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Filling the Vacuum 1995

D

durruti02

love and rage!
In Fighting Talk 12, published in 1995, produced by London Anti Fascist Action and i suspect penned by Gary O'Shea, an article was written that stated almost all we needed to know about what was going to happen in working class communities following the predictable election of the 1997 Labour govt, that a political vacuum would emerge, that the left would fail to fill it, that instead the BNP would fill it, and that the only way to counter the BNP and 'fill the vacuum' was to copy their community strategy.

It is now 14 years on and most of the left still do not understand what has happened let alone have taken up this new orientation.

however this artticle bizzarely does not seem to be online .. can anyone find it or put it online??

this is a 2002 review

http://www.redaction.org/anti-fascism/filling_the.html
 
A few people on here have the digital fighting talk text archive (i.e not the pdf images). If they don't turn up soon i'll redo and put it up.
 
Red Action and, after RA, the IWCA have published interesting things. They have often appeared to have more sense of contemporary social reality than all the lefty sects and factions put together.

But it does have to be said that, after all this time, a decade and a half, it's only fair to look at the IWCA and ask, 'Has the IWCA approach had much success?' Sadly, the answer is: No, not much. In fact, hardly any.

Is this because of something a bit wrong in what they do or say (for example the IWCA's special - and perhaps unclear and not very attractive - slogan of "working class rule in working class areas")? I think probably not. I reckon it is just that the IWCA and others who wish to rebuild working class organisation 'in the community' are swimming against the tide - and it's a very strong tide.

Am I being too pessimistic?
 
JHE said:
Red Action and, after RA, the IWCA have published interesting things. They have often appeared to have more sense of contemporary social reality than all the lefty sects and factions put together.

But it does have to be said that, after all this time, a decade and a half, it's only fair to look at the IWCA and ask, 'Has the IWCA approach had much success?' Sadly, the answer is: No, not much. In fact, hardly any.

Is this because of something a bit wrong in what they do or say (for example the IWCA's special - and perhaps unclear and not very attractive - slogan of "working class rule in working class areas")? I think probably not. I reckon it is just that the IWCA and others who wish to rebuild working class organisation 'in the community' are swimming against the tide - and it's a very strong tide.

Am I being too pessimistic?
Click to expand...
The word is realistic for now.
 
butchersapron said:
An excellent guide to where to some of us opposing the BNP are coming from.
Click to expand...

" The BNP's attack on Labour is from the Right and is racist, ultra-conservative and anti-working class, Our primary role is to guarantee that a successful challenge to Labour comes only from the Left"

Havent they done well since they wrote that eh!!!!

Well actually NO.

The IWCA has been just another failure by the Left....Some people fall for their Unique selling position (s) Socialism is dead .....long live the working class etc etc..
The only success of note by the IWCA has been in Oxford. But how does that compare to any other other turgid left adventure like the Socialist Alliance,SLP,RESPECT etc etc.
 
Is it wrong?

The BNP's attack on Labour is from the Right and is racist, ultra-conservative and anti-working class, Our primary role is to guarantee that a successful challenge to Labour comes only from the Left
Click to expand...
 
butchersapron said:
Is it wrong?
Click to expand...

The ambition for the IWCA at that time is amusing to look back at. They were crowing then how much stronger they were in the North West than the BNP!!!!
Look whats happened since then. Does the IWCA have even one branch in the North West? Does it even have one active member in the North West?
 
RA/IWCA have been remarkably prescient and incisive but while new groups like Left Luggage clearly share much of their analysis, there is basically no significant political current in whch to pursue, build on and successfully develop the analysis.
 
Is the analysis of what would happen correct? That a large gap would open up to the left of labour that would be filled by people like the BNP if we didn't organise?

The short term specifics, yes of course they're wrong - the med-long term perspective? The important bit?

Don't bury your head in sectarianism here balders.
 
It's ridiculous to think you can 'out-parochialise' the right. Don't move your campaigning to their territory, out of a lack of generalised class-consciousness. The point is that easy or not easy that generalised (and internationalised) class-consciousness is what is the predicate for working-class rule, and needs to be fought for.

Moving back to community campaigning links in none of the bigger pictures and certainly doesn't develop the sense of productive control necessary to start making steps towards socialism.
 
Wrong way round - for times like these. It's not 1917. All you're actually saying is slogans. It's meaningless. 'Back to' - from what? You've never done it. 'productive control to start making steps towards socialism'. DUAL POWER!!! Go home lad.
 
All I'm saying is that class-consciousness always was, is and will be the only basis upon which a progressive alternative to capitalism can be built. That shouldn't be too contentious. Past tactics and sloganeering put aside, having accepted that going the route of communalism doesn't cut the mustard, because it totally avoids the actual issue we need to be fighting (however hard it is).

And that's NOT to say we should start belting out renditions of the Internationale. No sacred cows - the left just needs to start again.

But not in the fucking 'community'.
 
Das Uberdog said:
All I'm saying is that class-consciousness always was, is and will be the only basis upon which a progressive alternative to capitalism can be built. That shouldn't be too contentious. Past tactics and sloganeering put aside, having accepted that going the route of communalism doesn't cut the mustard, because it totally avoids the actual issue we need to be fighting (however hard it is).

And that's NOT to say we should start belting out renditions of the Internationale. No sacred cows - the left just needs to start again.

But not in the fucking 'community'.
Click to expand...

Where does class-consciousness come from?
 
All sorts of places; but it fundamentally comes as the result of exploitation.

There's a reason why workplace organisations became the only politically influential bodies of the workers in European history, and there's a reason why those organisations have more long-term potential. I'm sure you've read Blanqui, I shouldn't need to tell you this. Communities are all well and good, and more than not act to solidify resentments created by an unjust and exploitative society. I'm not arguing we just boycott communities. But building parochial 'wall-fallen-down/leaky-pipe's bust' politics into your primary political focus? That's straight up William Morrisism. Not ambitious enough. The right will always win.
 
Blanqui - what bit of him do you mean?

And i notice that you moved immediately away from the issue at hand Where does class-consciousness come from after saying nothing.

(SWP back into point of production 80s drivel here we go.)
 
What, what do you want me to say? Class-consciousness is formed through the working-classes antagonistic relationship towards a system based around the exploitation, which is why since the industrial revolution they have built a collective consciousness based upon their productive capacity in society rather than simply their region; and why their major weapon is economic (the strike) rather than simply brutish rioting and revolting a la the Middle-Ages.

I'm referring to Blanqui all over where he's referring to class-consciousness in the workplace being the natural progression of any democratic movement. ABC. Not communities, but factories. From his position on the ground it seemed the most intuitive mode of governance for the French workers movement.
 
I'd be suprised if you were referring to Blanqui or if you were i'd ask what you're reading and why - and why you think i give a shit?

Nope, don't want a dictionary answer - some answer would do.
 
I hope you don't think I care about your opinions enough for me to engage with you for anything other than my own amusement, you tool. "Why do you think I give a shit" - lol. So disdainfully snotty at people's percieved compulsion to disagree with you online from your imaginary throne on urban75, as though anyone could possibly take this as seriously as you do.
 
You know there was a person called Blanqui? Well done. I knew there was a person called Blanqui before you were born. So what.

There might be good thread out of this tommorow - can i suggest to all later readrs we just skip over this teeange shit?
 
Oh dear. He was wrong. :( . Again . :( . And after making such a massive deal about being right.

How ignomious. I mean, we all know how much this internet forum thing means to you.

:(
 
I dunno, I think history has already judged. Which is why it wrote about it in the Encylcopaedia Britannica.

I can be man enough to step off the thread if you can.

:oops:
 
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