Scribo Ergo Sum at Marxism 2008 - Part 1

5th July 2008
Posted in: Activism | Cults | Extremism
Written by: James Grieves

Due to failure on the part of Douglas to show up (he was collaborating with the bourgeois in the most foul fashion possible by seeking a job) I didn’t bother to turn up for Friday’s sessions of Marxism until late in the day, instead opting to watch Alladin. Quite a good call, I thought.

The main event was based around a series of stalls, but sadly not as diverse a one as those I witnessed when I covered Love Music Hate Racism. No, this had SWP tents and Stop The War tents and Left List tent and a SWP table and…Well, basically all but three of the set-ups were SWP connected. The first seemed to be some climate change group which the SWP had possibly only let in due to being then impressed at the amount of protesters the Climate Camp and so on were able to mobilise. The other were selling subscriptions to an underground socialist video collection group named News Reel which I didn’t have any money to go along with. I told the man that my money was all going on groceries (the truth) and he told me he knew the feeling well.

The third group were the most interesting by far: Turkish socialists. These types are rather penned in on all sides; struggling alongside the moderate Islamists while repulsed by their neo-liberal policies and incapable of doing anything about the more conservative Islamist movement uprising, while having nothing but disdain for the secularist far-right nationalist movement which seems to have the backing of the anti-democratic Turk generals.

On top of this they suffer, as with almost everywhere, due to a fractured left. They, like the SWP, aspire towards a grouping similar to Die Linke in Germany, which has united the left successfully and enjoyed increasing electoral success. But it seems like they have a good deal of work ahead of them if they wish to manage that. Not, perhaps, as much as the British left…

Speaking of which I got to speak to more people from within Respect. This opportunity was presented to me when I stopped by at the Love Music Hate Racism tent and talked a bit about Bexley’s old school racist nationalism amongst other topics and it turned that (as Londoners) these SWPers were Respect activists. Interestingly one fellow (the second I’ve met who fulfills these credentials) actually was not a member of the SWP and never had been, due to filling the rather unpopular position (at Marxism, at least) of being a reformist socialist instead of a revolutionary. Apparently this is the source of constant arguments between him and his Socialist Worker friends, which I can well imagine but am glad has not prevented them getting along.

He still stated that Respect was now called Left List, but apparently the name “Left Alternative” is also being floated. I hope very strongly that this is not the one they run with as it is truly dire. If they haven’t gotten themselves into a position where they can call themselves “The Left Party” and be done with it then that should be their top priority. A party describing itself as the “Alternative” has never won anything.

In order to try and get my bearings of the place I headed to the entrance of the School of Oriental and Asian Studies (SOAS) where there was a large SWP tent. There I met a lovely middle aged woman who talked to me about the basic socialist stuff. She told me about the local level stuff the SWP get up to, I gave her a rough and weak outline of pragmatic socialism and she told me I should join. I find this an unnervingly frequent (not to mention predictable) occurrence with the SWP, but at least they make you feel wanted.

My response was perhaps not what she had anticipated: I told her that the now century old model of Democratic Centralism left me immensely wary, not only because organising a contemporary party along Leninist structures seemed to be more redolent of an exercise in historical recreationism rather than a serious political project; but also because I was less than keen on being bound in numerous ways by the majority will. She explained how as far as she could the democratic centralist structure was simply a means of getting things done but frankly I consider the continual failure of the SWP to achieve anything much is a testament to the ineffectualness of this argument. I didn’t tell her that, though.

On the upside: they did have free food. This was set up as a picnic in the green, where there was a concentrated crowd of Marxists sitting in circles and a pair of apparently illicit tents. Not a lot of it as I got there pretty late but enough to tide me over until I got home. My gratitude to the Bristol and Manchester SWP branches for the munchables. Much appreciated.

So I headed back through the area to pick up more perspectives. Another Socialist Worker seemed worth a chat so I asked him the time and then struck up conversation. As ever the gregariousness socialism demands of humanity was evident and regardless of their misdeeds as a body upon the left the SWP is characterised by a largely lovely membership. At least offline. This fellow was not from inside London but was the first from the SWP I found who admitted that there was opportunism “On both sides” concerning the Respect debacle. Indeed he went so far as to say that matters were far more complex than a “Left-Right split” and that trying to explain matters in such terms was far too simplistic.

It was now nearing 7 o’clock and I had a decision to make: Tariq Ali or Lenin. The latter was, of course, the blogger Richard Seymour, who was here under that name rather than his provocative nom de plume. The primary factor in my opting for the latter was my total lack of cash. No money to obtain tickets meant that opting for the room with spare seats was unquestionably preferable.

In the event Seymour’s room was pretty packed as well, but there was enough space for me not to be acting as a seat robber. I had a whole spiel planned involving mentioning that I was a victim of sub prime and still seeking employment in this crisis stricken economy (both true) but as it happens I turned up slightly late and the man on the door just waved me through.

Seymour was perhaps not how I’d imagined him but that was largely in the voice, which was a soft Irish one I probably should have anticipated more given he’s mentioned his origins on the blog. I was still expecting something a tad more harsh, firm, clipped and firebrand.

As for content, well it was concerning the pro-war left, who are his targets in “The Liberal Defence of Murder” (although interestingly three of his main subjects, Johann Hari, Nick Cohen and the especially despised Christopher Hitchens are all socialists or social democrats of some sort, although Hitchens seems to have shifted into not calling himself anything yet referencing Marx almost as much as before, if not more).

Both in person and in comments Lenin has described himself as “all over the place” structurally; but if this was truth instead of modesty it certainly didn’t show. There was clearly plenty he’d had planned but couldn’t get in, but this was seemingly because he’d done a vast amount of reading and research and it was to the degree that he couldn’t possibly cram it all in. He’d probably intended to say something about Yugoslavia, I suppose, but I never found that topic immensely interesting anyway so I’m rather glad he failed to. Likewise with Ol*ver K*mm.

As it was he managed to fill forty five minutes and then additional response time with a pleasingly fact dense speech that outlined the nature, power, motivations, methods and follies of the pro-war left. The talk traced how liberal interventionists of the contemporary era had directly borrowed from the colonial tradition (both of the far-right and of thinkers such as Mill and Tocqueville, not to mentioned the much-loathed Reformist Marxist Bernstein) and were now using rhetoric barely adapted from the times when you could get away with phrases such as “Adult race”.

Inbetween these two book-ends there was a discussion point where a surprisingly large number of audience members (including myself) were coaxed on stage to give views or ask questions. This felt pleasingly participative and it’s certainly a tradition I’m glad shows no signs of being abandoned.

Also in attendance was Naadir, former member of Hizb-ut-Tahrir and founder of Boris Watch, to which our own Gerry Fenby contributes. I had met him before at the Liberal Conspiracy “Summit” and he kindly bought me a pair of pints while we talked about everything ranging from historical materialism and its importance for Marxists to the Revolutionary Communist Party to Objectivism to the neo-liberal case for a global welfare state.

In all a very pleasing day and one I shall hopefully extend tomorrow by showing up before six o’clock. Given that I’m writing this at nearing half past twelve and haven’t had breakfast yet (let alone got dressed) I suppose that it will not be by all that much…

For those interested Marxism lasts until this Sunday and is held in a variety of venues close to the Goodge Street Nothern line Russell Square Piccadilly line stations. The official website is here.

Lie of the Day

4th July 2008
Posted in: Boris Watch | Random
Written by: Douglas Johnson

And no, it’s not Ray Lewis. It’s our old hate object, Andrew Gilligan:

“The reason I fell out with Ken Livingstone wasn’t his cronyism, waste, or arrogance. The reason I, and I think many other Londoners, parted company with Ken was that he got rid of the Routemaster.”

He hasn’t at all referred to Routemasters as a “wedge issue” with which to batter Ken. No, it’s genuine now, apparently. And always was, oh yes…

Something wrong at the Torygraph…

4th July 2008
Posted in: Random | Tongue attempts to find cheek | Wood-pulp
Written by: Gerry Fenby

Something has happened to the Torygraph. It should be a comforting bastion of reactionary idiocy; a pompous rag to lampoon mercilessly. And yet - note the author of this.

Not a Thatcherite.

I trust it’s a momentary lapse. Else, the world will be set out of kilter and the seas shall rise and Labour will win a 4th term…

(More on) Ray Lewis’ resignation

4th July 2008
Posted in: Boris Watch
Written by: Douglas Johnson

BoJo no longer needs to worry if Ray Lewis lied yesterday - as he did. He’s not a JP, and he overhyped his CV during recruitment. The result; his resignation, and embarrassment for Boris, and the wider Cameron Project which trusted him.

A couple of predictions, though: should the enquiry exonerate Lewis, he’ll be back. The Tories have invested far too much in his ideas, and his methods, to let such a prime exponent go to waste. And if it finds him guilty and it goes to the police? BoJo can now come out and say that this can’t be his fault, as Lewis admits he lied on his CV - so he couldn’t have known. That’s the tone set by his new statement:

When pressed with a string of unsubstantiated allegations my instinct was to fight and fight hard for Ray. I still hope that he can clear his name. I cannot deny however that my confidence in Ray was shaken by the discovery today that he is not a fully fledged Justice of the Peace and I cannot deny that to be misled on this issue made it harder for me to give Ray the backing necessary to continue in his role as Deputy Mayor.

Dissect that sentence by sentence. You should get;

1. He’s on my side, it’s not my fault I defended him.
2. I still hope he can clear his name, because I want to employ him - and will do if he does.
3. But if he doesn’t, well, I’m shocked, just shocked. Meaning it’s not my fault and please don’t report this too badly.

Notice the, “it’s not my fault,” theme. Or, rather, the damage limitation theme; Boris talked Lewis up to the point that this now becomes embarrassing, so is talking him down just as fast in the hope it all stops. A tactic to expect in the future with other heavily-hyped but unfeasible projects?

After all, there’s the statue of Keith Park, and a no-strike deal with the RMT, and neo-routemasters before 2012…

Ray Lewis

4th July 2008
Posted in: Boris Watch
Written by: Ali Gledhill

I’m not one for crowing, and regular readers will know that I have been ready to defend Boris Johnson at times.  But today, it is clear that Johnson’s political nous is vacant.

He talked up Lewis - a “deputy mayor”, no less, despite the agreed definition of the title.  He leaped to his defence at the first sight of trouble.  Now the headlines read “Deputy Mayor resigns” and “Right-Hand man lied”.  Johnson’s judgement was flawed.

For the first time, Johnson can justly be criticised by his many opponants for active stupidity.  Ignorance has been the order of the day so far: now Johnson has bound himself strongly to a marked man.  Lewis’ resignation ruins his own reputation beyond repair, but also leaves Johnson somewhat tarnished.

On this issue, Johnson deserves all the criticism he gets.

- - -
Should it be significant, although I strongly hope it will not, it is worth noting Alan Sugar’s position.  If he does dare to stand in 2012, he cannot use Lewis against Johnson - he hired his apprentice knowing that he had lied on his CV!  The difference, of course, is that Lee McQueen had not been punished by the Church and questioned by police on several occasions for separate incidents.  And he lied about a degree, not, ironically, about being a Magistrate.

More on Ray Lewis

3rd July 2008
Posted in: Boris Watch
Written by: Douglas Johnson

My predictions appear to have been proven true - before I made them. (Note to self: Read more than the BBC report…). Quoth the Mayor:

These allegations did not stop him from becoming a JP. They did not stop him from becoming an outstanding and respected prison governor. They did not stop him founding a school that has done untold good for East London children and they should not stop him from serving as my deputy Mayor.

In short: “Ray Lewis is a wonderful person who couldn’t have done this because he’s wonderful, and even if he did somehow manage it then, look at everything he’s done since.” And so pinning himself firmly to the, “Ray Lewis is innocent,” crowd. He really needs Lewis to be innocent, now…

Note another interesting parallel with the Lee Jasper case. Quoth the Mayor:

I believe that my deputy Mayor Ray Lewis is being made to suffer now because he has had the guts to serve in this administration and because he has had the courage to speak out against a stifling orthodoxy that has failed too many of our children.

Notice what that is? A diversion, designed to shift attention from the accused to the accuser by smearing their motives. Why the charges have been made has nothing to do with the charges themselves - but it serves as a useful means of ducking them. For Ken and Lee Jasper, it was because Jasper was black. For Boris and Lewis, it’s because Lewis is Boris’.

Noting these diversion tactics, I begin to wonder how honest the enquiry will be. Now he’s so firmly tied to Lewis’ protestations of innocence, it must be tempting for BoJo to make sure the panel is, “sound.” And pack it with primed and paid-up supporters. It wouldn’t be the first time, even in this administration; Forensic Audit Panel, anyone?

But we’ll see. Bet Boris regrets appointing so many important sounding, “Deputy-Mayors,” (with all the closeness the term implies) now…

(Hat-tip to Tory Troll for the quotes)

Ray Lewis

3rd July 2008
Posted in: Boris Watch | Breaking News
Written by: Douglas Johnson

BoJo really needs to pick his people better. First, Munira Mirza acts without letting him know. Then, James McGrath shoots his mouth off in an entirely unwise fashion. And now - this. A Lee Jasper moments, perhaps?

That’s the parallel that springs most to mind. Allegations of financial and sexual impropriety, as yet unproved, against a senior figure in the Mayor’s administration. And damaging ones at that; to take money from a disabled parishioner and then withold it hardly says good things about the man’s character.

But there comes the major difference - this was more than ten years ago. If Lewis admitted to the charges - if, of course, they’re true - it could be explained away. A lot changes in ten years, and Lewis could point to his record in the community since as evidence of that. It’d stain, but it might not sink him.

He’s denied everything, though. Which is fine, if he’s telling the truth - but simply deadly if it’s not. He’ll be damned as a liar and a cheat, and simply disappear from the face of politics. And it’ll stain the regime, too. Who wants a Mayor who employs a social parasite?

And who wants a Mayor who employs a potential social parasite? Even the allegations smears an unpleasant air of corruption over the administration; one which BoJo needs to eliminate. To cast aside the whole matter, and any parallels with Lee Jasper, he can only follow one course - an immediate, thorough enquiry. Otherwise, it’ll all begin to look even more suspicious…

McCain: He’s…uh…American?

2nd July 2008
Posted in: 2008 Election | Election Ads | Videos
Written by: Douglas Johnson

And now McCain’s latest effort:

Notice anything? Yes, that’s right. It’s not very good - again. The actual video is simply dull, visually. Very blocky, dark and far less intelligent than Obama’s. The comparison that springs most readily to mind is a Japanese hybrid car advert, not a brilliant piece of political propaganda. The closest this comes to actual visual or emotional manipulation is the relentless focus on technology and space - signalling a forward looking McCain quite at odds with that white.

White hair McCain seems very reluctant to display, mind. Compare Obama’s presence in his spots - young, smiling and all over the place - with McCain’s gloomy avoidance of the camera. Just two, short appearances in this, and short and sombre at that. It’s almost as if he’s afraid the voters will see him.

But perhaps that’s the point. The video’s underlying message is far more concerning. On the surface rides the usual bumpf; America is wonderful, McCain wants to keep it that way, he’s a patriot. To summarise: Blah. But underneath that comes the real message.

Observe the constant emphasis in the script:

American technology protected the world. We went to the moon, not because it was easy, but because it was hard.

John McCain will call America to our next national purpose: Energy Security. A comprehensive bipartisan plan to: Lower prices at the pump; Reduce dependence on foreign oil through domestic drilling; And champion energy alternatives for better choices and lower costs.

Putting country first. McCain.

Emphasis, as usual, mine. Just look at it; over and over, a focus on resolution and security. McCain will provide a, “purpose,” for America. He’ll, “reduce dependence,” on foreign oil, and so increase America’s economic security. And he’ll cross boundaries as a, “bipartisan,” leader.

The final picture: a strong, resolute leader who’ll work across traditional boundaries for the nations’ good. A uniter, not a divider (sound familiar?). And completely uncontroversial, and not a right wingnut you need to worry about.

And, unfortunately for McCain, it’ll flop. The claims he makes can be scotched in easy terms. The ad says he’s a resolute man who’ll keep at a task until it’s done; which, naturally, explains why this is his third slogan in as many ads. He’s an uncontroversial bipartisan - whose last spot was an attack ad. He isn’t a rightist loon, the ad implies - just one who wouldn’t be averse to, say, bombing Iran.

Oh, and the “uniter not a divider” bit. Already gone, I’m afraid. Change and unity have been Obama’s message from the start, articulated in soaring rhetoric; McCain is a member of the (conservative) Republican Party. That he’s been forced to snatch the meme for himself suggests one thing only - that he’s already lost the election on his own views, and must find someone else’s.

So, he’ll lose?

Obama: Neither a Muslim nor a yuppie nor a socialist nor a…

2nd July 2008
Posted in: 2008 Election | Election Ads | Videos
Written by: Douglas Johnson

And the theme of today’s video is - political positioning! (duh?)

Note the careful imagery again: Barack in shirt-sleeves, because he’s not a stuffy office boy but a man of the people. Barack as a young man, because he’s not a 71 year old who won’t see his second term. Barack at a community meeting, because he’s a man of the people. Barack on the phone (at 3AM?), concentrating - because he’s a hard worker, who’ll never let you down. Barack signing a law, because he’s got some experience in Washington and isn’t the callow youth of Republican propaganda. Barack with workers, smiling, because he’s a man of the people. Barack with children, because he loves them as much as you. Barack talking to workers, because he’s a man of the people. Barack shaking hands with more workers, because he’s a man of the people. Barack hugging an old (working) lady, because he’s a caring and happy man of the people who everyone loves.

Conclusion: Barack Obama is a kind, friendly, hard-working man of the people, and not at all the aloof, inexperienced elitist of Clintonite agitprop.

And so on. And the message of the script? Much the same:

Obama: I’m Barack Obama, and I approve this message.
Announcer: He worked his way through college and Harvard Law. Turned down big money offers, and helped lift neighborhoods stung by job loss.

Fought for workers’ rights. He passed a law to move people from welfare to work, slashed the rolls by eighty percent. Passed tax cuts for workers; health care for kids. As president, he’ll end tax breaks for companies that export jobs, reward those that create jobs in America. And never forget the dignity that comes from work.

Emphasis mine. The message boils down to:

Barack Obama is a hard-working, ordinary guy. He worked his way through college; hard-working. And he’d rather work hard for others; turned down big money.

He’s a man of the people. He gave them what they wanted; but didn’t let them lounge on the dole like that nasty quasi-socialist the Malkinites claim he’d be. No, he protects American workers, and loves children. A Man of the People, and a Patriot.

So, a message totally consistent with his last ad. There, he talked to camera, espoused mainstream values, and painted himself a man of the people. Here, he protects workers, works hard, loves his countrymen - and paints himself as a man of the people. And rebuffs accusations of cold, unpatriotic, middle-class elitism from Malkin et al.

It’s pure political positioning. Obama needs to erect a break against shit slung by Republicans who smear him as foreign, aloof and socialist; so he emphasises hard work, “American values” and his populism. Vacuous? Mostly. Lacking in a policy message? Certainly. Dull? For anyone across the Atlantic, very probably.

But that’s not the point. 30 seconds isn’t enough to preach a sermon, but it’s enough to give an impression - and that’s what Obama’s doing. And it looks like he’s hit the right (hah…) spots so far…

Greetings to our readers in India and Japan!

2nd July 2008
Posted in: Belly-fluff inspection | There Is No Longer An Abroad
Written by: Editorial Team

Hello to all from Chennai, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, Mumbai, Mahape, Iwade, Kaizuka, Osaka, Higashiosaka, Sakai, Izumisano, Naniwa & Yuasa. We hope you enjoyed the blog.

Also: hello to our lone reader in St. Helier.