Workers Power response to SWP open letter

[ViolentPanda]

Here is another, form groups that focus around simply trying to improve the lot of ordinary people rather than getting bogged down in abstract differances of ideology.

Surely though, the very fact of "forming a group" that has a stated intent (to "improve the lot of ordinary people") creates an ideology or ideological currents over which people may (or may not) differ?
What I'm trying to say is there may be no escape from ideology per se, so why not try to either work around it, or harness it (although I suppose that it needs to be borne in mind that some people only "do" politics in order to have bun-fights, rather than to achieve anything)?

 

[belboid]

Wait a second.They were a group of less than 150 people and they split?

Not so. there were about 66 of them

 

[treelover]

Good grief, may be interesting to see what that is in terms of % of adult population.

any number crunchers?

 

[belboid]

it wouldnt be interesting

 

[Bakunin]

Wait a second.They were a group of less than 150 people and they split?

You obviously missed out on the very short-lived political collossus that was the Plymouth branch of Class War a few years ago.

They had about three or four people involved.

And still split.

 

[mutley]

'Good grief, may be interesting to see what that is in terms of % of adult population.

any number crunchers?'

Working out a percentage is not 'number crunching'.

I blame the teachers.

(66/60,000,000) x 100 = 0.00011%

(notes TL's maths is a sharp as his/her politics)

 

[Pickman's model]

'Good grief, may be interesting to see what that is in terms of % of adult population.

any number crunchers?'

Working out a percentage is not 'number crunching'.

I blame the teachers.

(66/60,000,000) x 100 = 0.00011%

(notes TL's maths is a sharp as his/her politics)

it helps to read the question, as my old chemistry teacher used to say.

you haven't which is why your answer's utterly fucking wrong.

 

[belboid]

the SWP dont believe in the age of consent, therefore everyone is an adult (seemingly)

 

[Pickman's model]

the SWP dont believe in the age of consent, therefore everyone is an adult (seemingly)

some more seemingly than others.

 

[The39thStep]

Its all about unity these days Workers Power ( who would be sued for their name under the trades description act if they were trading) reaching out to the SWP, the SWP reaching out to the left, the CNWP reaching our to those in NO2EU, and now Solidarity reaching out ( well after the imminent court case has passed) to the Scottish left and even those who still think the Labour Party has a soft left , Compass, reaching out to Caroline Lucas, Salma Yaqoob and Plaid Cymru' Adam Price.

 

[audiotech]

Good grief, may be interesting to see what that is in terms of % of adult population.

any number crunchers?

Any answers to post #76?

 

[The39thStep]

Any answers to post #76?

Cockneyrebel had a formula for exactly this sort of thing when he was working on his theory of the dialectics of relevance to the working class

 

[butchersapron]

I think 7000 divided by active members (10%) = small large party
10000 with the same formula = mass party
100 teachrs in hackney = implantation in the w/c

 

[mutley]

it helps to read the question, as my old chemistry teacher used to say.

you haven't which is why your answer's utterly fucking wrong.

It's a fair cop gov.
But you still don't need number crunching. It's an easy sum involving a currently unknown number.

 

[goosegrease]

Workers Power were a faction in the SWP/IS once upon a time, back in the days when such things were semi-tolerated. They were expelled in 1975 IIRC.

They were state caps back then but claim to have discovered orthodox trotskyism since, and are now the only adherents of it in the whole wide world.

I wonder why this working class we speak of are repulsed by us? Keep racking my brains.

 

[where to]

as a non-aligned i think this whole process is arse about tit.

why not have local areas hold their own conventions (reaching out in particular to the thousands of good ex-Labour etc local activists and those outwith the ultra-Left 1919 geek squad side of things) and select candidates/platforms etc which most agree on and move forward from there.

 

[goosegrease]

as a non-aligned i think this whole process is arse about tit.

why not have local areas hold their own conventions (reaching out in particular to the thousands of good ex-Labour etc local activists and those outwith the ultra-Left 1919 geek squad side of things) and select candidates/platforms etc which most agree on and move forward from there.

I'm with you there matey. There is a strand of "old labour" left thinking people in all w/c class communities who have not been through the mill of student politics and petty back biting of the Trot factions.
Just as an example the SLP picked up 13,590 votes in the East mids Euro elections. Most of those folk would not have been your average lefty but working class voting for an openly socialist party. I'm not SLP, or any other faction but 13.5 thousand potential w/c fighters are there within.

 

[TremulousTetra]

Surely though, the very fact of "forming a group" that has a stated intent (to "improve the lot of ordinary people") creates an ideology or ideological currents over which people may (or may not) differ?
What I'm trying to say is there may be no escape from ideology per se, so why not try to either work around it, or harness it (although I suppose that it needs to be borne in mind that some people only "do" politics in order to have bun-fights, rather than to achieve anything)?

I don't think that is true in intent, but it certainly seems that way in practice.

 

[goosegrease]

Lets all have a big conference in London (ive got a few quid burnin a hole) with lots of red draped stalls and a few flags. Dozens and dozens of, hundreds forming columbs of zealots trying to sell papers like they're lives depend on it cos those targets have gotta be hit.
Put the big knobs on platforms where they can make 40- 50-60 minute speeches. Everyone claps their own side for peddling the party line and makes faces at the "secterians".
The IBT or whatever they are now can sculk around outside picking fights with folk and finding fresh faced recruits to blind with science of the socialist kind.
I can get a headache and wonder why I missed a weekend in the pub for this shite again.
Oh, I nearly forgot the staged walk outs and accusations of undemocratic behaviour.
So get raising that fighting fund, comrades the conference centre aint cheap.

 

[likesfish]

That might cheer him up.

Poor old Reg, though - he's part-time now, you know. Commies are so last century.

When he is at work, Reg spends half his time making tea for the lads who keep an eye on the Islamists.

really mostly retired now so it suits him. they keep him on just in case if your were running mi5 you'd want to keep an eye on the commies and hangers on for old times sake be embarrassing if they started a revolution and you didn't have a plan in place for where you were going to get all the new officers for and house them so you could crack down on counter revolutionaries

 

[Stay Beautiful]

So get raising that fighting fund, comrades the conference centre aint cheap.

"Unlike the mainstream parties we don't have rich backers!"

Even the SLP claim this on their website!

 

[goosegrease]

"Unlike the mainstream parties we don't have rich backers!"

Even the SLP claim this on their website!

The pounds and pennies of the working class for a guess? Not my fucking pounds and pennies.