[ssf] It’s time to create a new working class party (Better still make the middle class history)

[worldwarfree at riseup.net]

So we are told here http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=18114.and
here is a reply http://www.workerspower.com/index.php?id=47,2017,0,0,1,0
from workers power (you remember them) seem all cock roaches come to the
suffice when they smell a little bit of opportunism The same tired old
tune from the Trots and anarchist alike read on:

The first Socialist Alliance was set up in Coventry in 1992 and the first
national meeting held in 1996 with eight local alliances represented.
Within two years 20 local alliances and twelve left groups had joined.
During the next two years the project took off with 58 local SA’s across
the country.In 2001 the SA adopted a new programme and constitution and
now involved all the main tendencies and groupings on the left, including
the AWL, CPGB, International Socialist Group, Revolutionary Democratic
Group, Socialist Party, SWP and Workers Power. The SA stood 98 candidates
in the 2001 general election, making the biggest left challenge to the
Labour Party for 50 years.

After the Bush-Blair war in Iraq, the SWP majority abandoned the SA for
Respect and closed the SA down. However a significant minority did not
accept this. In November 2005 the SA was relaunched at the London
conference.

RATHER THAN OFFERING a bold political alternative to New Labour, Respect
was founded on the idea that the Socialist Alliance had failed because it
was overtly socialist and therefore that Respect should not follow its
example. This was connected to the aim of taking more of an electoral
orientation. So in Respect’s founding statement the only reference to
socialism is hidden in the ‘s’ of the acronym RESPECT, and it is rarely
mentioned elsewhere either in writing or verbally.

The founding statement lists goals such as an end to the occupation of
Iraq, an end to all privatisation, a raising of the minimum wage and
bringing back the railways and other public services into democratic
public ownership. Its constitution adds: “Our overall aim is to help
create a socially just and ecologically sustainable society”, and then
mentions the need for “common ownership and democratic control”.

However, at Respect’s first conference in October 2004, of the 42
resolutions passed there were no references to common ownership or to
socialism as a goal. During that conference, leading SWP member, Lindsay
German, argued against a resolution which proposed that Respect should aim
for a socialist society. She said that political diversity is needed in
Respect, and also that the resolution was moved in ‘bad faith’ – a common
argument of the SWP against resolutions it disagrees with.

The bare facts of the split in the Trotskyist group, Workers Power,
(another player in the SA) (and the associated ripples through its tiny
international front, the League for the Fifth International) are now well
known on the left (documents from both sides of the split,On July 1, 2006
some 33 members (around a third of the total internationally) – mostly
based in Britain, but also including comrades from Australia and Ireland.

They become Permanent Revolution and until now not much has been herd of
Workers Power  in this open letter It is no secret that there have been
several unsuccessful electoral initiatives of the left since 1997. There
are many criticisms that can be raised but one point above all needs to be
borne in mind. Not one of them aimed to establish a unified and democratic
all-Britain political party of the working class. It would be a failure of
imagination and of will if we bypass this opportunity once again. Full
text of it here http://www.workerspower.com a reply to an open letter from

The SWP is all too aware of the differences and difficulties involved in
constructing such an alternative. We do not believe we have all the
answers or a perfect prescription for a left wing alternative. But we do
believe we have to urgently start a debate and begin planning to come
together to offer such an alternative at the next election, with the
awareness that Gordon Brown might not survive his full term. One simple
step would be to convene a conference of all those committed to presenting
candidates representing working class interests at the next election.
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk

Nither do we forget the part anarchist have played in this from CLASS WAR
NO 73 to now: If they are to be believed, this is the last issue of CW,
though no doubt someone will republish it, just as all the ageing punk
bands who still provide the inspiration for one half of CW always stage
comebacks – welcome to the old timers, but offering nothing new.

That said, there are positive things to say about this paper. To quote,
“We need to find new ways of organising ourselves that can appeal to all
the working class, male and female, young and old, black and white.” We
wholeheartedly agree. While we could nitpick that this is not the first
time this has been said, what matters is what we have in common, and what
we can achieve together. So we recommend people do go along to CW’s
meetings, with an open mind and clear from preconceptions, just to see if
there are worthwhile common projects.

There are three areas where we can work together, in the locality, in the
workplace, and around issues. Here are some of our thoughts.

Working locally is the most important and most neglected. It is in the
local area where you can have the greatest impact and greatest visibility.
And visibility is important, it’s the only reason anyone ever joins the
SWP. However, local activities do have their problems. The reason many
anarchists don’t prioritise local activity is often, we suspect, because
they don’t feel connected with the locality, especially in cities like
London, where many anarchists tend to ghettoise themselves in areas like
Hackney and Brixton. Allied to this, it can be dull, and will take a long
time. It is fair to say that concerted local work will pay back in terms
of members, success and influence after 5 to ten years, depending on
conditions. For young activists that is very daunting. It is also
difficult at times for people to work out what to do. Fighting for a zebra
crossing isn’t very glamorous, is it?

A good example of what can be done locally is the Bradford 1 in 12 Club,
who have the confidence in their politics and the influence (and know a
lot of the local politicians and bureaucrats because they’ve been around
as long) that they can call meetings, demand that the council sends
someone to answer questions, and the Council does! This isn’t to buy them
off, it’s because the Council has learnt the hard way the price of
ignoring them. Bad examples of local activity are legion, unfortunately.

Local groups do not have to be based around a social centre, though it
obviously helps. They do need to have an understanding of what’s going on
in their locality, and this is one of anarchism’s advantages over the 57
varieties, so why don’t we make more use of it? Perhaps we’re afraid of
people breaking up our cosy little world, or perhaps we scare people off
with jargon or the promise of loads of work as the victims of burnout see
new members as an opportunity to rediscover a life.

Workplace organisation is just as essential, though obviously not everyone
is in a position to do it. That many who are in such a position don’t is a
result of confusion about unions and their role. Put simply, there is a
difference between defending your rights at work and becoming general
secretary of the TUC. There is not the same opportunity here as there is
in local organising, but the two are complementary. If someone is
victimised at work the local group can support and help out in terms of
pickets, solidarity, doing stuff for organising campaigns where the
workers want to remain anonymous. With the JSA and the quick succession of
temporary dead end jobs many are now faced with, having a local is vital.
It is worth being a shop steward or union rep, both for the knowledge and
skills you will learn as well as the satisfaction of fighting the bosses
at a small but meaningful level. In our opinion union positions outside
the workplace, such as branch secretary and so on, while someone needs to
do them, are not the best places for anarchist militants to put their
effort into.

Successful workplace organisation needs two things – local support in
terms of numbers and solidarity, and solidarity and advice from others in
the same industry. These require both a local organisation (see above) and
an industrial network of like-minded militants.

Issue based campaigns are perhaps the most problematic. We’ll start with a
good example, the Anarchist Black Cross (ABC). The ABC has no problems in
terms of members / supporters agreeing on political principle and on what
they want to do collectively (it is a voluntary organisation after all).
It is also not bound by constraints of geography or circumstances, even if
you are the only anarchist on Rockall you can still write to prisoners.

What get called single issues are usually not single issues. The problems
associated with them include working with other people who not only do not
share your politics, but are openly hostile to them, such as Trots and
Stalinists.

We are clear that we are not talking about a new organisation, there is no
need for one. Should one arise it must come from the bottom up, from local
groups networking. Our energy is better spent in organising than in
another organisation. These meetings are to be welcomed.
http://flag.blackened.net

Have we not been here befor?
No what we need to do is MAKE THE MIDDLE CLASS HISTORY

“Anarchism, really stands for the liberation of the human mind from the
dominion of religion; the liberation of the human body from the dominion
of property; liberation from the shackles and restraint of government.”
Emma Goldman

At this moment in time we like to go under the name of underclass rising
who are a mixed bunch, between us we represent most of the various
‘flavours’ of anarchism; class war, anarcho-syndicalists, eco-anarchists,
marxist- autonomists, stirnerites, tolstoyans, mutual-aiders, punks, etc.
we meet for drinks, parties, walks, discussion (OK, fights) and activism
on a (sometimes) regular basis.We don’t think that a website is ever going
to change the world and we’d encourage anyone living in south yorkshire to
get off their arse and get physically involved in anarchist politics.send
us an email wordwarfreeatrisedotnet for more,otherwise we will see you on
the streets. read more about underclass rising and this project.

http://underclassrising.net/insides/about.html