In Place of Fear

In Place of Fear
AuthorAneurin Bevan
LanguageEnglish
SubjectPolitics, Socialism
PublisherWilliam Heinemann Ltd
Publication date
1952
Publication placeUnited Kingdom

In Place of Fear is a book written by Aneurin Bevan, founder of the National Health Service. The book was influential among the Labour Left and the Labour movement as a whole but was overshadowed by Anthony Crosland's The Future of Socialism, although Crosland referred to In Place of Fear as "the most widely read socialist book" of the period.[1]

Serving as a semi-autobiographical text[2] Bevan brings to great attention his life growing up in the mining towns of south Wales.

A young miner in a South Wales colliery, my concern was with one practical question, where does power lie in this particular state of Great Britain, and how can it be attained by the workers.[3]

— Aneurin Bevan, In Place of Fear, p. 1

Considered highly quotable[4] and is a central source for the beliefs of the pre-Benn Labour left.

  1. ^ Crosland, Anthony (1956). The Future of Socialism. Cape. p. 52. ISBN 9780224018883.
  2. ^ Thorpe, Andrew, A History of the British Labour Party, Red Globe Press, 2015, p. 144
  3. ^ Bevan, Aneurin (13 March 1952). In Place of Fear. p. 1.
  4. ^ Davies, Nye (2021). This is My Truth: Aneurin Bevan in Tribune. p. 10.