ALB
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Cintemporary article from the Socialist Standard on the transformation of the SDP (as the SDF had become by then) into the BSP in 1911:http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/1910s/1911/no-88-december-1911/british-socialist-party
It gets even better. Apparently one of the 2% of Anglican clergy is a bishop ! From today's Times under the headline "God may be just in our heads, say clergy":
Quote:You might expect to hear talk of God as a figment of human thought around the dinner tables of eminent sociobiologists, but not at the heart of the Church of England. You would be wrong.A bishop is among the 2 per cent of British Anglican clergy who are "not sure 'God' is more than a human construct", a poll has found.While 83 per cent believe in a personal God, some are vaguer, including 3 per cent who said "there is a some sort of spirit or life force". Almost one in ten think it is impossible to define the nature of God, following the example of the 9th-century Irish theologian Johannes Scotus Eriugena, who wrote. "God himself does not know what he is because he is not anything."Some 1500 clergy were polled, so if 2 per cent think that God is a "human construct", that's 30 such Anglican clergymen or women.
Robin, the Black Blobber, writes to Brand:
Quote:You do not call for the abolition of the state or capital. You want a "reduction" of the profit motive, "heavily taxing" corporations and putting extra "responsibility" on them to be green. The substance of your critique of the political class is not structural but is aimed at the fact that many of them went to public school. You say nothing that suggests you are a revolutionary in anything other than a Fabian reformist viewpoint. This is just populism. No doubt, that populism sells you books.Actually, Brand does call for the abolition of the state and of capitalism. It's true that he does also advocate the other measures but, as far as I can see, as palliatives — just as, as far as I can also see, does the Black Blob which participates (and attempts to disrupt) demonstrations called to demand them.What I see as different in Brand's approach is that he has realised that such campaigns are only attempts to make things less bad under capitalism and that only a "revolution" against capitalism to establish a new society based on something different can ensure that the problems they address will be solved or won't arise. Most of the others involved in such campaigns don't realise this.Having said this, I'm now over a third way through his book Revolution and so far it is disappointing as it's mainly about his own "spiritual revolution". Maybe it will get better. I'll let you know.Incidentally, Gnome has misunderstood what Brand's show the Messiah Complex (to give it its full title is about). It's not about him being a Messiah. He's actually against Messiahs and Leaders and is not putting himself forward as one. See, for instance this:.
Quote:Messiah Complex is a mental disorder where you think you might be the messiahnorm_burns wrote:But it's not 'our' revolution, now, is it? If it was, he wouldn't be on radio 4, now, would he?Not a convincing argument on its own. Otherwise why we were invited to appear on BBC2's "Politics Show" ?
Interesting news item in today's Times:
Quote:More people believe in aliens than in God.Belief in aliens and the supernatural is more common than belief in God, according to a poll of 1,500 adults and 500 children. The study found that 55 per cent of adults believed in ghosts, 47 per cent in UFOs, 27 per cent in Angels, but only 25 per cent in God. Among the children questioned, belief in God rose to 33 per cent and in aliens to 64 per cent, according to Ripley's Believe It or Not!A separate YouGov poll found that 2 per cent of Anglican priests do not believe in God. Another 16 per cent of 1,500 Anglican clergy were "unclear about God."Who says the working class can never be wrong! Confirmation, though, of my prejudice that Anglicanism is the least harmful religion. Maybe among the doubters and deniers are the two ex-SPGBers who have become Anglican priests …The serious lesson may be that we should attack paranormal theories as much as if not more than religion.
Actually of course geo-political considerations are a factor in diplomatic and military interventions not just narrow economic interest. I think I read somewhere recently that the US is now self-sufficient in oil and gas (due to fracking) and is now producing more oil than Saudi Arabia. Just found it:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-04/u-s-seen-as-biggest-oil-producer-after-overtaking-saudi.htmlIronically in their book Petras and Veltmeyer suggest that US multinational corporations are in part agents of US global geo-political strategy.
Black Blob anarchists reject Brand here:http://blackrobinanarchy.blogspot.nl/2014/10/russell-brand-anarchist-critique-of-his.html
He might have been a proto-Bolshevik at that time. See chapter two of our pamphlet Marxism Revisited. Or listen to it here:http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/audio/did-lenin-really-distort-marx
Brand was interviewed by the Financial Times this weekend. Amongst the things he told his interviewer was:
Quote:This planet — there's a number of people, there's an amount of resources, we need to make sure that the people get the resources. What's the reason we that we're not doing that? The answer is because of the ideology you are propping up.According to the article, he has been
Quote:trying to incite his 8.4 million twitter follows to a peaceful revolution.Ok, his message is mixed up with some New Age spiritual stuff but he is still getting over to millions of people simple points as above that we make. Of course he's never goingto join us or probably any other organisation but I can't see how it can be denied that he is preparing the way for an easier hearing of what we say.
It reads like a bit of a conspiracy theory to me ! Oil companies and multinationals getting together to agree to aim at making less profits than they could.For where Petras is coming from see this book review from the Socialist Standard:http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/2000s/2008/no-1242-february-2008/book-reviews
I had forgotten that Brand did say that revolution wasn't a class matter (though he was ruthless in his denunciation of those who benefitted from capitalism). He also indicated that the Green Party would be the best party if going through parliament was the way to get things down (which he rejected). Basically, he's into grass-roots activism on the environment, housing, organising low-paid workers, etc. rather than reformism through voting and parliament.Meanwhile his book has arrived which I'll start reading after our Autumn Delegate Meeting this weekend.
gnome wrote:ALB wrote:I think Brand is going to end up being like Chomsky., i.e refusing to endorse any particular anti-capitalist movement or party but giving general support to all of them.It's good to see others gradually coming round to the view that a few of us expressed after the Paxman interview a year ago.
That wasn't supposed to be a criticism of him !OK, he is a self-publicist and openly admits it but is offering to put this at the service of grass-roots struggles and the general idea of "revolution". Personally I think he's genuine, whatever we might think of the concept of celebrity endorsement of revolution (but I have heard members speculate that this might help). Incidentally, the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood spoke from the floor at that Guardian interview also to denounce capitalism.
Also here:http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/03/how-william-morris-beauty-and-anarchy-uk#start-of-commentsI added a couple of comments that Morris was not actually an anarchist and refused to call himself one as he regarded individualist anarchism and its denunciation of democracy as "the tyranny of the majority" as absurd and didn't think much of the bomb-throwing anarchists who ruined the Socialist League
Hitchens is what Johnny Rotten would call a "bumhole" and, as Brand himself pointed out last night, people who attack him on this sort of ground identify themselves as supporters of the status quo and those who benefit from it. And the Sunday Mail, like the Daily Mail, is of course part of the gutter press.I think Brand is going to end up being like Chomsky., i.e refusing to endorse any particular anti-capitalist movement or party but giving general support to all of them. Of course he's not anywhere nearly as knowledgeable as Chomsky and wouldn't claim to be.
