ALB
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One of our opponents in Guildford West is the pacifist Peace Party. Their reformist programme for the election can be found here:http://peaceparty.org.uk/2017/04/peace-party-candidates-in-the-county-council-elections-4-may-2017/
Prakash RP wrote:[ * The Communist Manifesto ]Just as an aside. You mention this but neither of its authors adhered to the whole of your "healthy living" principles. Both Marx and Engels drunk alcohol and smoked tobacco. Marx was legally married. Engels was better on this last matter but he went in for fox-hunting. Where they Communists? Or just bad Communists?
If some of the rebels are capable of deliberately targetting children in this way:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4417804/Children-lured-CRISPS-Syria-suicide-bomber.htmlsurely it is quite plausible that they could have staged a chemical attack?Anyway, where's the big fuss about this — Security Council resolutions, Boris bombasting, tomahawk missile launches? There won't be because these are "our "bastards, some of those the West is using to achieve "regime change" in Syria.
Prakash RP wrote:I also know there's NOTHING in the theory of communism to suggest there exists any conflict between communism and the PRINCIPLE of healthy and meaningful living.There isn't really (unless you want to impose them on people). Most of them will be irrelevant in socialism/communism anyway (there'll be no legal "matrimony", women won't be economically dependent on men, no stealing, smuggling, trafficking in women and drugs, gambling, receiving bribes, tax evasion, hoarding black money, etc, etc.). But if you want to live by them, go ahead. Others may well choose a different lifestyle which includes some of things you don't like such as drinking and smoking. That wouldn't be in conflict with socialism/communism either.
The first Party literature stall in Guildford for thirty years took place in Guildford yesterday. A couple of people asked where we had been but as their memory didn't go back that far they were more likely thinking of some other group with "socialist" in their name which had a stall more recently, probably the SWP. Gave away leaflets and talked to people, including an admirer of Bernie Saunders and a Brexiteer (Guildford voted Remain).A distraction was created by a historical renactment society, or rather a myth enactment society, with a man made up to have bruises all over carrying a hugh cross up the steep hill that the High St is surrounded by men dressed as Roman soldiers shouting abuse at him. A horrible spectacle but then the symbolism of christianity — suffering, death, crucifiction, blood, and the ancient equivalent of the gallows as their logo — is horrible. But a couple of Roman soldiers did come over and ask for our leaflet.Afterwards we leafletted another area of the constituency, a third of which has now been covered.
Sympo wrote:"A bag of the same weight of small potatoes would have the same value as a bag of larger ones."Does this mean that a bag of 10 large potatoes has the same value as a bag of 10 small potatoes?How could it since 10 small potatoes can't weigh the same as 10 large ones, can they?Incidentally, to complicate things, commodities do not generally exchange at their labour-time values but tend to sell at what Marx called their "price of production" which is the monetary cost of producing them + a markup for the average rate of profit.
Vivak Shori has sent a message via a third person that 'he is too busy working to reply'. Too busy, no doubt, thinking up some more bullshit.
ALB wrote:I challenged him to put his money where his mouth was and to bet that massive deflation (falling prices, yet higher unemployment, food and other shortages, debtors prisons, etc) would happen within the 2-5 years he predicted against my bet that it wouldn't. ….. I've since emailed the organisers offering to debate him … in 5 years time on "Why the economic system did not collapse".As the 5 years are now up and capitalism is still here I'm trying to contact him to arrange this debate.
14 April, 2017: Added to the Edgar Hardcastle Internet Archive:Words and Deeds, January 1923 Marxism today, September 1967 Marx's conception of socialism (part 1), July 1983 Marx's conception of socialism (part 2), August 1983The original transcriptions were done by Imposs1904 for his Socialist Standard Past & Present blog.
A bag of the same weight of small potatoes would have the same value as a bag of larger ones. That wasn't the distinction I was making. It was between a bag of selected potatoes and a bag of not selected ones.You are the one who said this was a silly thread.
Of course it takes time to sort out bigger potatoes from smaller ones. It's a question of time not weight.
If bigger potatoes are sold together they would be have more value than a bag of potatoes of all sizes due to the extra labour involved in picking them out …
alanjjohnstone wrote:Should the Party perhaps begin to focus more on them when it comes to contesting elections? If at this stage our aim is political education isn't a good place to begin is at the start…the lowest level?No, not a good idea. For a number of reasons. Rather the opposite: focus on elections to national parliaments which are real contests for power. True, at the moment we contest elections mainly to publicise the case for socialism but parish councils? They have very limited powers (bus shelters, footpaths, allotments, where to place litter bins). This isn't even reformism. Its sub-reformism. Nothing wrong with it but, since we socialists are so few, we should leave that work to others while we spend our time concentrating on spread the idea of socialism. There are plenty of non-socialists who can make good parish councillors (better than we could).Actually, the Party has contested parish council elections on a couple of occasions. Seaham Town Council has the legal status of a parish council and we stood a candidate for it in 2003 and 2007 but only because there were district council elections on the same day covering the same area. Here is the result for Deneside Ward in 2003. There were 5 candidates for the 6 councillors, 5 from the Labour Party and one from us. The result was: Labour 390, 386, 372, 367 and 333 (all elected) Socialist 216. But what on Earth would comrade Steve Colborn have done if he had been elected?I believe the Monster Raving Loony Party is pursuing the policy Alan is floating, with mixed success:http://www.midsussextimes.co.uk/news/crime/safe-dumped-in-bizarre-fly-tipping-incident-1-6800947http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/7633008._Loony__row_over_parish_vacancy/.
Letter published in today's Weekly Worker:
Quote:BrandingAs the Socialist Party candidate in Guildford West in this May’s Surrey county council elections, I note that Paul Demarty is urging workers there to vote for the Labour candidate and his pathetic slogan of “Say no to 4.99% council tax increases” (‘The Socialist Party’s decision to stand candidates in May is delusional’, April 6).The Militant Tendency, (standing as Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition), has a candidate in Staines for these elections, but he is standing on the ‘transitional demand’ of capitalism in a slump without austerity, whereas we are standing on the socialist ‘maximum programme’ of the common ownership and democratic control of the means of wealth production, with production solely for use and distribution according to needs. The Socialist Party is also standing candidates in Kent and in East Sussex.Adam BuickSocialist Party of Great BritainLocal Sussex paper lists candidates standing for East Sussex County Council:http://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/politics/lewes-county-council-election-candidates-revealed-1-7901930
