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SWP expulsions and squabbles

Christ no, tad too fire and brimstone for me. Any statement that uses 'historic' and 'dialectical' that often in so short a space is trying too hard to prove it's dead hard Bolshevik credentials.

The 'Learning lessons from the last year' piece got the tone about right. Ackowledge the mistakes over specific incidents, make sure they can't happen again then let the political differences play themselves out honestly.
 
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Some hilarious stuff in there. Meanwhile the honest analysis of a few industrial pieces gives a sad glimpse of what a healthier internal culture might look like. Some rather good observations all things considered. But yet again nothing on the one thing more likely to destroy the working class than anything else (climate change).

Sounds like the new CC is something like a final binge for a chronic addict, are we finally going to see an honest-to-god purge or what?!

Can only regret that I knew and respected some of the "statement for our revolutionary party" fanatics. Same story for a past era with CP die hards though I guess.
 
redcogs said:
If your'e objective is the accumulation of significant wealth, its seem very unlikely that you would
establish or engage in the activities of a left political party with the stated aim of smashing the capitalist state, inevitably attracting the attention of the establishments infiltration and security wing.

The sensible option would surely be to secure a position in any one of a variety of appropriate industries - banking, orthodox politics, media, insurance, etc etc.

Individuals like the prof presumably have a number of advantageous class and social connections that might enable more than a break even chance of success in such an endeavour.

The SWP's high command have seriously and unforgiveably fucked up. They have defended the indefensible, and they have insulted and betrayed the women who were abused by Delta. They have done huge reputational damage to their organisation, and to many hundreds of decent current and former socialists. But my judgement remains that their twisted behaviour was most probably motivated by what they regarded as good faith and the pursuit of rational politics, not mammon or greed.
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i'm not saying the pursuit of money is a bad thing though, it's a necessary thing. if Delta had half the organisation's funds tied up, and then they were lost to the rest of the organisation, that would be disastrous for all of that organisation's campaigns and publications... if you had any faith in your organisation to do good you could understandably be pressured to do all kinds of things to prevent that from happening. the more dedicated you were to the SWP - in this instance - the greater the drive to protect the funds.
 
bolshiebhoy you're gonna love this :D

The SWP splitters student group (RevSoc) at Sheffield uni had their first meeting of the year last night. For pretty much every uni society this is generally seen as an introductory meeting where you lay out the basics of what you stand for, what your politics are, and the kind of activities you get up to. So something like 'who are revsoc' or 'why we need socialism' or 'what is socialism and how do we get it' - anything like that.

RevSoc defied this tired old convention and started with: 'Lad culture a middle class finger to womens liberation'. No idea what they actually argued/talked about - it might have been good for all I know - but I think it does say something about where they're at politically.
 
oskarsdrum said:
Can only regret that I knew and respected some of the "statement for our revolutionary party" fanatics. Same story for a past era with CP die hards though I guess.
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To be honest I suspect if I was still a member I'd have signed it too, out of frustration at the opposition and the not very well hidden agendas. There are some very good people who have had enough and just want the antis to shut up or fuck off. But I'm not a member so can afford to be a bit wet and prefer the tone of Candy's piece which is much more constructive and aims at not losing people unnecessarily without at least having the hard arguments about feminism etc. That piece warns of the twin dangers of movementism and sectarianism, the fanatic piece clearly belongs in the sectarian camp.
 
bolshie, what kind of loyalist narrative can be sustained at this point? Calling for disciplinary measures against Birchall, Gonzalez, Stack screams 'blame the messenger'. I'm assuming there's only a few left in the weird world where the innocence of 'delta' was certain enough to risk tearing the party apart over. The sorry thing from the SWP's perspective is how there's useful thinking in the party even now, but it's been canned for so long and it takes all this to show itself.
 
I walked past someone who looked remarkebly like Delta at Walthamstow Central this morning, clad in a stripey blue poloshirt, blue half mast slacks with no socks, and carrying a yellow v-necked jersey...
 
redcogs said:
If your'e objective is the accumulation of significant wealth, its seem very unlikely that you would
establish or engage in the activities of a left political party with the stated aim of smashing the capitalist state, inevitably attracting the attention of the establishments infiltration and security wing.

The sensible option would surely be to secure a position in any one of a variety of appropriate industries - banking, orthodox politics, media, insurance, etc etc.

Individuals like the prof presumably have a number of advantageous class and social connections that might enable more than a break even chance of success in such an endeavour.

The SWP's high command have seriously and unforgiveably fucked up. They have defended the indefensible, and they have insulted and betrayed the women who were abused by Delta. They have done huge reputational damage to their organisation, and to many hundreds of decent current and former socialists. But my judgement remains that their twisted behaviour was most probably motivated by what they regarded as good faith and the pursuit of rational politics, not mammon or greed.
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And then you go and spoil it all,
by saying something stupid like,

commonsense.

I have been trying to get this point across for 10 years ,so don't hold your breath :)
 
redcogs said:
i suppose Deltas life may have altered a little recently.

Does anyone know whether he's signing on, or relaxing in the sun on a white sanded coral reefed island east of Indonesia?
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no comrade, the objective of the entire leadership has been clearly stated by violent Panda, a nice little Dacha. surely this is where comrades Delta resides.
 
belboid said:
its certainly an odd way of doing it. what is - eventually - noticeable is how few of the people still listed i've heard of. Rebecca Reese? Simon Curlett? Alex Patterson?

Smith has gone from at Sherborne Pubs at least (as of March 31), still seems to be at LMHR and BWTUC. Altho as BWTUC is Workers Beer Co, isnt it, I dont think it should really be on there.

Sherborne is listed as having a net worth os -£264k, which more than wipes out any supposed surplus in Hallas. It would seem they're technically bankrupt. As well as...
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think Becky Reese used to be the organiser in Manchester, if that helps .

Here is some interesting detail for people
 
i walked straight into that one Resistance'. But on the trainspotting theme Crich Tramway Museum near to Matlock has an excellent railway station and short journeys on old steam engines/carriages/trams. highly recommended for those who need to get out a little more frequently..
 
oskarsdrum said:
2) it treats climate change like a real important thing not an afterthought (to be generous...)
Click to expand...

Eh? That's a motion for the conference.

I've been reading the 2 August special edition of Science and the article on food security later this century largely confirms the motion's assertion that:

Without an easily habitable planet there can be no socialism; the best we can expect would be a kind of feudalism, but the result would more likely be barbarism.
Click to expand...
 
yeah I mean um...that was compared to the derisory treatment of the planet's fate received in this and past SWP bulletins. in which the ISN were also considered dreadfully silly.

still a bit going on on the tread's topic, desperate though my attempts to keep to alive may be: http://living-in-the-real-world1871.../dividing-class-at-tory-party-conference.html it's pretty bad if people are going on a big protest just to protest the SWP.
 
From reading the actual post it's clear that the writer did not go on the protest to "protest the swp", but reacted to the mass of swp and sp propaganda which attempted to coopt the demo into a trotfest.
Reading more of her blog, especially the part about how the sp are happy to allow fascists in the bedroom tax federation, if it aids their turf wars against 'anarchists', I am inclined to think she has a point.
 
barney_pig said:
Reading more of her blog, especially the part about how the sp are happy to allow fascists in the bedroom tax federation, if it aids their turf wars against 'anarchists', I am inclined to think she has a point.
Click to expand...

Whereabouts is that post mate? Find it hard to believe but if it's true something needs doing about it.
 
barney_pig said:
the part about how the sp are happy to allow fascists in the bedroom tax federation, if it aids their turf wars against 'anarchists', I am inclined to think she has a point.
Click to expand...

I'm inclined to think that both her and you are talking out of your arse
 
barney_pig said:
http://living-in-the-real-world1871.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/merseyside-bedroom-tax-organisation.html
Click to expand...

While i've no reason to disbelieve what she says there - there's nothing to suggest that the SP, either organisationally or individual members themselves, are happy to allow fascists in the bedroom tax federation

(for example she doesn't say who the officers of the federation are and what organisations they belong to. for all the faults the trots have, I would think it's far more likely that this naive toleration of right wingers would come from those outside of organised trot parties - i.e. the kind of thing we saw at Occupy etc..)
 
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