Abstract
It is uncommmon for a historian either to judge events and processes that have already happened, or to critically reflect on events which are occurring at the time. However, one such person who is able to do just this is Eric J.
Hobsbawm. From the start of his scientific career he was engaged in the neglected history of the working class and ordinary people.
He is also author of an extensive series of books devoted to separate periods of the 19th and 20th centuries.