In IC12, which was issued in August 1984, there was an invitation to the “Socialist” Party to counter our attacks on them: One sort of contribution will (until further notice) certainly be printed: anything of up to 1,000 words defending the Socialist Party of Great Britain or expounding its case. We do, of course, reserve… read more »
In May 1984 there was issued A Challenge to the Socialist Party of Great Britain. (If you haven’t had a copy, let IC know). It is presented as the opening statement in a proposed written debate on the issue: WILL THE WORKING CLASS SUPPORT THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF GREAT BRITAIN? Copies were sent to all… read more »
Members of the Socialist Party sometimes complain that the issues with which IC is primarily concerned are not fundamental. Economic issues, they claim, are basic, other things secondary. So let us look at their economics. They claim the workers are exploited, and that therefore it would be to their benefit to rise in revolution, abolish… read more »
The Socialist Party of Great Britain possesses an Object and Declaration of Principles, and is so proud of them, and so unreserved in its commitment to them, that it includes them in every printed item it issues. There is more in them than readily meets the eye; we have been studying them, on and off,… read more »
Each age has its myths, and the Marxist myth of the revolutionary working class has overshadowed the political thinking of the industrial era. The heroic figure in overalls, erect upon the barricade, sledge-hammer in one hand, red flag in the other, has enlivened the fantasies of the left and haunted the nightmares of the right…. read more »
Enthusiasts commonly claim to find support in the work of people who wrote with other intentions, and there is no good reason why IC should not join in the rush. Dictatorship over Needs, published in 1983, is written by Ferenc Feher, Agnes Heller and Gyorgy Markus, and published by Basil Blackwell, Oxford. It is an… read more »
A Plea for Help Why is it becoming increasingly common for left-wing organisations to offer privileges to capitalists? The Secular Socialist Association announces subscriptions as £2 for organisations, £1 for the waged and 50p for the unwaged. To offer capitalists a cheaper rate because they don’t get wages seems strange; after all, they do get… read more »
An old joke is usually a good one, and there is a Scottish joke we have long relished: A traveller asks directions to Auchterlochty and is told he has passed it. “Passed it? But I didn’t see anything – no houses, no shops, no pub, no church, no people.” “Aye, mon, yon’s the place.” The… read more »
Adam and Eve. No clothes, no house, one apple between them and they thought they were in paradise. from Ideological Commentary 13, September 1984.
THE WORKERS OWN NOTHING. WHAT, NOTHING? YES, NOTHING. WHAT, NOTHING? WELL, HARDLY ANYTHING. The Socialist Party of Great Britain tell us the working class own no part of the world’s wealth. Clause Number Two of their Declaration of Principles defines the workers as “those who produce but do not posses.” In the Head Office of… read more »