alanjjohnstone
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Since my "second coming" as a member of the Party i have witnessed two occasions where the Party entirely misread the political feelings and attitudes of fellow workers.The first was in 2003 when we expected just the usual large march against the Iraq War but nearly a million turned up on the streets to march against war and we were logistically unable to engage meaningfully with any of the protesters. STWC got the rewards of a real anger that existed, (something they later went on to squander.) The second time was the Scottish referendum where every man woman child and their dog (and i mean that literally) were expressing their views on nationalism, national and class identity and what they hoped and aspired for politically,. Every city town and village had the Yes and No campaign, very often beyond the usual political party divide. Yes and No were genuine grassroots movements. Unfortunately Scottish members and the Party could only produce several hundred stickers as their contribution to this debate and i don't believe anyone actually attended the numerous meetings or rallies that took place around the country. Personally i got the inkling that the Party didn't care a hoot about the Scottish referendum and so didn't bother to do anything other than make a token effort. They gambled, (rightly as it happened but only just, because despite what they say it was a photo-finish) that the No campaign would prevail. I can't predict that the EU referendum won't be an anti-climax, full of apathy, or whether is sparks of a similar rise in political activity and increased political dialogue, – something that we as a party have been complaining about being missing in fellow workers for quite some while – but i sure want the Party to be ready if there is, with leaflets and stickers and posters and banners. They can all be designed or drafted to be a timeless quality and used generally. For sure, we will receive a small audience but at least they'll get a unique perspective to look intoIf it turns out that few fellow workers are interested in the EU debate, well, we can build upon that too…that people did recognise it isn't an issue for the working class and their lack of interest confirmed our case.What i dont want is for members to go fishing and tell others to go fishing and treat the referendum as a total non-event that we simply go through the motions…a dull leaflet, a re-hashed sticker that never get stuck up and an odd article in the Standard and on the blog, sniping at just one side and not attacking both equally and bringing out the full socialist case…Or are we saying that this is all a re-play of German and Italian unification and Marx supported those and so we should sympathise with the EU state, as well, and concentrate on its good points ie mobility of labour and ignore the more questionable aspects of it, eg its undemocratic structure. Once more i appeal to members and branches to ensure this referendum is formally discussed at annual conference and we adopt decisions made by the party on how we should approach it….if we go fishing, we should be seeking the right bait to hook and catch our fellow workers…and casting our nets wide….oh, plenty more metaphors to use but i won't …
Quote:I think we need to debate at length whether we can pursue our party's aims better inside or outside the EUI agree full-heartedly…we need to debate the questions the referendum and the EU in or out has raised and decide upon an agreed campaign to put forward the case for socialism during the heightened political atmosphere of the referendum. It has to be at conference and if we cannot somehow include it late on the agenda, it doesn't say much for our flexibility as an organisation.
So can i clarify AHS, your position is that we climb down from the fence and positively advocate to stay in the EU as it benefits the working class?
"This isn't a vote about which party gets to runs capitalism…"This is still a vote on how capitalism is run, or am i mistaken that it is a decision on the the scope and extent of the state machine?"how Draconian immigration laws can be anything that makes movement that little bit freer is welcome."…Try saying that to those non-EU migrants now being trapped in limbo because EU countries have decided to put their national sovereignty ahead of Schengen Agreement, ignoring the legality or whatever. Borders were re-instituted and razor fences built to stop the most vulnerable from having the benefits of EU protection. Long before the current refugee crisis countries in the EU began individually to implement anti-non EU policies such as language and skill requirements. Can we argue that the IN case is unchallengable that it shouldn't be referred to as being suggested by the idea we make our analysis bias against the OUT?It is not merely a trade pact but a political/military alliance. Can we argue that EU has not had a detrimental effect on the world stage such as from the break up to Yugoslavia to the present Ukrainian civil war? And with its trade barriers it too has a deleterous effect upon fellow workers in the developing world …the EU is not about Free Trade but selective tariffs. "we should concentrate on attacking those calling themselves socialists who are on the Leave side, for encouraging nationalism."…the only sound approach to take, plus pointing out (again) that our social problems are caused by capitalism not the EU."That does also mean explaining that the EU cannot solve our problems and can, in fact, exacerbate the problems of the world-wide working class. What about those who call themselves socialists who express support for the EU? We are not for European Socialism but World Socialism, for global revolution. and we stand by the worldwide working class of every country. We need to show we go beyond the EU.Or are we going to argue that it is a model to follow for future administration…transnational and appointed commissioners making the decisions…of course not…we have to expose the EU pretence of democracy. I really think we should use the up-coming but very timely conference to discuss this and and agree and design a fit and proper party attitude rather than an ad-hoc improvised response to the referendum where an attitude and approach is decided without full consultation with the whole membership. Of course there exists the Little Englander nationalism but lets not pretend there is not equally at work European nationalism…Or did i mishear those prime ministers and presidents who pledged to defend (white christian) European culture and heritage from outsiders.The referendum and the party's position and the attitude our literature and speakers take must be debated specifically at conference.
Quote:"If I was a prisoner and there was a vote as to if I want a bigger cell or not I would vote for the bigger cell, even though really I do not want to be in prison at all."A variant of the lesser evilism…leads to all sorts of dilemmas, don't you think?…All manner of political accommodation…Sanders or Clinton? Trump or Sanders? Trump or Clinton? Where does it end?…Down the road to Chomsky's position, methinks …In the 2000, 2004, and 2008 presidential elections, Chomsky advised, "if it's a swing state, keep the worst guys out. If it's another state, do what you feel like." and " if I had been in a swing state I probably would have held my nose and voted for Obama. Just to keep out the alternative, which is worse. I had no expectations about him and I’m not in the least disillusioned. In fact I wrote about him before the primaries. I thought he was awful."But we have a soon upcoming conference where i think the subject should be raised …an emergency motion perhaps or item for discussion…Entirely ignoring a political decision-making event or actually suggesting taking sides in one has wider ramifications….i think the feel i got was some members reluctantly would have vote No in the Scot's referendum…and some equally as reluctantly voted Yes…But i think we got it right…any nationalism is a poison…Opting either pro or anti EU is still nationalism…You are right, DJP…it is maybe a bigger cell…but the prison walls is to keep people out, not in….maybe you prefer solitary to sharing your cell…
What's the difference between abstention and ballot spoiling on this occasion from any other? If you wish to exoress the view that a democratic process (and we have have to admit now that referenda are now part of the UK's democracy) there is no point in participating because it is "a waste of time", then why not go the whole way and say unless we have a chance of winning then voting in elections are a waste of time. In fact the anarchists calling for boycott and non-participation is actually a more positive political action rather than suggest we ignore the whole thing entirely and encourage political apathy or at least tacitly endorse such. So there are really 3 choices we can make. My option is to follow our usual course…advocate spoiling the ballot paper…And be out on the streets, being seen promoting it…Or do we not want to express our view on nationalism, patriotism, globalisation, migration of labour and all these important issues that will crop up in the denbate and require answering from a socialist perspective … I really have no wish to see a repetion of the invisibility of the Party during the Scots Referendum… Our position is to be "Neither British Isolationism Nor Fortress Europe but World Socialism"…hmmm…have to find another phrase for accurately describing the euro sceptics…i originally said "Little England" which resonated but a bit anti-Welsh-Irish-Scots…and re-edited…. If we are going to be busy and active during April/May why stop the momentum for June, and use the contacts/mailing lists in the London and Regional elections we acquire to build upon. …a tall order and a demanding one…but whoever said our task was an easy one.
I don't think the EU referendum will provoke as much political engagement as the Scottish independence one where 85% turned out to vote , with a very high % of those registering to vote – 97%. I think most who witnessed the campaigning were surprised by how many became active and how many were keen to show their allegencies.
Simon Miles will co-host an evening of ‘live’ music, DJ, performance, dance, poetry and film together with broadcaster & film maker – Diana Mavroleon.THE PERFORMANCES: sculptural steel cello by Adrian Palka. Alchemical dance troupe – Pet’s People. Singer-song writers – Noamie Du Cimetiere, Honey Birch and Madeleine Smith. Egyptian dance by Petronella. Poetry & Spoken Word from Neil Oram, Denis Quilligan and Niall McDevitt. Scottish bagpipes by Dave Brooks. Electronic music by Vahkan Matossian. James Barralet plays works by Rabindranath Tagore and John Mayer on cello. Puppetry & music by Puppet Planet. Rock duo – Denis Quilligan & Mardi. Short films by Diana Mavroleon. Humming Orchestra with Sergio Lopez Figueroa. Performances from Simon Miles and Diana Mavroleon. DJ – Robinson.
It seems one of the Tory bugbears was to defend the rights of the City of London, and maintain its almost tax haven status that the EU financial and banking proposals jeapardised
Another for the reading list http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/02/19/the-next-global-financial-fault-line/
The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) has claimed responsibility for the Ankara bombing that killed 28 people this week, according to its website. It said the attack was in retaliation for Ankara’s military operation in Turkey's southeast.The TAK, is a splinter group of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). TAK has said that it severed links with the PKK. The latter, in turn, has reportedly denied having any control over the TAK.The militant group claimed in the statement published on Friday that the Ankara blast was carried out to avenge the “defenseless and wounded civilians brutally massacred in basements in Cizre.”https://www.rt.com/news/333019-tak-claims-responsability-ankara/
An interesting readhttp://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/02/china-true-economic-growth-rate-160217134132315.html
Quote:China's exports fell for the seventh consecutive month in January, fears are mounting about China's economy. China's purchasing managers' index also indicates contraction. Related indices that don't usually make the headlines are doing even worse. All eight business indexes published by China's National Bureau of Statistics point towards recession. The open orders index, which tracks purchasing orders actually awaiting fulfilment, has been in negative territory for more than a year. The orders just aren't coming in…Taiwan's exports to China have fallen by double digits over the past year. Taiwan exports advanced components such as semiconductors that are used in China's manufacturing industries, which just aren't buying these days. South Korean companies are suffering even more. Korean exports to China are down more than 20 percent…The Chinese government has a special name for deficit spending: "Proactive fiscal policy". Proactive fiscal policy means pumping money into the economy to prevent a recession. The rest of the world calls this Keynesian economics. In 2015 China's national government spending rose at a wildly unsustainable pace of 15.8 percent. Local government spending may have risen even faster; nobody knows the true figures. At the same time taxes are being cut. And the State Council expects these "proactive fiscal policies" to be "continued and strengthened" in 2016. And China is doing much more than building bridges and cutting taxes – the orthodox Keynesian approaches to propping up a faltering economy. In a country where all commercial banks are state-owned, the government has the capacity to pump money into the economy through the banking system too… bank lending expanded at record levels in January…bank lending quadrupled between December and January, adding an extra $400bn to the economy. Adding in other government-sponsored lending programmes boosts this figure even higher…China claims not to be teetering on the brink of recession. If the Chinese economy really is growing at an annual rate of more than 6 percent, Keynesian economic policies make no sense.Lbird, this debate has been going on for almost a couple of years now, hasn't it?I'm wondering if there are any points of agreement you have reached that you didn't think existed, but more importantly if it has added positively to your own knowledge, that you have gained insight from the views or comments of your antagonists on the thread. I'm not talking about acquiring what i consider negative insightson what you consider the SPGB to represent but actually received vie-points that you didn't know or hold but now do…In othe words have you learned anything other than we are tarred by the same brush as Leninists … i want to know if you yourself have benefited for the better from the exchanges…Did any SPGB member help you out with your own thoughts? Of course the reason i ask, is was this long, long, long interaction worth it, in any way for you? Or could you have been putting your time and energy to more useful ends?
Okay , you asked for it…For soundtrack, i'm a sucker for the Bolerohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urfjyj4FnUcIt posseses that magical mystique and leads to an emotional crescendo and climax….
