Aged 76, Murphy died on 13 May 1965 of a cerebral haemorrhage. Whilst he had been only one of a generation of autodidact British Marxists of the early years of the twentieth century, J. T. Murphy was a worker-intellectual par excellence. Possessing a distinctive political analysis he wrote down his reflections in the most graphic, concise and lucid form, and combined an avid theoretical enquiry with a long-standing commitment to the working-class movement and the struggle against capitalism in which he played such a prominent role. Moving from syndicalism to communism to left reformism to popular frontism to anti-Marxism, Murphy's political trajectory helps to reveal in graphic relief some of the strengths and weaknesses of the British revolutionary left. This chapter draws out some of the main general themes that have emerged in evaluating Murphy's life and politics.

Undoubtedly, Murphy's chief contribution was his development of revolutionary strategy and tactics within the trade unions. Although Marx, Engels and Lenin had made pioneering efforts to understand the nature of trade unions, they lacked practical experience of mass reformist unions and, not surprisingly, left many questions unanswered. By contrast, Murphy, approaching the problem as a shopfloor activist, was able to draw out some essential features of the dynamics of trade unionism within capitalist society. Not only did he theorise the nature of the union bureaucracy and the conflict between the rank-and-file and union officialdom, he also demonstrated in both word and deed a distinctive practical means to overcome the officials' hold.