DJP
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
“So benefit claimants who don’t want to take weight loss injections or pills in order to make them more acceptable to job interviewers won’t get any sympathy from the Socialist Party.”
Who said that?
I was also going to mention the ancient Greek word Οἰκονομικά (Economics), which is the title of a book written by Aristotle (or perhaps a student of his), but YMS beat me to it.
This book is about both market relations and non-market relations.
“therefore, an economy is a synonym for a capitalist society” I don’t think that is right, and does the linked article actually say that?
There is definitely something that could be referred to as economic activity (acts of buying and selling, including waged labour) in precapitalist socities.
It’s a shame no text was added to the descriptions of these videos. Or at least the ones I looked at. It could generate traffic back to this site. I guess DW (I’m guessing that’s who made these?) could add these later though.
Of course this all depends on what is meant by “the state”.
“But then that is a state right? The working class organising an army, police force, media, is a state.”
Not necessarily, it depends on how such an activity is structured. If it’s organised in such a way that control is not something which exists at the top only, then no it would not be a “state”.
Turn it around. The question is how can you get socialism (the free association of the producers), and not some new kind of minority dictatorship which would have to use force to maintain itself, *without* the majority being on board.
By “revolution” we are not talking about an event that comes out of nowhere, but a process of building that starts within the present.
Fascism wasn’t a force in the Russian Revolution. But if you look at the practice of the Bolsheviks from Lenin onwards, they used the methods of violent suppression as the fascist states.
On number 3, The DoP, point 6 makes this quite clear, once there is a socialist majority that controls the coercive powers this can be used against any recalcitrant capitalist minority.
“It’s not the ‘out of thin air’ argument, but is it sound”
I think that’s a sound description. Banks don’t only borrow from the central bank but from other banks too.
It would be a mistake to say that a bank would have to receive 1000 in deposits to make 1000 in loans, they can borrow too.
Or am I wrong?
“it isn’t the Party which is the problem, it’s the working class.”
This type of self-satisfied thinking is definitely part of the problem.
“That sounds nice. Of course, a “socialist summer holiday” in Andalucia would take a lot more organising and probably you would be talking about at least a week if not more to make it worthwhile. I could certainly assist with arranging accommodation and so on.”
The camp I went to was for five days. Two days for arriving and leaving and three for workshops.
Perhaps put some feelers out on Spintcom or contact branches to see if there is an appetite for this kind of thing.
“Hey DJP, Thanks for mentioning that!”
I actually went to the UK camp organised by these people this year. It was a small, I think invite only, gathering of about 15 people in a country house near the Welsh borders. Days were spent with two or three workshops and presentations of texts. The rest of the time socialising and cooking a communal meal in the evening.
Something like this could easily be done with just a small group of around 5, if there was enough people to present work in progress.
“Not much help to me, I know, as I live in the south of Spain but then is a socialist holiday by comrades in the UK in Sunny Spain out of the question?”
Gruppen Gegen Kapital und Nation organises summer camps in Northern Germany which attract 100-200 people each year. An English-speaking summer camp in Spain doesn’t seem that outlandish of a proposal, but would be a lot of work to organise..
I suggest you read through some of the early issues of the Standard, when they dealt with this kind of thing.
If you think there is an appetite for a strike to stop the armament of Isreal, I suggest you start by talking to your colleagues at work. But I’d also warn them that such types of strike are not covered by trade union legal protections.
