Ideologies in the Age of Extremes: Liberalism, Conservatism, Communism, Fascism 1914-1991

Wide-ranging, well-informed and measured in its judgements, Willie Thompson's new book provides a first-rate introduction to movements and ideas in the so-called `age of ideologies'---

Kevin Morgan Professor of Governance and Development in the School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester

This is a history of political ideologies during the period famously described by Eric Hobsbawn as "The Age of Extremes'-- from the First World War to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Ideologies in the Age of Extremes introduces the key ideologies of the age: liberalism, conservatism, communism and fascism. Willie Thompson identifies the political influence of mass movements as a key feature. He uses a powerful approach that considers the different ideologies in relation to each other. This allows him to show that they often emerged from a common root or merged into a common future, stealing each other's clothes and reinventing themselves as the stark opposite of a competing ideology.

This sophisticated yet accessible analysis will be of great interest to students of twentieth-century history and political theory.

Willie Thompson was until his retirement Professor of Contemporary History at Glasgow Caledonian University and subsequently Visiting Professor at Northumbria University. He is the author of numerous books including What Happened To History? (Pluto Press, 2000). He was formerly secretary of the Socialist History Society.