Mike Foster
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Oxford council's approach is out of step with how councils and police are handling begging elsewhere. In Birmingham (and to a lesser extent, Coventry and Stratford, and probably other places), the police are working closer with homeless agencies and enforcing the law only as a last resort. This approach is helping some individuals in that it's allowing support to be put in place without being interrupted or hampered by prison stays, fines etc, even though it's come about partly because of streamlining of services necessitated by funding cuts. There are no ambitions to end rough sleeping, though, just an acceptance that it's a part of society.The main piece of legislation used against beggars is the Vagrancy Act, which was first enacted in 1824! Despite the more softly-softly approach in the Midlands, prosecuations under this act are on the increase, especially in London, in line with the increase in rough sleeping. I expect Oxford council's decision to persecute beggars is because of fear that visible homelessness will make the city 'look bad', affecting the tourist trade.
Thanks for the photos, they've come out really well. I enjoyed the weekend, and I hope everyone else did, too. Thanks again to everyone who came along, and especially to those who gave presentations, contributed to the publication, and who helped behind the scenes, including Ed, Darrell, Dave, Jacqueline, Rob and Vince.There was a poll taken at the event for what kinds of outreach activity we think are most valuable and worthwhile. Here are the results:joint 1st: holding public meetings, and maintaining the SPGB website2nd: using social media (facebook, twitter, blogs etc)3rd: standing in electionsjoint 4th: running literature stalls, appearing on radio / TV, and producing short films5th: producing printed literature6th: engaging with other organisations7th: participating in online discussion forums8th: attending demos
There are now very very few places left at Summer School. So, if you haven't already booked or reserved a place, please do so soon – first come first served!
Simon Wigley introduces his talk ‘As a Marxist, frankly, I'm skeptical’: I would like to present a fundamental rethink of our position, based on a skeptical worldview. In particular, that rather than being isolated individuals navigating a social world, each of us is a social world. The explanation should be simple. I hope that you will give it a sympathetic first hearing – and then kick it till it breaks: it may be that what I think is extraordinary, is an ordinary misunderstanding. But if it stands – then we would need to view our current activity, of working for 'socialism', whatever that is, as fundamentally navigating capitalist space – suitable for the nineteenth century when we had to ride the coattails of the radical bourgeois, but not now. Instead we should be looking at our objective as being 'after capitalism', and looking at the actual day-to-day practice of our class, and work out how to support our class in its struggles to overthrow their own versions of capitalism rather than demanding that they join us in a 'back-to-the-future' crusade, fighting the class war of the last two centuries rather than this one and, if necessary, the next.
The Summer School's literature stall has been re-stocked, thanks to a generous donation of books. Hundreds of titles on many subjects will be available.
Darren redstar wrote:Seems I am doomed to not make summer school again this year.unfortunately our present foster baby begins his handover to his new family next weekShame you can't make it, and I hope the handover goes ok.
imposs1904 wrote:"maintain purity in the political sphere" I don't mean to be rude but that's just embarrassing to come from a party member. That wording is just echoing the worst sort of caricature that has been flung against us by our political enemies for over a century. If it was meant to be provocative I'm certainly provoked. And the first part I've bolded is just empty phrasemongering.I didn't have a problem with the wording. I'd say that the paragraph goes against the caricature of the SPGB among some other groups because it's a reminder that we agree there's more to a revolution than just capturing the state in order to dismantle it. We don't tend to discuss enough what else counts as revolutionary activity, so I'm grateful that Johnny is raising the issue. His paragraph is only an introduction to his talk, so it's not there to go into much detail.
Here's an introduction to Johnny Mercer's talk:Revolutionary ActivityAs socialists we do not believe that using the ballot to wrest state power from the capitalist class is by any means the sole revolutionary activity – although we do advocate use of the ballot box, it is widely held in the SPGB that most revolutionary action will be extra-parliamentary, in workplaces and communities. However, we rarely take the time to consider what these extra-parliamentary means might be. For example, do we support workers councils, class-wide unions like the IWW, or something else? Consideration of extra-parliamentary action raises again the question of reformism. It has long been argued that a socialist party must aim solely for socialism or risk being bogged down in reformism. But just because the SPGB needs to maintain purity in the political sphere does that mean that individual members ought not to engage in direct action outside of this sphere? Marx said “When communist workmen gather together, their immediate aim is instruction, propaganda, etc. But at the same time, they acquire a new need – the need for society – and what appears as a means had become an end … The brotherhood of man is not a hollow phrase, it is a reality, and the nobility of man shines forth upon us from their work-worn figures”. Can direct, collective action raise class-consciousness and give us a glimpse of unalienated social activity?
Darren Poynton introduces his workshop session:The Argument Clinic: Logical Fallacies and Cognitive biases. How thinking about thinking can help give new perspective to old arguments.Man: Is this the right room for an argument?Other Man: I've told you once.Man: No you haven't!Other Man: Yes I have.M: When?O: Just now.M: No you didn't!O: Yes I did!M: You didn't!O: I did!M: You didn't!O: I'm telling you, I did!M: You did not!By ‘argument’ we do not mean the heated exchange of contraries a la Monty Python but instead a series of statements constructed in a particular way in order to gain support for a particular conclusion. In this crash course we will look at the basic structure of an argument, some of the common ways in which things go wrong and then we will consider some of the conclusions from behavioural science concerning the ‘predictably irrational’ mistakes we all make in our thinking and decision making. If you want to find out why ‘reductio ad hitlerum’ doesn’t always win the argument, or why the ‘confirmation bias’ is the mother of all misconceptions, a visit to the argument clinic may be just what you need.
Glad to see the publication's sparked some interest! I'll be printing a few more copies than there will be attendees, so it will be available after summer school. The best way to avoid being "deprived" of it is to come along to summer school and pick up a hot-of-the-press copy there! It's intentionally not an official SPGB publication, though, which has allowed its contributors a wider remit than those writing for the Standard, for example.There hasn't been a publication of summer school talks in recent years because not enough of the talks have lent themselves to written essays. Some of the speakers have been able to give a great talk with only a few brief notes, while many talks use films and slides as much as text . All the talks have been recorded and are available to listen to on the website, and some have been written up as articles in the Standard.
The exclusive publication for this year's summer school is taking shape. It's a collection of especially-commissioned and illustrated articles on the 'new perspectives on socialism' theme. Copies are free to all attendees.
Here are details of Bill Martin's session 'Gaming the Revolution':The format of this event is a game to look at different possible scenarios and simulate a possible revolutionary situation. Players will compete for points (and prizes), as they try to get to Socialism. Participants will be split into teams representing branches with different priorities, and asked to make a series of decisions that could alter the fate of all humanity.
Here are some details of Steve Clayton's talk:Imagine a Boot Stamping on a Human Face, or Givin' it Str8 on da St8: Socialism and the State in the 21st CenturyThis presentation will look at the 19th Century Marxist and Anarchist definitions of the State, and their relevance today, the rise and fall of state capitalism in the 20th Century, the changing role of the State, the Working Class and the Capitalist State, the State in the era of Neo-Liberalism, and the rise of the Super Surveillance State. What effect have these changes had on the likelihood of revolution?
