jondwhite
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Fringe events‘Democracy, centralism and democratic centralism’Speaker: Jack ConradLocation: University of London Union, Bloomsbury SuiteStarts: 17:15, Saturday, 13 July 2013Ends: 19:30, Saturday 13 July 2013 Hands Off the People of Iran is also organising fringe meeting: ‘Iran and the Middle East’Speakers: Moshe Machover & Yassamine MatherLocation: University of London Union, Bloomsbury SuiteStarts: 17:15, Sunday 14 July 2013Ends: 19:30, Sunday 14 July 2013
Although the leadership, hierarchy and unwelcoming reception doesn't apply, there's probably room for improvement, and perhaps more emphasis should be given to recreational branch activities. But we don't need a consultant to tell us that.I've yet to understand why a party arguing the emancipation of the working-class will be the act of the working-class itself, doesn't have open primaries for sympathisers voting members onto committees, or at least a national mailing list for supporters.
Weekly Worker (CPGB-PCC) reportAWL school: Economism and frontist delusionsMike Macnair was at the Ideas for Freedom school to listen, to learn and to debateAWL school: Missing the pointPaul Demarty shares some brief thoughts on a session dedicated to debating the IS/SWP and its history
Here is a report from a key member of Counterfirehttp://luna17activist.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/a-movement-that-can-win-10-observations.html
The other spokesperson is even considered bad by Labour Party standards.http://socialistunity.com/anne-marie-waters-the-worst-possible-potential-labour-ppc/
The spokesperson for One Law For All is Maryam Namazie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryam_Namazie) who is also executive committee member of the Worker-communist Party of Iran (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker-communist_Party_of_Iran). This is a group in exile founded and led by Mansoor Hekmat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansoor_Hekmat).An interview with him at MIA (http://marxists.org/archive/hekmat-mansoor/1992/02/world-today.htm) reads
Quote:Question: What about Lenin and Leninism? Does not Leninism need to be re-evaluated, and do you still consider yourself a Leninist?Mansoor Hekmat: We are living in such a day and age that before we can answer such questions we have to first define our terms. If it is a question of a real assessment of Lenin, of the truth of his views and his practice from the viewpoint of Marxism, of his contribution to the revolutionary thought and practice of the working class, and so on, of course I am a Leninist. In my view Lenin was a genuine Marxist with an essentially correct understanding of this outlook, and a worthy leader of the socialist movement of the world working class.But Leninism as a label which distinguished particular tendencies in the so-called communist movement has its own history. The initiators of the term under Stalin, or the groups which in later splits within the official mainstream of this communism emphasized the term Marxist-Leninist, exploited these designations – just like much other Marxist terminology – to express worldly, and in the main, non-socialist disputes and interests.then a little later
Quote:Question: One major aspect of the current anti-socialist offensive is the economic dimension. Soviet Union’s collapse has given currency to the idea that capitalism and the market provide the most efficient and feasible economic model that humanity historically has achieved. How do you, as a Marxist, reply to this?Mansoor Hekmat: Two things must be differentiated here. One is the comparison of the performance of the different models of capitalism in West and East, and the other, comparison of capitalism (both competitive and otherwise) with socialism as an economic and social alternative. To this day, socialism, in the sense meant by Marxists, has not been set up anywhere. We don’t believe that from a Marxist and working-class view the economic system in the Soviet Union could at any time be called socialist. I’ll deal with the question of capitalism and socialism later on, but first I want to say a few words about the different models of capitalist development in West and East.There is also a Marx-Hekmat Society in Londonhttp://www.marxhekmatsociety.com/
Arguments like this but against capitalism were made based on 'human nature' as it replaced feudal society during the 16th to 18th centuries. It is a little surprising to hear it during a recession though.
Good work. I think there were a couple of other left events which clashed (AWL's Ideas for Freedom, ICC day of discussion) but this sounds like the best attended.
David Aaronovitch (ex-tankie in the CPGB) writes about conspiracies a lot – he was also on the Daily Politics recently when Alex Jones blew up at Andrew NeilThere is a podcast interview herehttp://www.littleatoms.com/aaronovitch.htm
As Carl Sagan once said, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.Occam's Razor argues that when answering a problem or searching for a cause for something, one should never make more assumptions or posit more causes than the minimum necessary to solve the problem.
Quote:Proposed actions:The People’s Assembly will support every genuine movement and action taken against any and all of the cuts. We support all current industrial actions by the unions. We encourage and will help to organise the maximum solidarity action with the PCS and teaching union members taking strike action the week after the People’s Assembly, as well as with other action by unions planned for the autumn.Peoples Assemblies against the cuts should be organised in towns and cities across our nations, bringing all those fighting the cuts together into a broad democratic alliance on a local basis.The national and the local Assemblies, in partnership with Trades Unions, Trades Councils, campaigning and community groups, can unite our movement and strengthen our campaigns. Local Assemblies will help us to organise a recalled National Assembly to review our work in the early spring of 2014.We will work together with leading experts and campaigners both here and abroad, and friendly think tanks, to develop rapidly key policies and an alternative programme for a new anti-austerity government. We will continue to welcome support from all who fight the cuts.We will call a national day of civil disobedience and direct action against austerity.We will call a day of co-ordinated local demonstrations in the early autumn.We will work with the trade unions and others to call a national demonstration in November.And for those who want some fun as well there’s this going on outside.Isn't it the case that the party can only give away material that is the party case, but can sell books that are not party case?
Can I make money out of nothing if I start my own bank? I cannot afford a reserve account at the Bank of England and I don't think anyone would want to make deposits with me. But I could do with a bit more money and am happy to loan any amount of money beyond my reserves to anyone.
I know every class struggle is a political struggle. But I think the Bolshevik argument is that every class struggle suffices for political struggle when the socialist argument is meant to (as a rebuttal to "anti-politics" anarchists) mean political struggle includes class struggle but is not limited to class struggle. Therefore the comparison between economic struggle (in the case of trade unions) and political organisation is apples and oranges. You join a trade union to get better conditions, you join a political organisation to capture political power if enough people support it.
