Against the Grain

[alanjjohnstone]

Matt, they simply don't understand our case for socialism because few are actually informed of it in its full clarity and with all our nuances and caveats so if they are shying away from the 'potency of our analysis' as you say, it is an analysis they have not got a clue about. They are opposing and denouncing an imaginary SPGB ideologyAs ALB says

Quote:

They would have a distorted view of what we stood for, e,g the anarchists that we want to form a "socialist government" and the trots and "Communists" that we are anti-trade union (these misconceptions are still in circulation of course

[jondwhite]

IS Cliffites (the Socialist Workers Party) and Alliance for Workers Liberty have said to me the SPGB is 'sectarian' and 'abstract propagandist and removed from the class struggle'. Is this a genuine misunderstanding of our case? I often wonder if they aren't just following Lenin in delivering ad hominem insults.

[PJShannon]

It is deliberate distortion by pseuds who think they are 'governments in waiting'.

[Mike Foster]

jondwhite wrote:

IS Cliffites (the Socialist Workers Party) and Alliance for Workers Liberty have said to me the SPGB is 'sectarian' and 'abstract propagandist and removed from the class struggle'. Is this a genuine misunderstanding of our case? I often wonder if they aren't just following Lenin in delivering ad hominem insults.

I'd say that the 'sectarian' remark is how our 'hostility clause' could be seen by others, or just a lazy slur because we're not part of the Leninist/Trotskyite/etc scene. The 'removed from the class struggle' bit might refer to our lack of a presence on demos, pickets etc. Of course, we're engaged with the class struggle just by being in capitalism, but demos and pickets are perceived as the 'front line' of the class struggle. I'd advocate attending more events like this as an opportunity to state our case. By 'abstract propagandist' I'd say they think our theory either doesn't relate to the real world (which is easily disproved by picking up the Socialist Standard) or doesn't advocate supposedly non-abstract reforms (which isn't what we're about). If we put ourselves out there a bit more, and perhaps invite other organisations to debates, then we could be seen as less aloof. The Campaigns Department should sort something out…

[alanjjohnstone]

If i was a psycho-analysist i would say you were hearing them project their own flaws at the SPGB, JDW Both groups seemed to have suffered in the past, justifiedd criticism of placing their own party before any unity in common-front struggles. Anyone acquainted will know of the internecine squabbles with SPEW for union or campaign controlling positions they engage in, often to the detriment of the organisations they were supposed to be supporting. As an aside, I was in the pub once when UNISON was electing their secretary and what a disgraceful display of partisanship i witnessed in the lobbying for their respective protegees As a striker in the past, i do accept that the SWP (cannot talk for AWL, for they had no presence in my locality and i think even our Edinburgh SPGB  branch would be bigger than their membership) were frequently on the picket lines, trying to engage us with their advice on tactics but never once did i ever receive a free Socialist Worker from them. In fact, we receive zero material assistance, no can of beer, no sandwiches, just their words of wisdom which were not the SWP members own but the Party-line handed down to them…and we all knew it. They were very rarely welcomed by my fellow postal workers and they appeared blind to the indifference, if not outright contempt shown.No, i was not raising the issues of those "mis-understandings" but the problem of being viewed as a pure and simple parliamentarian party who oppose any class struggle as reformist. Nor is our more technical Marxist case about the causes of recessions, for instance, is very well understood.As Howard implies, no-one hears us because we are often not where the audience is. Out of sight, out of mind, as it were. When we do attend protests and demonstrations we have to be noticed to have an opportunity to be listened to and from frequent past experience, we are lost in anonimity in those marches.

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