alanjjohnstone
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Oh i should add that Robbo’s article in this month’s SS and his thread on Libcom about the Left is intent upon saving capitalism is also relevant to any debate.
https://libcom.org/forums/theory/left-actually-want-save-capitalism-18022015
Can i suggest we delete the reading group section of the forum.
Simply has not been a success as have all the other online reading groups i have encountered. Simply not the best medium for such a venture.
IMHO they have to be face to face as in book clubs
I am not accustomed to having to do html to use bold or italics or whatever. Was bad enough having to quote/unquote on the old forum to copy and paste.
That is one priority to improve.
The colour of the font, a light grey on a light grey is not amenable to my eye-sight and shared by Robbo
I understand it will take time so comrades involved in the redesign don’t feel aggrieved by criticism. As Kenny Everett would say “It’s all done in the best possible taste”
It will also take time for the forum to become as active as previously.
But truth be told i am not at all sure members do seek to engage in debate and exchange views if the experience of the scant use our Yahoo discussion lists during the Form’s absence is anything to go by.
The most popular topics on Libcom seem to be …what movies have you watched and what music are you listening too.
Perhaps a useful additions to our forum menus
Hmmmm…i’m not so keen on this look…but i am the voice of one.
Hopefully, this forum will be a bit livelier than Libcom’s which i have been visiting
I think we can all sympathise with the WSPNZ concerns.I doubt there is any member who feels optimistic that they will witness socialism in their lifetime.Solutions to the problem of declining presence within the workers' movement do not appear to be on the horizon. Whether dropping the name socialism would be fruitful, i am not so sure about. Has it ever worked elsewhere? Once again i refer to my previous suggestions that we devote a whole conference and include all the companion parties in the process to address our downward spiral.We should look at our organisational structure…instead of dropping the name socialism, we should adopt a unified name …World Socialist Party (GB),WSP (Canada) and try a re-launch of our principles. But what are our principles and how do we include them in our message.I recall BrianJ at one conference repeatedly saying we should identify our Unique Selling Point and in the ensuing years, i am not so sure we have ever succeeded.As a beginning we should seek to have a world organisation that reflects the global nature of socialism and in these days of Skype (or whatever), all the companion parties can be integrated into one organisation when it comes to decision-making and campaigning.We should also begin to clarify our positions on those ideas that are regularly misconstrued about ourselves…the mistaken attitudes that we do not accept that workers can achieve limited gains from reforms, or that we advocate some sort of passivity in the struggles of trade unions.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/china-trade-us-tariffs-fart-latest-war-goods-economy-a8433836.html the US appeared set to impose 25 per cent tariffs on $34bn of Chinese goods at 12:01am on Friday.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-44732720Campaigners and some Labour MPs have criticised the party's new code of conduct on anti-Semitism.The code states that "anti-Semitism is racism. It is unacceptable in our party and in wider society".But it does not sign up in full to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of anti-Semitism.Labour MPs Chuka Umunna, Liz Kendall and Anna Turley are among those criticising the omission. Umunna tweeted he was "utterly appalled": "Our values dictate that we treat all groups the same and yet, again and again, we see examples of the Jewish community being treated differently to other groups by the Labour Party. This is discrimination, pure and simple, and it is totally unacceptable."The Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies of British Jews said in a joint statement that it was "impossible to understand" why Labour had not adopted the IHRA definition in full – as the UK Jewish community, governments and local councils had done. It was "for Jews to determine themselves what anti-Semitism is".The Labour Party endorses the IHRA's working definition of anti-Semitism and includes behaviours it lists as likely to be regarded as anti-Semitic – but leaves out four examples:Accusing Jewish people of being more loyal to Israel than their home countryClaiming that Israel's existence as a state is a racist endeavourRequiring higher standards of behaviour from Israel than other nationsComparing contemporary Israeli policies to those of the Nazis
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/03/uk-immigration-authorities-separating-children-from-parentsScores of children – and possibly hundreds – are separated from a parent or carer in the UK every year, according to a charity that challenges immigration detention. Bail for Immigration Detainees (Bid) has so far this year represented 155 parents who have been separated from a child or children while in immigration detention in the UK. The charity usually handles around 170 cases a year.Celia Clarke, director of Bid, said: “What has been happening in the United States with families arriving at the border being forcibly separated is utterly reprehensible.“But in the UK we do not have the moral high ground. Our government has been separating parents from their children for the purposes of immigration control for years. Parents are detained with no time limit on that detention and no automatic legal representation, leaving their children in the community. The impact of this is devastating and long-lasting. Children of parents we have supported regressed, developed behavioural difficulties and suffered from night terrors. The enduring legacy was a constant fear that their parent or parents might be taken from them again.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/mexico-amlo-chavista-180627074650133.html
Quote:AMLO is definitely a populist, but he is not a left-wing radical. His catchy political narrative is based on creating opposition between honest citizens and dishonest politicians (which he calls the "power mafia"), but his discourse does not reference labour issues, class struggle, US imperialism, or financial capitalism at all.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44635490Canada's countermeasures against the Trump administration's steel and aluminium levies have come into effect, 25% tariff on assorted US metals products. Tariffs of 10% have also been imposed on over 250 other US goods like beer kegs, whiskey and orange juice. Canada also announced it would make C$2bn available to defend the steel and aluminium industry, including funds to support affected businesses. "Our approach is and will be this: we will not escalate and we will not back down," Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said.The EU and Mexico have already imposed their own counter-tariffs on American goods.EU's duties on £2.4bn ($3.1bn) of products such as bourbon whiskey, motorcycles and orange juice took effect on 22 June.Mexico put tariffs on $3bn worth of American products ranging from steel to blueberries and bourbon.
If you read the background articles to the SPGB case you will find that although we stand for the abolition of the State and religion, we do not campaign for that but instead argue for a socialist society which will make the cause of these institutions redundant and they will wither away.The case against conventional families may be seen in the same light. We will create a system of society that new ways of living will develop and grow and the old lifestyles will transform and disappear.
