pier’ Orwell travels to the north of England and describes in exacting detail the living and working conditions of its laborers. Orwell’s language is very straight-forward and accessible. Nothing pretentious or overly scholarly here. He completely immerses himself in the working-class environment and culture of the region - the cramped and unsanitary lodgings, the meager and debilitating diet and even comments on the centrality of the pub to the worker’s lives and working-class slang. But Orwell’s most harrowing description is of the miners “going down to the pit” and discovering for the first time in his life the grueling and almost inhuman work which, according to him, constitutes the backbone of industrial society. In the second half of the book, Orwell discusses how the large gulf between Britain’s intelligentsia and its working-class could ultimately pave the way for fascism or a government sympathetic towards it. He counsels democratic socialist and Labour party leaders to be less concerned with dogma, orthodoxy, Marxist rhetoric and to instead focus on the basic ideas of social justice and equality. He also takes some shots at feminism, pacifists, and vegetarians which modern readers would find offensive if not down right reactionary. But it’s hard to argue with his main argument that radical intellectuals of the 1930s were every bit as outside the mainstream as a member of the House of Lords.
	In his second major work of non-fiction Orwell takes some of the ideas defined in ‘Wigan Pier’ and takes it a huge step forward. ‘Homage to Catalonia’ describes Orwell’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War as a private and an officer. His experiences in Spain are arguably the defining moments of his life and mold his unique brand of anti-communism. Orwell sees for the first time in his life ‘Stalinism’ in action. He gradually becomes aware of a clear double standard in the provisioning and equipment of forces friendly with the Soviet Union and the militias outside the control of Stalin and his allies. Orwell’s anti-fascist idealism in the early days of the war gives way to the realization that Russian involvement in the civil war is less about defeating Franco’s military uprising and more about Stalin securing a hegemonic position among Spain’s left-wing factions. His suspicion of communism is solidified when in Barcelona he witnesses the suppression of anarchist-affiliated workers by the pro-Soviet police force. This book and 'Wigan Pier' are indispensable in not just comprehending the tumultuous events that shaped Orwell’s ideas and beliefs but also give us a good overview of Europe before the outbreak of World War II.
	In spite of what you may think, the nation’s most successful movement against the forces that came to dominate post-Civil War America arose not from the cities or radical intellectuals but from southern and southwestern farmers. In the last quarter of the 19th century, farmers were painfully aware of how the rules of the Gilded Age economy were rigged for the benefit of Eastern banks and local merchants. In ‘The Populist Moment,’ Lawrence Goodwyn details how a tight money supply demanded by Wall Street and creditors devalued the price of crops and land and bought the nation’s farming class to its knees. America’s farmers responded to the forces arrayed against them by promoting buying and marketing cooperatives, launching lecturers to spearhead their movement, and (when their organizing proved insufficient) by building their own political party. Goodwyn strength as a writer lies on how he depicts people usually consigned to the dustbin of history as individuals with goals, aspirations, a strategy and a vision the nation’s rulers found too subversive. Although we may seem light years removed from the world of a Texan or Kansan farmer of the late 19th century their predicament still holds important lessons for us. Goodwyn describes how exceedingly difficult it is for a social movement to push for economic reforms and the pitfalls laid before anyone who wishes to form an independent political party.
	You may be surprised to know that the nation’s first red scare predates McCarthyism by more than 6 decades. Labor historian James Green brings vividly to life the struggle for the 8-hour working day at its epicenter, Chicago of the 1860s to the 1880s. But this books is much more than an academic history of the American working class - it also includes the drama and suspense of a courtroom thriller. The other protagonists in this books are the men who would ultimately be known throughout the world as the 'Martyrs of Haymarket' and serve as the inspiration for the designation of May 1 as international labor day. The defendants of ‘the trial of the [19th] century’ were 8 anarchists whose ‘incendiary’ words were used to convict them of the death of several police officers and civilians when in May of 1886 an unidentified individual threw an explosive device on a workers’ demonstration at Haymarket Square. Green’s narrative completely immerses you in the lives of the anarchists who played a leading role in the Chicago workers’ fight for a shorter working day. The author’s description of the trial and the attempt to secure an amnesty seems so much like a first-hand account that it almost appears for a while that the lives of the key anarchists - Parsons, Spies, Engel, and Fischer - will be spared but history tells us otherwise. The red scare that ensued after the Haymarket explosion led not only to the suppression of radicals of all shades but also to the defeat of the labor movement and its aftermath continued to affect American workers well into the 20th century. Green’s description of the authorities’ attack on civil liberties in order to stamp out ‘un-American’ beliefs is also eerily reminiscent of recent developments.

Penn Station New York City