alanjjohnstone

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  • in reply to: Anarchist Bookfair London Saturday 19th October 2013 #95417
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    Well done…A very appropriate response to the refusal by the Bookfair.Have we got the text for a special leaflet for the TUC march yet to put on the blog ?

    in reply to: The WSM and the future identity of the SPGB and SPC #104523
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster
    Quote:
    Out of interest, can anyone tell me when the WSM label was first adopted and how it come about?

    Good question. I don't know. Just what was the consultation and liason with the companion parties to set it up?I also often wondered about the phrase "free access socialism" when this phrase become party common usage. Also before i am corrected it was Workers Socialist Party of United States then World Socialist Party…saved a lot on changing abbreviateed reference 

    in reply to: The WSM and the future identity of the SPGB and SPC #104520
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster
    Quote:
    It's not just sentimentality that leads us to stick to SPGB and SPC. It's history. Both parties and in both countries have a history that is more or less known to others (more in Canada in fact) so we keep these names to emphasise the continuity.

    Known by who, exactly? Just what is our public profile? Couldn't we do a simple crude poll? Each branch go out in the street and ask a 100 passer-bys Who is the SPGB?, What do they stand for? How much for a professional poll?There is no need to jettison our actual history but it is a matter of evolving into something else. We don't disown our past and remove ourselves from the historic record but leave that side to our archives. On the generous side,  our claim to success is that we have survived and many did not, (ILP and SLP) but we havn't grown, have we? I would say our infuence has also declined. Didn't Jock Haston, a 30s/40s Trotskyist recommend every left-winger should attend SPGB education classes and we acquired a nickname the working class university. That aspect has disappeared i believe.( It could be revived through the web by a series of innovative videos that i sometimes suggest rather than classroom lectures which simply is history too)You know i have argued in the past that we face a demographic threat…the proportion of older members which means more infirm and less able members are increasing in proportion to younger members. How is this to be reversed?It happened to the IWW. Until its 60s revival it was reduced to i think 80 paid up members, mostly old-timers( like the SLP) .  Somehow it managed to tap into that upsurge of revolutionary politics of the 60 and didn't need to change its name but it did adapt its structure to accommodate the rise in non-workers and those in other unions. I don't think we can afford to sit back and hope something similar helps us out with recruitment. We have to remember that the SPC went into extinction for a decade or two and had to be resurrected and some of our critics in Canadian labour history question that continuity although we ourselves would claim we are indeed part of the SPC tradition. The Australian and US parties adopted the World tag not by choice but because their old names had been stolen – The WORKERS Party of United StatesRemind me again of all the variants of our name that has been authorised for use in elections, ALB.If we are prepared to change our name on a ballot paper when it is appropriate and more apt, doesn't that also mean we can contemplate a party name change and party image change tat should go with it.I recall from my earlier membership in the 70s that we did debate the adoption of the WSP name but maybe that was just in Edinburgh branch.Rest assured that i stand by the caveat of my previous post…this issue cannot be imposed upon the party, certainly not by a simple majority decision. To be practable and with a positive prospect,  it  does require a overwhelming consensus since it means the participation and involvment of the party as a whole to shed its old skin and  (mixed metaphor, apologies) to metamorphise itself into something very different. I know there are snags…as i said somewhere –  we cannot even get all our members to migrate to this discussion list !But it should be an ongoing discussion and debate with steps that are able to be made once agreed, actually taken and not left to be wishful suggestions and then those steps built upon to venture further. An online video WSM conference of all companion parties and globally scattered individuals ( or perhaps an ADM equivalent)  should be organised as a priority (i am sure people like Janet and i with server problems can find a one-off solution through using internet cafe or whatnot, as well as others not normally connected to the web)A even more basic project would be the design and adoption of a common  WSM logo by all the companion parties to use on website banners, literature and letter heads as an actual symbol of our aspirations to be a world-wide organisation to create world socialism on a world scale. Baby steps to begin with…The great leaps and jumps should not be into the unknown but we should be building a path to the future of our parties. 

    in reply to: Zeitgeist candidate for mayor in New Zealand #96981
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    Hypothetical question SB_UKIf there is no chapter of Zeitgeist within easy travelling for you but there is an SPGB branch, would you contemplate attending the SPGB meetings and supporting it materially?  Or would you consider the differences between us too far apart to reconcile that you would maintain your distance?

    in reply to: The WSM and the future identity of the SPGB and SPC #104518
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    I think i agree with you, SP. But it should be a long and detailed debate, one where disagreements and disputes are encouraged so they may be eventually resolved. Such changes cannot to be rushed into without the commitment of convinced members and with full and proper structures tried and tested.  Re-naming ourselves, re-branding our image and re-launching ourselves, is the way to go, and we should not reflect the caractures of ourselves as a monument and not a movement. We can and have changed.Let's be honest…Just what have we got to lose? Not a lot. Sentimentality should not be a socialist principle. Technologically, with various internet tools, we can be a fully functioning World Socialist Party, using interactive communications such as Skype for committee meetings, to have video-linked conferences and decision making by online referendums. At this opportune time in our party history, we have the available funds to finance the required equipment and software to set up it all upSome have always argued that not every worker has access to the computers and the internet thereby it is an exclusive form of democracy. True enough, but so is simple literacy excluding those in the world without decent education yet  did it mean we should go back to pictures and words of a single syllable? An obligation of early socialists was self-education and need be workers created the organisations and produced the materials to assist in that task.  I have read that the average 10 year old is more computer literate than an adult…and our sights must always be on the future. Clapham no longer becomes a party Head Office but a resource and information centre. We can take the concept of the name, for at least non-electoral purposes, to WSM (London), WSM (North-East), WSM (Toronto), even breaking those down if we chose to branch level titles WSM (Mossend). 

    in reply to: Scottish Referendum #104211
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    Being from Shetland descent on my mother's side and with relatives living there, i always have that sympathy for the island peoples (when flying off on holiday it cost them more to get to Aberdeen airport  than it did from there to the beaches of Benidorm)Socialist Courier blog was perhaps one of the earliest back in Jan 2012  to point out that Scotland after independence could face its own nationalist movements springing up and claiming the lion share of the oil revenues. Our posts can be read here.http://socialist-courier.blogspot.com/search?q=shetlandThe Guardian report offers some insight into the background of how the Yes and No are courting the Islanders.  http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/20/scottish-independence-debate-orkney-shetland

    in reply to: Cartoon: Free Lunch #104495
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    i like it.Not belly aching laugh material but insightful enough to make some thinkI look forward to seeing the compilation book. 

    in reply to: You do not exist! SelfIllusion.com #104512
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    i like the photo illusion featured.

    in reply to: Anarchist Bookfair London Saturday 19th October 2013 #95407
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    And what planet did you say you are from,  YMS?

    in reply to: Anarchist Bookfair London Saturday 19th October 2013 #95405
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster
    DJP wrote:
    Young Master Smeet wrote:
    We wouldn't book a stall at the Labour Party conference, and we're nearer them than we are the anarchists…

    Debatable

    Very debatable, indeed. Also if the cost was right i would book a stall at Tory, Labour LibDem and the Peace Fair, Left Unity and whatever else people interested in politics attend. As Gnome suggests we aim to increase our presence and profile on every occasion we can.The Anarchist Bookfair attracts visitors who share many of our views and positions. I am disappointed at what i consider to be a sectarian and most likely ill-informed rejection from the content of the e-mail.  

    in reply to: www.worldsocialism.org #104479
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    ALB, you raised my hackles and, of course, i am being defensive.  But i am gratified that so far the other contributions have been supportive, (even from member of the Internet Comm who you cite in your and EC's favour casts doubt upon the wisdom of its recommendation)I would be interested to hear from those others on the EC who also endorse its recommendation (or instruction, i am not sure which it is) to understand the reasoning behind their decisionI would like to know what contact the EC made with the companion parties in regard to their blogging activities and intentions before offering them the services of the SOYMB bloggers.But most of all, i want to know why the EC didn't deem it necessary to engage with the blog committee before reaching its conclusions, and then failed to inform it of their decision which we only discover on this thread on a completely different theme!You may appreciate our understandable disconcernation at being excluded from the loop.Perhaps this is not the correct place to discuss. The Moderator will soon be informing us that we are off topic. The Blog Committee therefore awaits a formal communication from the EC and until then will continue as we have. It is not for us to go checking that we meet with the EC's approval. If the EC have issues with the blog they should address them directly to the blog committee and we will naturally discuss it amongst ourselves and give a response as a committee. As it should be. 

    in reply to: The WSM/SPGB strategy in 2014 #99783
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    I think the situation , SP, will be similar to Ireland…a WSP Ireland party for both Republic and Northern Ireland members and also the SPGB –  dual membership.The only thing the Scottish comrades require is to name themselves for the local electoral commission when standing in elections.. WSP (Scotland) would be my option… and all the comapnion parties following suit. The SPC I think maybe reluctant to their historical attachment to their name. The Party could remain the SP of Great Britain if it emphasises it being a geographical and not political designation but again i think i favour every party being a World Socialist Party…the Welsh branches too perhaps coming the WSP (Wales). SPEW is already taken by default by Militant. We should not automatically adopt adherence to any border changes…. But unless there is a dramatic shift in the poll figures, Scots will be voting no to separation by a margin of about  10%. Not an overwhelming endorsement of the union but suffice to put the national question on the back burner for a number of years.  

    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    Something i blogged for the Socialist Courier on my early encounters with the SPGB that gives a bit of background of the times back then.http://socialist-courier.blogspot.com/2013/04/personal-memories.htmlHowever at primary school i did stand as the Communist Party candidate in the mock election of either 1964 or 1966 perhaps because i did a project on Russia and already called a "Commie" and also that the CP branch had an office a street away from me.  I got one vote, my own…The SNP girl won which might account for my anti-nationalist bias but also this was before the hey-days of the SNP began ! So i am accustomed of being in the minority of one and now i abide by  the saying by John Quincy Adams "Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."I do recall an early memory of campaigning for the Labour Party in my pre-school days, marching up and down the street waving placards and flags …Back then there was a carnival like atmosphere on election days…bunting and rosettes, loud-speaker vans, in every window , a poster, it was a council estate so there were only various Labour Party ones.  Sadly, an election day is the same as any other day, no-on would notice one taking place. Once, an election day was an excuse to party and if your school was a poliing station  – a day off school, too !!

    in reply to: The WSM/SPGB strategy in 2014 #99776
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster

    Still,  Socialist Studies is being produced, at least on-line which duplicates much of our own message.http://www.socialiststudies.org.uk/socstudy93.shtmlI was out of the party when the acrimonious dispute took place so maybe i can sympathise with Steve's sentiments in having regrets that we cannot mend bridges and offer the olive branch…but on the other hand i wouldn't want to risk provoking disagreement within the present party that isn't really necessary as you say…in time, they will die out…but as some know…that is my fear for ourselves. 

    in reply to: www.worldsocialism.org #104475
    alanjjohnstone
    Keymaster
    Quote:
    that any extra ones could be submitted instead to the blogs of the Companion Parties in order to help bring them out of dormancy.

    Perhaps the internet committee and the EC should communicate and consult with the bloggers and the actual companion parties themselves before reaching recommendations. Perhaps the EC  will also accept  the role of adjudicating which daily post on what topic takes precedence and then naturally provide explanations to their choices and then mediate as well between the inevitable disputes that are bound to arise over who has editorial control of the blog. Or maybe, instead,  they should stop trying the impossible by micro-managing the party!If something is broken by all means fix it…but perhaps the blog committee could be informed of what is actually broken in our approach and the evidence of that and how improvements would result in the suggested change.If the companion parties so desired the bloggers assistance, we would be only too happy to help out but there has not been any such request received.We have endeavoured to keep alive the Socialist Banner blog by regularly updating it despite only the occasional input of an African comrade. We live in hope that this committment will one day be lifted when African comrades begin to blog for themselves.I did note the WSPNZ did make an appeal for help but that was on the technical issue of setting a blog up and was directed to one member with extensive computer knowledge , Cde Millar. They did not contact the bloggers for submissions although we often carry items on NZ. There also may not be a functioning Australian party but it doesn't stop us from carrying posts on Australian politics. The WSPUShave their own members who are seasoned bloggers so maybe the EC should enquire about their failure to have an updated party blogSocialist Courier always carries numerous items gleaned from the SPC monthly report so shortage of material is not the problem of why the Canadian blog is inactive. It should be noted that Socialist Courier frequently features just one daily post but no significant impact on traffic can be noticed The world is a big place and a lot is going on and some wish to limit our observations on it!Our ideal blog which we would like to see implemented in the future would have separate individual pages for each companion party/indivdual international contact and may well address the fact that the SOYMB is serving as a de facto WSM blog which accounted for the wide spread of post topics. Our audience is predominantly American and Windows. If criticism is called for it is that the bloggers are not active in all the social media…Facebook  or Twitter and we have held up our hands to that. Our UK based blogger has taken on  the responsibility of dealing with Facebook but what progress there is there i have no idea, not being on Facebook.We could also make more use of You Tube but two of the bloggers simply do not have the luxury of speedy band width from our the internet provider that would make it easy for us to surf videos and select suitable ones. It can take me several minutes just to view a simple webpage if it is heavy with ads and links and cookies and i often give up waiting before i'm able to cut and paste.  As i said the blog committee would be very happy with a full debate and as i have also said we have our own ideas on how to improve it….but from what ALB says, the debate that seem to have taken place have never included us.There will always have their differences of opinions…Jeez we have some members, even one of the Standard editorial committee, who won't move from our old lists and deign from even visiting this discussion list to engage in exchanges. And that certain member considers the blog to be some sort of vanity publishing project…despite the majority of posts not actually being our own original writing …and then we are damned by him for being little more than having a news tannoy approach…As editor of the Standard, ALB, you know you cannot please everybody all the time and so you follow the will of the whole party's as expressed through conference. All members of the blog are happy to adjust accordingly  when we are given that democratic direction. Otherwise those who disagree with the way the blog is, will have to up their game and demonstrate just where we are failing and convince us how their recommendations will be of benefit. I am also looking forward to the know-how of the internet committee in designing a new-look blog which might incorporate the bloggers aspirations. And i feel genuinely guilty that in this regard i can not be more active and i know the other bloggers too wish they had the expertise or capacity to design and upload new templates and maintain past archive material, despite the seeming easiness of Blogspot or Word-press and so to the internet committee we offer our apologies in advance.

Viewing 15 posts - 10,981 through 10,995 (of 12,551 total)