alanjjohnstone
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
It is not like it is only LBird and the SPGB that has to discuss decision-making. Capitalism itself must be able to apply information to make a judgement on preferences and within the structure of transnational corporations, there is a need for shared and coordinated decision-making. The days of CEOs being physically able to direct global operations are passing.
I look forward to the day we acquire members who fully understand the logistic supply chain from the field to the fork and explain to me that my choices at the supermarket shelves along with the choices of others determine what we produce without me understanding or participating in all the ins and outs of the process.
To return to the very beginning of this never-ending story if the majority vote that the sun goes around the earth then it is true. I’m well use to the ignorance of the majority everytime they cast their ballot in an election for lies and fakery. I already live alongside those who believe the movement of celestial orbs determine my destiny. Just as Trump’s actions doesn’t change science, it’s just the same as if some believe the world is flat – it isn’t going to make any difference as we all live out our lives.
But what I get irritated by is Lbird often critiques us for not exercising democracy – workers democracy. He sort of claims that we are akin to the technocrats, placing ourselves above our fellow-workers as an elite, imposing our opinions and power upon fellow-workers. Yes, there is a fundamental difference in the knowledge held by a Socialist Party member and all other fellow-workers and it does have an effect.
We possess class consciousness and we do view the world around us in all its manifestations very differently from some one who has not acquired this awareness, which we describe as being a materialist. I’m not going to enter too much into the different philosophical interpretations of the term and prefer its broader meaning of social evolution.
I plead guilty to having a deeper political and economic insight into my life and the lives of family friands and neighbours. It keeps resulting in strong disagreements and usually I am the one who is accused of holding fanciful ideas and not reflecting the way things are in the “real” world. But contrary to accusation, I am a democrat, I do not enforce minority views on the majority. I rely upon education and persuasion. I do take upon that role of teacher. Another important difference. Yet I desist from exercising any role of leadership, demanding they follow.
If someone wants to go on believing the sun goes around the earth – so be it, he or she can, if so wished. But I will not be trusting them to be an astronomer. Nor entrusting my health in the hands of someone who advocates homeopathic cures. I will decide such decisions. And hopefully there will be a democratic structure about how such professions admit and approve entrants.
This is what I learned in the Socialist Party where I happily absorbed ideas from my mentors, sometimes somewhat reluctantly. I am still on a learning curve
Horne’s Introduction here
https://libcom.org/history/introduction-counter-revolution-1776
“Attempts to solve the climate crisis by cutting carbon emissions from only cars, factories and power plants are doomed to failure…it will be impossible to keep global temperatures at safe levels unless there is also a transformation in the way the world produces food and manages land…”
A charity event in aid of Palestinian children was cancelled because fears their criticism of Israel could breach antisemitism guidelines.
Tower Hamlets council staff said there was a “real risk” that the event and its organisers could be seen to have breached the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism because of references on their website to apartheid and ethnic cleansing. One official said there were concerns “not least because of the recent furour [sic] within the Labour party over Anti Semitism [sic]”.
So the those who said the guidelines would be used against critics of Israeli policy despite assurances have been vindicated but of course the pro-Zionists will never admit it and nor did the council insisting the reasons for their cancellation be kept secret. Why are all those organisations condemning the Labour Party anti-Semitism now silent? The application of IHRA guidelines have now shown their real purpose and exposes the hypocrisy of its proponents.
“…They come to these XR meetings with questions, and many of those questions remain unanswered (for the reasons you already rightly outlined in your criticism). If we could provide the answers we might be able to give these people direction and in the end have them on our side…”
If we aren’t present, nobody is ever going to hear our case.
If we aren’t there, the questions are going to be wrongly answered by the wrong people.
We have a HO that can be offered to XR as a free meeting hall to bring them to us.
They can not stand alone, and we should not be stand-offish.
XR is a generation which are on a learning curve that the Socialist Party completed a long time ago, so we should be educating them. Teachers are not leaders.
And we have a history of experience to share to avoid others from making the same mistakes of the past.
We are open about our ideology. We aren’t trying to subvert and control.
The main message is in
It appears that the scientific think-tanks are still on our side, though.
While capitalism offers quick financial fixes
The bigger picture from the Institute for Public Policy Research says “A new model is needed to rapidly create societies that are more sustainable, just and prepared: bringing human activity to within environmentally sustainable limits while narrowing inequality, improving quality of life, and becoming better prepared for the accelerating consequences of environmental breakdown,”
For sure they mention the need for sustainability laws, Laurie Laybourn-Langton, the lead author of the report, acknowledges that the current trend in global politics is in the opposite direction, towards a nationalist race to run-down what is left of the world’s resources… Running down what we have leads to a horrendous, suicidal, self defeating spiral. A good life is where we benefit from a strong commons and not destroy those common resources.”
The Chinese army hinting about intervening. Another Tiananmen Square slaughter?
2nd Part of 2nd debate
Biden revealed as Obama-Lite
Kamala Harris gets her gotcha moment come-uppance from Tulsi Gabbard
Trust capitalism to fix climate change
“Government plans to buy up hundreds of thousands of tonnes of unsold lamb in the event of a no-deal Brexit could be unworkable because there is nowhere to store it”
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49186065
I never did hear a report on the meeting Simon was to hold with one of the London branches…
As for Swampy, I did read one fairly recent item on him…but it is vague memory so don’t quote me…living in in a commune in Wales, working as a forester and still active but anonymously so that his “infamy” doesn’t distract from the issues…
When I went to wiki, I saw a slogan that we could appropriate (going back to an earlier exchange)
“Reclaim the Future” – We could simply say “Claim the Future” to use as our slogan to bring the positive tone of your hope to my despondency
I never associated Swampy and other eco-warriors with Reclaim the Streets.
RTS endeavoured to merge the trade union movement and the Liverpool Dockers with themselves to try and form a more radical alliance and were not they also the first signs of the WRP mutating from their doctrinaire roots.
I went with my union to one London march. But ended up alongside the anarchist contingent, at least until the pub.
This open letter was published by ourselves
