alanjjohnstone
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I agree ALB about contesting Oxford and Brighton but in the intervening year we should be busy advertising our presence and intentions. This means the Election Committee making an early decision to stand, and Campaigns holding meetings and lit stalls, coordinating with these members and sympathers to do so, and Media Committee targetting Oxford and Brighton's local media (including it seems the student media ) with press releases. It means these committees being proactive right now. It may mean spending money for what some will think is meagre returns. But we have witnessed the openings that are available if we ourselves are available. I hope we can now ask for submissions for new script/story-board for next years election video, and although it may not be eligible for official election broadcast , it can be circulated through internet.
Those who oppose any religious membership of the Party must formulate how the party implements such rules within the context of a mass movement for social change that will involve many with individual idiosycratic views or adherence to various forms of organised religion. I think our position to exclude non-materialists holds only if we accept that the Party will not (and cannot) be the vehicle for the socialist revolution but merely a component and just an ideological one, at that.I know some already accept this position but it is not fully acknowledged within our principles albeit often expressed in some of our propaganda.Our present position is determined by the acceptance of our current status. A few hundred that never in its history exceeded a few thousand. I will also suggest that when (if) our numbers grow our approach to reforms will become more practical and pragmatic (don't try and tie me down to a debate over its form now because i gladly leave the determination to future members to be considered under their circumstances and situation, not the ones i face today) which will make those such as StuartW part of the WSM, activists who believe words are not sufficient to defend the working class and as a one-time trade union activist, i concur that class struggle does mean engagement for whatever we can grab.
I think we should out of comradely courtesy acknowledge our appreciation to the Oxford Communist Corresponding Society for their assistance. I think they should be included in any follow-up campaigns strategy in Oxford – joint public meeting?As Steve Colburn has explained, if our candidates can be encouraged to carry on writing to their local press it keeps our name known. Perhaps signing as Socialist Party/World Socialist Movement prospective candidate albeit stretching the truth a little bit. Actually, i did suggest on a thread we stop playing the nice guys…so all the defeated candidates can send off a letter implicitedly NOT congratulating the winner all as the usual custom is at these results but instead vilifying them all as undeserving victors!
I doubt anybody goes along with all the teachings of any religion regardless of pronouncement of faithfulness to it. It's a pix and mix as well we know and throughout history the preferences have changed as society changed.Referring to the Levellers or back to the Church rules in Jerusalem or St Ambrose (340-397 AD) who said: “Nature furnishes its wealth to all men in common. God beneficiently has created all things that their enjoyment be common to all living beings, and that the earth become the common possession of all. It is nature itself that has given birth to the right of the community, while it is only unjust usurpation that has created the right of private property.”(i am sure many other members can selectively quote scripture or saints expressing socialistic ideas.)Connolly did his best to make catholicism compatable by exposing how the church itself is never consistent in its teaching and adapts to survives.To admit a heresy, i am now more an agnostic in believing those with religious beliefs should or should not be a member. I rather go along with the American military's previous position on sexuality…don't ask, don't tell, don't care. It nevertheless presents us with a very probable future position…we would be subject to anti-discrimination laws if we took action against a future member who did begin to apply his/her particular religion's canon within the party. We would require sound legal advice on rule-books if one religious member is allowed to remain by being silent on his/her belief and another because he/she is vocal is penalised. By treating all adherents to religions the exact same, we, to use another contested area, maintain the moral high ground.But it will also be his answers to the other questions that his form A will be considered which made me regret Mike McDade's earlier rejection.
I may be wrong but was there not a resurgency of membership in the 60s and 70s that had little to do with economism but more about lifestyles and personal expectations for the future.There was( if my memory isn't waning) a confidence that we were part of a growing socialist movement that was expressing itself culturally as well as simply politically. We viewed ourselves as part of something bigger than ourselves….alas, it was not to be and situations regressed…Not just for our party's individual fortunes but for general politics of the Left. Despite all the snide remarks about SPGB numbers, our rivals struggle to recruit…Robbo is right about a small politcal party syndrome but i hasten to add whether religious are included or excluded fails to remedy it…nor as being pointedd out to Stuart is the reformist everything for everybody approach successful.i'm always asking myself…Was there lessons we should have learned ?If our growth was related to social movements that were not always limited to politics is it the general disillusionment that womens, gay, black liberation successes have failed to liberate except individually and not collectively as assumed. Even the environment has become passe…the road campaigners …now the anti-fracking…seems to be more a disconnect with society rather than linking.Again i have to concede that Occupy did bring everybody under the same tent and why they temporarily succeeded and then faded back to single issues is something i need to think about more. It is here i think the question has an answer, whatever it is, for the party. We may have had disagreements with Stuart's take on it which i'm sure he himself admit isn't unchallengable but we didn't run away from the issue we simply differed in our understanding of it.We didn't know the answer because we don't know the question…42
As Jools reminds again the Greens did rather well and once again i ask why LU does not practice what they preach and seek a merger with them rather than proposed electoral pacts. I fully acknowledge, Stuart, that you and other LU may vote Green. as I said in my previous post. "imagine what a thousand new enthusiastic members campaigning on the streets rather simply voting for the Green Party could have done, Stuart."My point was that simply falls short of unity and despite the link you earlier provided showing the differences, i think even you would ccept as much difference exists within sections of LU righ now. I can only conclude that despite the declarations to the contrary , the LU is yet another sectarian party but simply won't concede it After all, the CPGB recommended its members and supporters to vote for the SPGB so LU are not unique.It seems also Stuart (but perhaps i have this wrong) that you suggest we do need a high profile figure-head for a party, in your case , Owen Jones, for UKIP – Farage, to claim media attention. I have been thinking about this a lot and in regards to Eugene Debs standing for President in the US and achieving a remarkable result considering the franchise restrictions on the poor, immigrants and blacks he was the public face of the Socialist Party of America…but less known is that he did NOT hold any administrative or position of authority in the SPA, not even on its EC. Something to think about, at least.The Greens have Lucas, a MEP, but also separately have Bennett as party leader. And also Derek Wall as a writer, who is certainly alongside ourselves in his understanding and analysis of capitalism.We have to consider what our stance should be if a member gains similar as someone like Russell Brand's exposure to publicity. Would we make the most of it or try to discourage it? But lets get realistic…is the Guardian the thermometer of the working class because i would suspect in any opinion poll, Farage as a personality would far outshine Owen Jones (who?) in any opinion poll of voters.DJP i have only anecdotal evidence but lets admit that UKIP are doing well…but now they have several councillors as the BNP acquired and who were later revealed to be idle opportunists and pretty much idiots too, just how effective they are doing the job, will determine if they can maintain the rise. From what i gather UKIP as MEPS are parasitical and contribute little. If their local representatives prove the same we will see its decline.
What we need is a hate campaign against ourselves with all the rest of the poitical parties plus most of the media ganging up daily to expose our "idiotic" proposals. Certainy didn't do Farage much damage electorally. The more the establishment ranged against UKIP, the more voters thought there might be something to what they say that they don't want us to hear or know. Oscar Wilde: "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about."Despite more publicity than we even expected, we lacked the hook to catch peoples full attention. We need a punchier election manifesto and perhaps stop playing the nice guys. We have to include a sense of urgency and immediancy to our message…Some may criticise the catastrophists but , Hell…either vote for us or die a slow lingering and probably painful death seems a sufficient soundbite to make me sit up and question what is being communicated.Rather than simply thanking Caroline Lucas, imagine what a thousand new enthusiastic members campaigning on the streets rather simply voting for the Green Party could have done, Stuart.Official opposition in Liverpool and Solihull. Plus they have your social wage as policy, too. And renationalisation as well…a dream ticket !! Time to put your money where your mouth is, time for real unity and for LU to merge. As Robin said the niche is already filled…by the Greens.
Do you mean by becoming weekly? Well, i got another letter fired off to it on Scot Nationalism …a very short letter, mind you, on this occasion.
i thought this article provides a counter to those who believe that capitalism can be managed. Mostly about the Fed and interest rates but i'm sure it can be expanded to how capitalism has a life of its own and world impact restricts domestic manipulation of it of even an economy the size of the USAhttp://blog.heritage.org/2014/05/18/behold-power-fed/
I'm starting to treat Weekly Worker as some sort of lefty Private EyeSee this week's issue for two articles on LU ( Less Unity)http://www.cpgb.org.uk/home/weekly-worker/1010
Does anybody think it possible that this debate (and a couple of earlier incarnations of it) would ever have been possible without the internet.Could the exchanges and challenges to one anothers opinions/views have taken place in ink on pages in a magazine?…hmmm i doubt any editor would have devoted the space to it, and i doubt there would be any publisher who would turn it into a bookProof in my opinion, of how ideas are formed and developed by certain material conditions being achieved Comrades, you are examples of the Materialist Conception of History in practice !!!
