British Far Left: new book

[ALB]

We're not in it, but then we say we're not "left". So we can't have our cake and eat it, though of course we should be in it. We have of course asked for a review copy.

There's a discussion on why we're not here. Go to post 96 and following. There's also this ditty about us (message 100)

Quote:

(To the tune Bonnie Dundee)
If you think the treatment of workers is wrong,
Oppose any measure that helps them along;
Don’t join up with Labour, don’t join the CP,
But fight the whole lot in the SPGB

If you want to live in a world without war,
Don’t go on the march, don’t sit down on the floor;
Don’t join the Committee, don’t join CND,
But fight the whole lot in the SPGB.

(Composed R Condon, c. 1963)

I knew Richard Condon at the time. He was then, like the rest of the IS Group (which later became the SWP), in the Labour Party as this ditty reflects.  There's a letter from him defending being in the Labour Party in the June 1963 Socialist Standard. He later became a Eurocrat (where I came across him again).

[Darren redstar]

Matthew worley was my lecturer at university, a good historian, his history of the cpgb in the third period has upset the trots by refuting their claims to trotskys infallibility. I have had words about the price.

[imposs1904]

ALB wrote:

We're not in it, but then we say we're not "left". So we can't have our cake and eat it, though of course we should be in it. We have of course asked for a review copy.There's a discussion on why we're not here. Go to post 96 and following. There's also this ditty about us (message 100)

Quote:

(To the tune Bonnie Dundee) If you think the treatment of workers is wrong, Oppose any measure that helps them along; Don’t join up with Labour, don’t join the CP, But fight the whole lot in the SPGBIf you want to live in a world without war, Don’t go on the march, don’t sit down on the floor; Don’t join the Committee, don’t join CND, But fight the whole lot in the SPGB.(Composed R Condon, c. 1963)

I knew Richard Condon at the time. He was then, like the rest of the IS Group (which later became the SWP), in the Labour Party as this ditty reflects.  There's a letter from him defending being in the Labour Party in the June 1963 Socialist Standard. He later became a Eurocrat (where I came across him again).

That June 1963 letter – with reply – from Richard Condon has now popped up on the Socialist Standard Past and Present blog:Link: CND and SPGB 

[ALB]

Thanks. Until I re-read that letter from Richard Condon I had forgotten how abysmally low was the theoretical understanding of the rank and file members of the "International Socialism" Group at the time. Some of the others were able to put up more of a fight:http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/1970s/1970/no-791-july-1970/debate-%E2%80%9Cinternational-socialists%E2%80%9DAnyway, we've asked for a review copy of the book. Don't know if we'll get one though.

[Author]

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