In past issues of IC we have drawn attention to recent events in China and Russia indicating that economic individualism had been only suppressed, not eliminated or even much weakened, by the attempted imposition of socialism or communism. As soon as the pressure was relaxed “private enterprise” began to function again, to the benefit of… read more »
Part One We recently attended an (A-)SPGB branch meeting at which the subject was “How We Can Feed the World.” The method proposed was – of course – that we should establish “socialism.” This would release the productive and distributive potential of modern technology, frustrated under capitalism. As usual with this party, the speaker was… read more »
Systematic ideology claims to deal with practical matters as well as theoretical, and there is nothing much more practical than wages. The limited conception of ideology commonly used, both in everyday discussion and by the academics, occupies a different sphere from wages. Ideology in this sense is “false consciousness,” it belongs to the realm of… read more »
We recently attended a meeting at which a professor of sociology was speaking on ideology. What we have to say about his talk is not intended to be hostile and is not directed only at the ideas held by him personally, but it may be regarded as uncomplimentary, so it is perhaps better not to… read more »
This is from Socialist Comment, Official Journal of the World Socialist Party of Australia, September 1984, reporting the Biennial Conference of the Australian Labour Party: The ruling factions departed to continue their role of ruling the working class on behalf of their capitalist masters. According to this companion party of the “Socialist” Party it is… read more »
The events of the Chinese Revolution, even since 1945, are complex, dramatic, and on an enormous scale. Some of them, particularly incidents of the Cultural Revolution, are bizarre; in the course of that upheaval the youth of Peking and other cities smashed monuments, invaded homes, broke records, burnt books – and demanded red as the… read more »
After it had been recognised that Russia was not, after all, on the road toward communism, it was China that took on the revolutionary halo. But after the Hundred Flowers Movement, the Great Leap Forward, the Socialist Education movement and the Cultural Revolution had all collapsed the People’s Democracy of China, like Soviet Russia before… read more »
Those who believe that the social system of the USSR is substantially different from that found in America sometimes cite, in support of their belief, the frequent refusal of the Russian authorities to allow their citizens to travel abroad. William Hinton is an American citizen; in 1951 he returned home from China intending to write… read more »
In order to see what is wrong with what the “Socialist” Party likes to call the case for socialism, all one has to do is to take it seriously. We recently attended a meeting of one branch of the party at which it was proposed that a collection be taken and the proceeds given to… read more »
In IC14 we spoke of the Socialist Party of Great Britain and the anarchists as being less different from one another than each of them likes to think; we showed reason to believe that they both express the same , major ideology, that those calling themselves the Socialist Party of Great Britain would be better… read more »