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Could someone please explain why some posts have been deleted from this thread?

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Meel wrote:

I agree with robbo that adhering to a religion is of no consequence as far as your political beliefs are concerned.Each person could be examined on his or her beliefs, to see if these were anti-working class or in any way would be a hindrance to a revolutionary change in society.I have no idea, though, if dropping the demand that all members should be atheists/agnostics would result in a surge of membership for the Socialist Party.  In any case, I think it's an completely unnecessary requirement.

 Yes I think thats correct, Meel.  Religion is no more inherently anti socialist than is atheism – only contingently so depending on the religion in question of which there are an enormous variety.  Engels himself cited the religious communities of North America as proof of the feasibility of communism and radical movements in the past such as the Diggers and the Levellers were partly inspired by religious convictions. In any case, the vast majority of atheists are pro capitalist, even vehemently so, but the Party does not see fit to ban atheists from its ranks. It is thus inconsistent.  The logic of its position is that you are guilty until proven innocent – that there is something inevitable about religious beliefs that means that someone joining the party with such beliefs is bound in some sense to betray or work against her socialist convictions even though the membership test itself is more than stringent enough to ensure that only genuine socialists who want and understand socialism can join.  Why would a religous socialist join the Party if not out of a desire to see socialism established? The ban simply doesnt make sense.  Its like saying a religious scientist cannot be scientific in their outlook. Of course they can. It is quite possible for scientist to keep their religious beliefs and their science separate. Apart from that, science is not the be all and end all of everything, notwithstanding the fetishisation of "scientific socialism" among some members. There are limits to what science can offer; values must be brought into the picture as well. The argument that the  struggle to achieve socialism does not also entail an ethical dimension is plainly ridiculous and plays right into the hands of the capitalist ideology of  "self interest". I know some folk here on this forum think my banging on about this silly policy is a tad tiresome but actually I think it gets to the heart of the matter of whats wrong with the dear old SP and why it  is not making any progress whatsoever after 110 years of trying.  Ironically enough, it is in some ways the very embodiment of the religious irrationalism it criticises in others.  A rational pragmatic approach to political activity would surely not seek to  handicap the organisation with an self imposed  and totally pointless impediment to its own growth. .It makes no sense and it makes me wonder if there is some ulterior motive at work than the starightforward stuggle to establish socialism.  Maybe some see the organisation as a comfortable refuge from a hostile outside world which needs to be walled up and hedged around with barriers to keep the character of the organisation intact.  I dunno. I suspect scrapping the ban on religion in the Party will not of itself result in an immediate surge in membership, though probably a modest increase in numbers in the short term can be expected.  But the ban itself is far from being the only thing thats wrong with  the way the Party is currently going about doing things as I have already suggested.  The whole mindset that sees the necessity to maintain such a ban is precisely what is holding the Part y back in those other ways as well, in my opinion

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jondwhite wrote:

A minor point but I believe non-members did write for the Socialist Standard during World War II.

 Interesting.  Why was this discontinued?  Surely what matters is what is written, not the person who wrote it.  So long as it does not contradict the fundamentals of the Party I cant see any problem with non members contributing. That and much more scope for debate in the Standard on matters that may not be of fundamental importance but are certainly of theoretical interestBoth these ideas might very well significantly enhance the appeal of the journal  and make its contents a little less predictable…

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ALB wrote:

robbo203 wrote:

Only a small minority in the Party appears to do anything at all.

You make some valid points which you would have more chance of them being acted on if you were a member (there is a tiny minority of members who hold the view that you give as your reason for not joining — we are not that "monolithic").And you could have a go at herding cats or, rather, at getting cats to herd themselves. But the above needs challenging. I don't know what your definition is of "small minority" and "do anything" but, using participation in internal votes as a measure, which has been suggested elsewhere. about one-third of the membership are "active". Hardly a "tiny" minority. Quite high, actually, for voluntary organisations, higher in fact than in my trade union.

 Adam, much as I might like to rejoin the Party, and I have contemplated this from time to time, I cannot as a matter of principle.  Membership of the Party at present is quite clearly predicated on the acceptance of the view that religion is incompatible with socialism. I fundamentally disagree with this position and consequently this rules me out as a possible applicant for membership even though i am not religious myself. I agree the Party is not that monolithic in reality but my point is that it gives the appearance  of being so and this is not helpful.  Actually –  paradoxically – there is a sense in which unity makes not for strength but  weakness and that the open display of greater diversity that exists within the Party would actually enhance its appeal rather than diminish it. It strikes as rather odd that the Party does not make use of its primary propaganda vehicle , the Socialist Standard, to bring to public attention the diversity of opinion that does actually exist within the organisation.  For instance, in all the years I have known the Party there have been some fascinating theoretical debates on all manner of topics.  Why  hide these away in the cupboard.? Why not bring these  treasures out , polish them up and put them on display? I think I know why and this relates to the point I made earlier  about  "policy creep". The fact that the Party cannot seem to resist the temptation to come out with an "official" viewpoint on every occasion.  It needs to be seen to be taking up a distinct official position and for history to vindicate it for having been proven correct and thusb to cultivate the myth that it is a homgenous body of opinion.  Dont get me wrong.  Sometimes the Party does need to take an official stand behind which the membership as a whole can "unite"  –  for instance in the case of some imminent capitalist  war.  But on other occasions, there is no ´necessity for the Party qua Party to make an official pronouncement so to speak  – that is to say, to put forward a particular view on a particular subject in the name of the Party itself. I bring this back to the question of the Socialist Standard which is supposed to be the official mouthpiece of the  SPGB .  Now I have read stuff in the Socialist Standard which i strongly disagree with and i have no doubt some members to disagree with .  For example, I read a statement the other day from an old back number (Ill haul out the reference later if you like) which categorically declared that the case for socialism is based simply on "material self interest", it is not an ethical case at all.  Thats is an absurd claim though I wont go into detail here to explain why it is absurd.  The question is ' is this the view of the SPGB as a whole of which the SS is its official mouthpiece. If not , if there are members who disagree with this claim why not allow them alos  to state their own arguments in opposition to this.  Why not , in other words,  open up the Socialist Standard to more diversity, to more debate – have dedicated space for this purpose – and to move away from this kind of rigid position that is entailed in seeing the Socialist standard as the official mouthpiece of the Party.  Indeed why not allow non party members  as well to contribute to the SS as well? Providing they are writing within a framework  that accepts, or does not conflict with, the fundamentals of  what the Party is all about i see no harm in this at all.  To the contrary.  An eminent scientist, who knows something about GMOs could be invited to write something in a guest column, for example.  The  party´s case would not be watered down, it would be enriched So while in reality the Party is not a monolith in practice its current approach in the communication of its ideas is to create the impression of a rigidly monolithic organisation which is most unfortunate.  And talking of attracting more people into the Party, creating the conditions for a "surge"in its support,   this is bad psychology as well.  If you are open about the diversity of opinion within the organisation, this lowers resistance to joining such an organisation.  The outsider is induced to take sides in the ongoing debate and has thus perhaps unwittingly crossed the threshold that would otherwise deter her from identifying with organisation as such.  The organisation as such would then come across as something altogether more inviting , drawing people in rather than confronting  them from the apparent or external standpoint of that of a cult requiring unquestioning conformity and compliance with what it officially pronounces is the case.

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gnome wrote:

Quite possibly but just as likely to be acts of desperation.  That augers well for us, ultimately. but we're still not credible, not because we are small, because all parties are small to begin with, but because our message is not perceived to be credible. So, our smallness has little or nothing do with strategy, membership test (abolish that tomorrow and say bye-bye to the revolutionary alternative), bar on admitting religious individuals or any of the other myriad reasons put forward for our lack of progress.

 I don't agree with this. Yes all parties start out small but that does not in any way invalidate the "small party syndrome" thesis – that smallness makes for lack of credibility which tends to perpetuate smallness.  The thesis doesn't assert that small parties cannot become big parties. It merely asserts that maximum resistance to growth occurs at that stage  in the growth trajectory when the organisation is still small.  That is why it is crucially important to remove any conceivable obstacle to growth at this point  where the SPGB is currently  at – namely, a very small political party that has, if anything, been declining rather than growing in numbers.  The "relative weight" of one new member now, I suggest,  would count for far more than when , or if,  the  SPGB, ever did become a mass party Secondly you seem to be taking the view that since there are a myriad of reasons put forward as to why the Party is small therefore any one of them cannot be regarded as significant .  Therefore by extension, any one of them can be disregarded, ignored and brushed under the carpet.   This is false reasoning.  It is the cumulative impact of multiple reasons that cause the Party to remain small and consequently it is quite legitimate to address each and everyone of these reasons on their own terms..  Removing them one by one will have, in my opinion,  an incremental and cumulative impact on the fortunes of the SPGB No one , incidentally, or at least no one I know of,  is calling for scrapping the membership test.  You are quite right – get rid of the test  and you can kiss goodbye to the revolutionary credentials of the SPGB.  I am all in favour of the membership test.  My point is simply that the membership test is too stringent and that the question of whether or not you hold religious beliefs is utterly irrelevant to the socialist cause.  There is no way anyone can convince me that just because someone believes in a god, an afterlife  or some mysterious creative cosmic energy in the universe that such a person cannot become  a socialist.  Thats just preposterous. Theoretically it is conceivable that such a person may be weaned away from her socialist convictions but so might a hardline atheist.  Some of the most hardline atheists I know are fervent supporters of capitalism.  But does the membership test forbid you to be an atheist? No.  The party´s argument essentially boils down to saying that you are guilty until you can prove your innocence but totally inconsistently it does not extend this argument to atheists who are equally capable of supporting capitalism in theory All we should be concerned with as Morris pointed out is "making socialists" – that is , people who want and understand socialism and how to get it.  I personally know a number of people who want and understand socialism who happen to hold religious views but are prevented from joining the party because of that.  I understand that some of the SPGb.s active supporters have religious views, the few who have not been sufficiently turned off and prompted to drift away altogether because of this ridiculous, self defeating and pointless policy. Actually it is because I believe in the necessity of a membership test  and because I believe the membership test as it is – minus this clause on religion  –  is more than adequate enough to ensure any non socialists cannot possibly be admitted into the SPGB that I argue that this policy is illogical , superfluous and an impediment to party growth.  For that reason alone it should be scrapped or, at least modified, so as not to allow in only those who belong to organised religions whose social policy is anathema to socialists

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jondwhite wrote:

How come surges in support or membership of political parties happen? And why has the SPGB not experience such a surge in support?

 I can think of several reasons1) The SPGB is nowhere near the kind of critical mass that would permit  it to seem credible.  Its smallness, in other words, tends to keep it small – the "small party syndrome". This is a very important factor and it explains why it is extremely difficult for small organisations to take off. Its a vicious circle to an extent – the party is small therefore it lacks credibility. Because it lacks credibility it continues to remain small 2) The problem of  "what to do in the meantime". This is perhaps the major weakness in the party's whole platform and it is a problem that draws would=be supporters away from the Party and into the welcoming arms of reformist organisations. It is simply not good enough  just say reformism is not going to work if socialism appears (as it does) to be some very long term goal  while  the SPGB does really have much to say or offer on what to do in the meantime.  This whole area  is something that seriously needs working on 3) Another problem is that the party is unnecessarily restrictive in its membership requirements.  A prime example of this is, of course,  its ban on socialists who hold religious views. Its totally unnecessary since the membership test  (minus the question on religion) is more than adequate to ensure that only  revolutionary socialists are admitted. It is entirely possible to be a historical materialist and hold religious views, anyway.  There might be other requirements too that are unnecessarily restrictive.  The purpose of the Party is solely to work to establish socialism and only those requirements that are absolutely indispensable to that task should be used in the admissions procedure.  Whether or not a god exists it totally irrelevant to the socialist goal 4) The SPGB  appears at times to be unduly monolithic in its outlook. which is unattractive and uninviting  This may be partly a function of what I call "policy creep" such as when attempts are made to establish the official party case on , say the cause of economic crises. Different opinions on the subject don't get enough of an airing.  What constitutes the "party case "should be pruned back to the basics and everything else should be seen as prpvisional or contingent .  The Socialist standard should be thrown open to debate – or have a dedicated debate column.  It would make for a more stimulating  and interesting read  5) The propaganda of the Party is not sufficiently targeted and the tone adopted is often inappropriate to the audience it is intended to reach. The controversy over the Party's attitude towards the Corbyn phenomenon is a case in point 6) The Party does not do enough to encourage the active involvement of its own members. It is too complacent and laid back and too reliant on the argument that "we are a voluntary party and you cant force  members into active". No you cant and should not have to "force" member to be involved but you don't have to go to the other extreme of doing nothing to proactively encourage them to be involved. Only a small minority in the Party appears to do anything at all.  A focused and coordinated campaign on the internet could draw in members who could not otherwise  be physically involved I could go on but that enough to get going on with!

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SocialistPunk wrote:

I was being ironic Robbo. Some months ago there was a discussion on this forum about party progress and a party member insisted millions of people had heard the SPGB/WSM case for socialism and delibertely rejected it.I disagreed, as like you I'm of the view that not that many people in the real world have a clue of the existence of the SPGB/WSM. I also tend to agree with you that numbers count, that an extremely small political party advocating pretty far out ideas is not taken seriously by those who get a fleeting glimpse.

 Yes.  I seriously doubt whether 99% of the population have even heard of the SPGB, or consciously recognise/remember the name – let alone have a clue about what the SPGB stands for.  I have just been experimenting these past few days with this FB page which I mentioned earlier called "Socialism v Capitalism"  just to see what kind of response making socialist posts on that site might elicit.  There is just no way I can keep up with the responses.  The traffic is awesome for a relatively small site of just under 7000 members. A few comrades have responded to my suggestion that people join this site in an attempt to blitz it with socialist ideas and see what comes of it.  A few more comrades would not go amiss. This is just one site I came across by accident and judging by the number of "likes" I've had I would say quite a few people are receptive to socialist ideas.  There are probably thousands of other sites like this. The SPGB is barely scratching the surface.  Vin is absolutely right about the potential of the internet.  Physical meetings are fine as far as they go and you don't have to choose between one form of activity and the other.  But there is obviously far more scope for activity via the internet not just once a month or whatever but on a daily basis and by members who might not otherwise be able to get to physical meetings. If you want to keep the Party from declining you have to get members involved and active. Though I am somewhat out of touch with what goes on in the Party these days it does not appear to me to be very proactive in getting members involved.  It seems to be rather laid back and complacent but I might be wrong It would probably pay dividends for the Party to think of a coordinated and relatively large scale campaign of internet activity focusing on a number of  pre selected sites – like the one above

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jondwhite wrote:

Without getting too sidetracked, you don't have to think lifting the ban is a good idea to acknowledge that the bar on the religious minded hasn't yet led to a mass socialist party we seek. Personally I think there are other issues hopefully to be addressed in ADM.

 I think lifting the ban would help significantly but I don't think it is some kind of magic bullet as JPR put it. It won't instantly make for mass appeal since there are other factors involved in the  Party's poor performance.  Nevertheless I urge comrades to seriously consider the suggestion On another matter I've just come back from the Socialism versus Capitalism FB site  (see my previous post) . The place is mayhem, just buzzing with responses and I can't keep up.  I see Comrade Alan Hendrie has just posted stuff linking to SPGB material and is already getting responses.  It just illustrates the kind of opportunities that are available.  The SPGB could and should avail themselves of these opportunities and make far greater use of the internet than it does as Vin suggested. As an experiment why don't folk here converge on that particular FB, blitz it continually for a short period of time  and see what comes of it.  Just as an experiment.  You might be pleasantly surprised!

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Ozymandias wrote:

. I hope I'm totally wrong here but from what I can see the Capitalists are slowly but surely eclipsing the entire neutrality of the net leading to a situation eventually where the Internet will be their tool almost completely. Our masters would have nothing to worry about even if we didn't have the net because the workers I come into contact with every day are utterly clueless about the fact that we even live in a social system. They never ask questions. EVER EVER EVER!!! The fact is I would be in the same boat as them had both my parents not been party members. Their involvement is the only reason I ever joined (then left). From what I'm reading, party members are beating themselves up over an issue over which they have no control. What can a body of 350 mostly elderly people do? Clearly the WSM is dying out in the face of a collosal global pro capitalism entertainment behemoth.

  And yet despite everything you say Ozzy, the net has been held up as a prime example – perhaps the prime example – of an alternative way for people to relate to one another . A  gift economy. I take the direct opposite view to you.  I don't think the capitalists are "slowly but surely eclipsing net neutrality".  I think the capitalists and their politicians are slowly losing power.  Cynicism and disbelief has never been more widespread.  The status of politicians  has never been lower.  Authority figures have never been so blatantly disrespected, derided and mocked than now.  "Pig-gate", I imagine, is dominant topic of pub discussions up and down the country at this very moment. ALB has suggested that "This is becoming a thread not just for Private Fraser, but for Jeremiah, Cassandra and Moaning Minnie"    Well I might be a Moaning Minnie for going on about how  the Party pigheadedly (perhaps I shouldnt mention pigs in this polite company) and shortsightedly refuses to even consider changing the way it does things or thinks about things but I am far from being a pessimist.  Quite the opposite – the opportunities for putting across socialist ideas are expanding not contracting and I disagree with SP when he says "But haven't you heard Ozzy, millions of workers know about our socialism and reject it" – unless of course he is being ironic which I assume is the case For instance I just stumbled on a FB group where there is a very lively discussion on socialism and capitalism.(https://www.facebook.com/groups/1434654420087854/?ref=ts&fref=ts)  I've made contributions and referred people to SPGB literature but I am quite unable to deal with all the responses.  More reinforcement would be welcomed .  There are probably thousands upon thousands of these little microcosms of debate throughout the net that we are simply unaware of and have not made use of.  Vin is right.  Much more emphasis needs to be placed on the net..People don't so much reject the SPGB having heard the case.  The fact is overwhelmingly people haven't a clue of even the existence of the SPGB  let alone what it stands for.  And the relatively tiny number of people who do know what it stands for,  largely reject the SPGB because they think it is too small to make credible progress (a self fulfilling prophecy) or because of silly pointless policies that the SPGB inflicts on itself such as its bar on religious socialists which handicaps its own growth I'm convinced that reforming the SPGB and addressing all these various problems within the organisation will transform its prospects.  The opportunities are there and you only have to open your eyes and see it for yourself

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ALB wrote:

robbo203 wrote:

So why then do you suggest that Vin and I "get together to work out a protocol for deciding which one of you is right"?  Is it not possible that both of us could be right? Come to think of it this may be yet another reason for the SPGBs poor performance to date – the tendency for members to think simplistically in only black-or-white terms

Precisely my point , there can be any number of reasons why our membership and support is only progressing slowly. But that's a criticism of Vin's analysis (or, rather, assertion) than of what I've been arguing.

 Yes, but that does not mean that what Vin suggests as a reason for the SPGB's  poor performance does not hold water.  Nor what I suggested is a reason – its irrational and pointless ban on socialists who happen to hold religious views.  I agree with you that there are multiple reasons why the SPGB is performing badly  (is it even "only progressing slowly" ? I thought the membership was, actually, slowly  falling in absolute terms) I'm afraid I get the feeling that this is a bit of cop out argument, Adam  . It sounds like you are saying because no single reason can be adduced as to why the Party is performing badly you therefore do not have to seriously consider any such single reason  and prefer to hide behind the defence that are multiple reasons that account for the problem. As if "multiple reasons"  was not made up  of many single reasons. Its the same with DJP's comment that there are there are no magic bullets.  Yes of course there are no magic bullets but that does not mean you don't use any bullets at all. Its the cumulative impact of multiple bullets hitting their target  that we should be looking at. Like I said , and take this or leave it as you wish, it is across a broad front that the Party needs to radically change – not just one or two cosmetic changes here or there – if it is ever going to stand a chance of reaching that critical threshold where membership growth becomes easier.. You know,  I'm frankly dismayed by the sheer conservatism of some my comrades in the SPGB, their unwillingness to even to try out  new approaches.  Jesus christ, life is too short as it is as I know all too well .  Live a little more dangerously, comrades.  Where has 110 years of being inflexible and  "sound" , got you? Although I am not a member (and would be reluctant to rejoin an organisation that seems so sadly intent upon remaining in the same old rut dissipating the energy and enthusiasm of its own members who discover they have wasted years of their life in a party that going exactly nowhere) i have to agree with Vin's sentiment that  some comrades in the SPGB  tend be very defensive about the party's failed performance and methods. when we should be taking a gamble".  Indeed,  although I would extend that also to its policies as well.  The requirements to join the SPGB should be pruned back to simply what is absolutely necessary to ensure its revolutionary socialist outlook; anything else should be scrapped.  The SPGB is not meant to be some arcane  philosophical debating club; it is meant to be a serious political organisation with a serious practical objective in mind – socialism Give those of  us outside the Party a strong enough reason to join – or , indeed, rejoin – then I'm convinced the fortunes of the SPGB could be turned around in a fairly short time,.  Continue as you are and you face the prospect of a slow haemorrhaging of the very life blood of the Party until nothing is left – like the Cheshire Cats grin. Anyone who doubts that has only to consider the fate that seems to have befallen the Socialist Studies group.  Fast forward maybe 30 years and that could be the SPGB…

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ALB wrote:

 

Vin wrote:

The fact that we have attracted so few during this period of Austerity is overwhelming evidence that we are wasting time and resources and heading in the wrong direction.

This isn't a logical argument. Merely an assertion on a par with Robbo's that it's because we are opposed to religious people joining. You might be right but what you say does not follow from the fact in question. There could be any number of other reasons for the fact in question including our anti-religious stance …. Not sure how you'd prove either. Perhaps the two of you could get together to work out a protocol for deciding which one of you is right,

 Thats not fair ALB.  I don't assert  that the Party attracts only a few people because of its silly, pointless  and self defeating policy on barring religious-minded socialists.  That  is just one reason, and probably quite an important one –  though its importance is probably grossly understated if you are looking only at the number of applicants rejected because they hold religious views as opposed to the probably much larger number of individuals who don't bother to apply when they learn about this policy.  My guess is that most of them just drift away, disillusioned with socialism altogether , and once again the SPGB will have succeeded in shooting itself in the foot. However,. I am on record for stating that the Party is failing for a number of reasons, not simply because of its policy on religion.  In fact, probably the most important of these is what I've called the "small party syndrome" which is a self perpetuating self-reinforcing process whereby the very smallness of the Party works to keep it small.  This is no fault of the SPGB; its about the dynamics of political persuasion.  Because you are small this diminishes your credibility in the eyes of outsiders and that diminished credibility, in turn,   then works to keep you small.  It is only when you reach a certain threshold of numbers – a critical mass –  that the "small party syndrome" factor begins to weaken.  But to get to that threshold  you need to optimise your effectiveness in attracting new members  on every front including scrapping altogether that ridiculous policy on religion (or at least modifying it, perhaps,  to bar only individuals who belong to organised religions) So why then do you suggest that Vin and I "get together to work out a protocol for deciding which one of you is right"?  Is it not possible that both of us could be right? Come to think of it this may be yet another reason for the SPGBs poor performance to date – the tendency for members to think simplistically in only black-or-white terms

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ALB wrote:

 I'm not sure that this is entirely fair. At the West London Peace Market yesterday we met 2 of the 251,417 who voted for him in the Labour Leadership (sic!) election. One was a long-standing Labour Party member, the other someone who paid £3 to vote and was going to join it. Neither struck us as regarding Corbyn as a "saviour" but more, perhaps, as a symbol of the sort of Labour Party they want. 

 I agree it might not be entirely fair to describe Corbyn's supporters in this manner – as a sort of saviour figure rather a mere symbol – although the nature of capitalist politics (within which the Labour Party is firmly embedded) is such  that they are more likely to regard him as the former than the latter.  After all, the implicit contractual understanding between the capitalist politician and his/her constituents is that in return for the latter's electoral support he or she will undertake do things on their behalf that would benefit them.  So the whole set up is predisposed to encourage or induce voters to look upon their political leaders as would be saviours. A few might look upon them otherwise – as mere symbols.  People are not all the same (thankfully) and there is always a spectrum of behaviour but it is my impression (though I could be wrong) that the majority, if not the vast majority, of Corbyn's supporters look upon him as a sort of saviour figure.  Which is not to blame Corbyn, of course. The two individuals you met may count as part of that few.  But presumably there is certain amount of self selection of the evidence here inasmuch as they – presumably – voluntarily approached you at the West London Peace Market.  Which means they are probably closer in outlook to the SPGB than your average Corbynite  and are thus more likely to regard him as a mere symbol than a saviour

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jondwhite wrote:

Jeremy Corbyn blog entryhttp://www.labour.org.uk/blog/entry/we-are-all-leaders

Quote:

We are all leaders, each and every one of us in the Labour Party and in the labour movement. Every time we convince someone to vote Labour, every time we challenge prejudice, every mind we change through well-reasoned argument, every injustice we stand up to, that is leadership. It changes the world.Being Labour Party leader gives whoever is elected a greater platform and with greater responsibility to influence that change. I didn’t enter this race with any personal ambition, and I don’t have any now. What I do have is a deep passion and ambition that together we will change our party, the way we do politics, and change our country.

Quote:

During this campaign, I have refused to either engage in, or respond to, any personal attacks. Political disagreements should be had politely and respectfully. No one has ever been inspired by the yah-boo politics of name-calling and abuse. It trivialises politics and demeans those politicians who engage in it.So let us stick to the issues, and there is none more important than the humanitarian crisis of the unprecedented number of refugees across the world. This isn’t a migrant crisis, it is a human crisis which must not become a crisis of our humanity.

 This is interesting – the refusal to engage in personal attacks – if only as a way of calling the bluff of his opponents.  It is a line of argument that the SPGB should take up too and rigorously adhere to for if nothing else it exposes the desperation of others to divert attention from the  weakness of their own arguments.So yes let us by all means "stick to the issues".  Because it is by discussing the issues and not the person, that the weakness in Corbyn's  whole reformist platform will become apparent, notwithstanding his good intentions and laudable sentiments.I am however slightly sceptical about this "we are all leaders" approach that Corbyn is advancing here – not because I doubt that he sincerely means it  but because his whole appeal – as this whole Corbynmania phenomenon  has shown – is that for his hundreds or thousands of supporters, he as a person has made a profound difference to the political landscape  that is Britain. In other words he is being regarded by them as some kind of saviour figure even if he himself would like them to regard himself as just one more leader amongst hundreds of thousands of other  "leaders"You cant really have leaders in this sense with this implying followers and that is essentially what his supporters are

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twc wrote:

All explanatory science is deterministic.  If science lacks determinism it can’t explain anything.Determinism is how we grasp in our minds the necessity of processes in the external world—it’s our comprehension of how processes unfold in the external world.Now the world’s processes are themselves necessarily contingent—they are constrained by the circumstances they find themselves in.  This is the common condition of daily life.It is thus impossible for a purely theoretical grasping of a necessary process to reveal, in and of itself, the inevitability of the process.  In other words determinism is not inevitability.

 Part of what you say here is true enough, TWC: "All explanatory science is deterministic" (although, is there such a thing as a non explanatory science – all science seeks to "explain").  What then is determinism? Determinism has to do with the relationship between events in terms of cause and effect.  If I put a pot of water on a gas fire then I can predict that sooner or later the water will boil.  The predictability of this outcome allows us to say that in a certain sense it is inevitable.  If it was not inevitable  – if it was also possible that the water might turn into ice if heated up on a gas hob – then how would science be able to explain in deterministic terms? There are certain regularities in the  world around us that permit us to predict and therefore to confidently assert that should one event occur then it is inevitable that another will be its outcome. Adding heat to a pot of water will inevitably cause the water to boil This is not fatalism. Fatalism is a teleological religious  concept – that the future is predetermined.  Teleological determinism is different from mechanical determinism and when we are talking about science we are alluding to the latter.   With the former, the future determines the present in the sense that it steers our actions towards what is already planned for us; with the latter that past determines the present in the sense that Hume meant when he declared in his "Treatise of Human Nature"  (1739), that the "The cause must be prior to the effect" The only way in which you can maintain determinism is not inevitability is if you accept the position the position that high order events are not "reducible" to lower order events even if they supervene or depend on them.  To put this more concretely it is not possible to explain,say,  our thought processes simply in terms of neurons firing in the brain. Yes we are enabled to think as a result of those neurons firing but that is not the same as saying our thoughts can be explained by the latter Mechanical determinism in its full sense seeks to explain every event in the universe in terms of some preceding and direct cause (s) where each of these causes is also an effect, having its own set of relevant  causes such that the totality of these causal connections constitutes  a “causal chain” or  a “causal tree”.  Ultimately, given Hume's diktat that the cause must be prior to the effect what this means is that in principle everything that we see or experience can be reduced to, or explained by,  the gyrations of atoms or probably not even that  but something like subatomic particles.  What prevents us from doing this is merely our partial comprehension of the "causal tree" but the more science advances, the more does it fill in the gaps so that in principle one day in the remote future we will have a complete understanding of everything.  At least thats what the theory states This is straying a bit from what this thread is about so I want to focus now on making the connections. You can perhaps  see from what I've written above why I have strong reservations about the term "scientific socialism". These reservations are grounded in my understanding  of what science is about  and the inherent limitations of scientific explanations and my rejection of reductionism.  Contrary to full on mechanical determinism, high order events cannot ultimately be reduced to lower order events and the whole idea that that there exists a complete " causal tree"  connecting every event in the universe within a vast nexus of causal interconnections that is in principle discoverable is based on a complete illusion. Just to make it clear – I am not repudiating science. Of course science is a necessary and vital part of our understanding of the world around. Of course there are demonstrably deterministic relations of cause and effect that can be explicated in scientific terms and it is quite right that science should seek to do this. But alongside the principle of determinism there is also the principle of indeterminism which needs to be acknowledged The problem with the term scientific socialism which some  in the SPGB seem to be embrace with a certain fervour is that it presumes too much.  Science is about causality, tracing out patterns of cause and effect.  How does this transfer over to the project of establishing socialism and the notion that workers should democratically and consciously choose to bring about socialism? This idea of choice sits uneasily with the idea of determinism. What does this determinism consist in which justifies the qualifying term "scientific" in "scientific socialism" – otherwise there would be no point in using the expression scientific socialism at all if it did not imply a deterministic point of view,  What is being determined? How does capitalism "cause" socialism to come about? The materialist conception of history requires scientific socialism, in order to  justify its claim to be scientific, to posit a causal relation relationship between the economic base and society's superstructure . So for instance in the German Ideology it is asserted that "Morality, religion, metaphysics, all the rest of ideology and their corresponding forms of consciousness, thus no longer retain the semblance of independence. They have no history, no development; but men, developing their material production and their material intercourse, alter, along with this their real existence, their thinking and the products of their thinking."(https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/german-ideology/ch01a.htm) The problem with the whole line of argument is that there no such thing as a a process of material production that does not involves human beings thinking – ideology.  One can just as legitimately say that the development of their material production likewise no longer "retains the semblance of independence".  Material production is dependent upon humans thinking just as human beings thinking is dependent on material production.  So where then is the causal connection that would generate a predictable outcome? You mention contingencies.  We talk about socialism being established through class struggle but there are other factors that work against  that – from nationalism which seeks to suppress class identification within the pseudo community that is the "nation" or intra-competition with working class over things like jobs and promotion prospects.  One of my long standing gripes with the SPGB is that by asserting that socialism is purely a matter of  "material self interest"  and not also a question of , foir example, moral outrage at what capitalism does to us, is that this plays directly into the hands of capitalist ideology.  After all, it would be in my self interest to stab my fellow workers in the back as I climb up the greasy pole of career advancement would it not? Self interest could very well enjoin me to turn my back on my fellow workers and to adopt the posture of "I'm alright Jack and sod the rest of you". But there is this current of opinion within the SPGB that still peddles this "material self interest" of line argument  which repudiates any kind of role for altruism and morality in the struggle to achieve socialism.  It is a view which unconsciously echoes Adam Smith atomistic/mechanistic concept of the invisible hand of the market  whereby individuals in pursuing their own self interest inadvertently serve the interest of the general public. Smith's view of economics ties in with Newtonian science and the laws of gravity that act as an invisible force upon objects in the world – like the Marxian law of value.  In some  ways the SPGB is still tied down to this classical paradigm of science  and nothing better illustrates this than its attachment to "scientific socialism" 

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Darren redstar wrote:

I think it is important to recognise that the Labour Party is our political enemy. And, in the context of the past 20 years of the actions of that party in power and official opposition, it is hard not to see anyone who happily remained a member of that party as a active opponent of any concept of socialism..

 I can recall years ago when I was a member of Guildford Branch that there was a couple who fairly regularly attended our branch meetings.  They were members of the Guildford Labour Party but also enthusiastically endorsed the SPGB's concept of  socialism.  You might say they were misguided but it would not seem reasonable to call them anti-socialists, actively opposing any concept of socialism. To me it is absurd to suppose that the SPGB and its companion parties is the sole repository of socialist thought. There are far more socialists outside the WSM than in it – far more – and I would add to the list Alan has provided people like the Left Coms who have our conception of socialism too.  Actually, that is a reason for rejoicing.  If capitalism's development thus far  with all its crises and problems has only been able to deliver a total population of 350 odd socialists out of a global population of  7 billion then I would say socialism is completely dead in the water and we might as well all pack it in. Not only that, the SPGB is one third the size it was back in the 1940s so socialism would appear to be even less on the cards now than it was back then if this argument held any water. (So much for the predictive power of TWC's  "scientific socialism").  But that is a false way of looking at that matter because the categories themselves are fundamentally questionable: socialist consciousness is a matter of degree. This is to say nothing of people refused membership of the SPGB on the ridiculous technicality that they hold some religious belief (not even Marx advocated such a policy for the First International) – even though they demonstrably want and fully understand what is meant by socialism and how to achieve it.  That is the sole criterion of what should constitute a socialist yet for some perverse reason the SPGB seems intent on wanting to shoot itself in the foot, cripple itself and impede it own growth by this self  imposed and totally redundant/unnecessary  restriction on membership.  One wonders how many socialists it has turned away for this reason over the years , let alone those who did not  bother to apply when they learnt of this ridiculous anachronistic rule. Some comrades in the SPGB seem to be in state of complete denial about the appeal of real socialism outside  the hallowed circle of the  party membership

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