Doing the Splits

George Walford: Doing the Splits (60)

Under this title IC reports instances of the divisiveness of the eidodynamics. This feature contrasts with the emphasis on loyalty, faith in the leader and ‘don’t rock the boat’ displayed by the eidostatics. NOTING the difficulties of the government, Michael Jones remarked that the Labour MPs should be cheerful: ‘But they are not, because the… read more »

George Walford: Doing the Splits (59)

Under this title IC reports instances of the divisiveness of the eidodynamics, contrasting it with the ‘don’t rock the boat’ approach of the traditionalists. This year it looked as though the Labour Party Conference was failing to make its usual contribution, but the hard left journal Briefing came to the rescue, attacking the shadow chancellor… read more »

George Walford: Doing the Splits (58)

IC has long been linking the conservationist movement with the divisive eidodynamic ideologies. News now comes that Sara Parkin, leader of the Green Party, has quit because of continuing disorder and refusal by some activists to accept democratic decisions. The agenda of the 1992 conference shows the party taken up with internal fighting; with two… read more »

George Walford: Doing the Splits (46)

1. “The left remains hopelessly fragmented.” (Robet Harris, Sunday Times 20 May) 2. “The ‘fragmentation’ of the left is something to be applauded, not regretted. Not from a ‘victory of the free market’ angle, but from a need to construct theory which is based on the experience of people living today. […] In a sense,… read more »

George Walford: Chile Con Splinters

“Pinochet’s Poll Defeat Could Reinforce his Position, as Chile’s Splintered Opposition Proves Powerless.” So runs the subhead to an article by Emiliano Magon in NS&S for 19 Oct 88, and the article develops the theme: “A thoroughly divided opposition, made up of 16 warring parties, was more an ally than a threat.” Magon writes as… read more »

George Walford: Are They Not Anarchists?

Anarchism seeks recruits and an intake of six hundred would noticeably strengthen the British movement. Yet an organised group of this size remains detached and receives no encouragement to come closer. “The solution to repressive laws is not better government but no government.” Does that not sound like anarchism? It comes from the Socialist Standard,… read more »

George Walford: Anarchism in Series

Thinkers fall into two groups: unifiers and dichotomizers, otherwise lumpers and splitters. Anarchists stand on both sides of this fence, lumping their opponents together as supporters of the state and splitting their own movement off as independent of them. This leaves anarchism rootless, with no sufficient explanation for its presence, and in any case it… read more »

George Walford: The Competitive Co-operators

A glance at Freedom, Black Flag, Our Generation, the Bulletin of Anarchist Research, or almost any other anarchist journal, will confirm that the groups and people who make up this movement spend much energy on criticising and opposing each other. This tendency, strong enough to prevent them consistently working together, sometimes provokes the assertion that… read more »

George Walford: Doing the Splits (54)

Contrasting the anarchistic or libertarian socialists at the tip of the range with the Leninists and social democrats, Frank Girard (an anarchistic socialist) comments: But if they are splintered, our ‘force’ is atomized consisting of small groups and grouplets each with its own publication and small circle of members and sympathizers. Except for the Socialist… read more »

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