IWCA: 'Economic Democracy' Part Two

[articul8]

to be fair it was a speech - and she had given some concrete instances (eg Lucas Aerospace) of applying these ideas concretely.

 

[articul8]

What the IWCA isn't given enough credit for is trying to spark an ideas debate and to begin to answer the 'how' part of extending power, consciousness, confidence and also critically to re-claim ideas currently owned by the right. In the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression you could be forgiven for wondering why others on the left haven't even attempted to come up with something similar (bar the same tactics that have been tried and proven a failure time and again).

Yes, although would be interested to know whether/how this is influencing IWCA practice in any sense.

 

[Smokeandsteam]

Yes, although would be interested to know whether/how this is influencing IWCA practice in any sense.

Can't an organisation do both? i.e. the practical and also the development of ideas. I'd not only say yes but would suggest that any organisation worth its salt would explicitly recognise the need to do both.

 

[articul8]

oh of course - but they aren't separate areas of activity?

 

[Smokeandsteam]

oh of course - but they aren't separate areas of activity?

Of course they aren't but you aren't serously asking if IWCA is busy forming a mondragon style collective are you?

Read the introduction "the left has failed to provide any kind of alternative economic model. Indeed it cannot. The staples of left economic thinking – social democracy and state socialism/Leninism – have both failed, and have failed the working class most of all: theoretically, economically, socially and politically. As a consequence of clinging to these failed ideas, the right has been visibly winning the argument for decades, and will continue to do so until our side ups its game. This is our attempt to contribute to the mapping out of a pro-working class alternative economic model. Discussion and criticism is welcomed."

 

[articul8]

no of course. The intro is fine - welcome - as far as it goes. But "discussion and criticism" of ideas isn't divorced from the political question of what can be done in the here and now. I don't really get the sense of how the two marry up for the IWCA except in some very long-term sense.