Having been a member of the SWP for twenty five years, it has been a life changing entity in many respects and right from the start. For many people and for me included, coming across and joining a revolutionary party was an almost euphoric experience, I, like many others before and since felt on joining a eureka moment; like how fitting it all is, how much sense it makes and how it is and always has been something that we have always been looking for. The SWP was precious to me for that and for other reasons, namely that it enabled me to fight against the right wing and the system much, much more effectively as I learned about class history, I learned about socialist traditions, I learned and was exposed to the old classics without any fear that the writing was unobtainable, boring and irrelevant ( a myth perpetuated by the capitalist system we live in). Also I got involved in current debates not only in the wider class struggle but also, our party would constantly rehearse arguments in the form of regular branch meetings, and ones back in those days were vibrant and large. There were a lot of good things about being in a revolutionary party such as the SWP which although was not orthodox Trotskyist i.e fourth internationalist was, as Cliff always reminded us, the authentic fighting spirit of Trotskyism.
Large events can put revolutionary organisations such as the SWP to the test, and certainly the very large anti capitalist movement was one such event. The emergence of the movement coincided with radical changes in the SWP's CC in that three major players including the founding member (Tony Cliff) died. Although Duncan Hallas was no longer on the CC due to ill health when he died, I believe that Paul Foot was. Lyndsey German and John Rees informed Paul of the new events as Paul lay in a hospital bed. So there was a mysterious ( to many people in the SWP's eyes) movement i.e where did it come from and what shall we do about it, combined with the deaths of the most capable and leading members. Definitely difficult.
We experimented by launching an electoral challenge in the form of Respect, this was not an easy project from the start as it was very difficult to find leading reformist from the labour party who were prepared to make a clean break from their war mongering party, despite some who were opposed to the direction of the right wing in the party, they still preferred to stay. So, we had George Galloway who was thrown out of the Labour Party therefore had nothing to lose by joining a new venture. This was new territory for us and we were without our strongest members.
Here is a quote that I picked up from face book during some recent discussions, I do believe that this quote is from a book or pamphlet written by Tony Cliff on Substitutionalism.
"... the policy of the united front contains not only advantages but also dangers. It easily gives birth to combinations between leaders behind the backs of the masses, to a passive adaptation to the ally, to opportunist vacillations. It is possible to ward off these dangers only if there exist two express guarantees: the maintenance of full freedom of criticism of the ally and the re-establishment of full freedom of criticism within the ranks of one's own party. To refuse to criticise one's allies leads directly and immediately to capitulation to reformism. The policy of the united front in the absence of party democracy, that is, without control of the apparatus by the party, leaves the leaders a free hand for opportunist experiments, the inevitable complements of adventurist experiments."
I think this is an accurate description of what did take place in the SWP, and consequently we started to see the party split, and deteriorate in democracy within the party. This took the form of character assassinations as the leadership nationally and locally became unable to tolerate criticism.
From what I remember there was first the expulsions of Kevin Ovenden and Rob Hoveman in 2007, then the left platform departure ( which I did write about early on in my blog, but am somewhat reassessing my thoughts about it now) and sometime during those large events I had the wonderful experience of being ritually and routinely character assassinated myself for my sin of criticising the local leadership. During that most unpleasant time ( which occurred twice) the comrades seemed to spend more time having meetings to discuss me and write letters about me than they did on more important business like how to reach out to people in the class with revolutionary politics. I was lucky in a strange way because although I had done nothing wrong by being critical, the response of the comrades might have lead to my expulsion particularly had I taken a grievance to the control commission ( something I think they hoped I would do) but I knew that I would end up the victim if I went down that route, so reluctantly I accepted 'national membership' and as I said this was on two occasions.
The other factor to bear in mind in all of this is the utter tragic and untimely death of Chris Harman, who Pat Stack described at his funeral as being Cliff's best recruit. He was the instigator of the uprisings in the student movement in 1968 and was a complete all round class hero and warrior from his many writings and books and his practice. He was not faultless as no human being is but an asset with a capital 'A'. His death coincided with the formation of the left platform split, I wonder what was going on then, as I was out of it due to my relegation within the party, but the demise had set in and was playing out.
So now Chris Bambery a long standing and very capable fighter has left the CC and the SWP citing lack of adequate political direction on the CC and 'factionalism'. The most common argument from the comrades is that he should have stayed and argued if he had disagreements, but this is not only a demise but also factionalism on the CC, where there is a lack of political debate and instead there is attack after attack upon a person. You lose before you even start in that situation. I know. I was attacked, called a liar and mentally ill. There is no debate at that stage. Chris Bambery was probably attacked for being belligerent and all the rest of it. I can think of many good things that Chris has done and contributed to making the left as a whole more combatant, such as the recent defence of Tommy Sheriden. If there are specific political events that show how Chris has done bad, then fire away. But we don't hear of anything do we, its all this rumbling personal discontent. It is a demise of the SWP.
The truth is that we need a revolutionary party to make our fight to challenge and change the system as effective as it possibly can be. We need to be a visible pole of attraction with coherent sensible ideas that have resonance and depth. One that will strengthen the fight on the ground in the class itself and then will in tern relate those struggles to ones of the past therefore have the benefit of learning from history to give revolutionary direction in the present, and have a vision for the future. Some people may say that despite everything that has gone on this is still what there is. I don't think so. There is no dynamism and culture of healthy dialectic debate or healthy criticism, there is a sort of tale ending of arguments taking place and a myopia in terms of future. We can do better.
We need to fully and accurately assess the current situation without clinging on to something that isn't working just because there seems to be nothing else. We need to be confident in ourselves and our own abilities, there are many of us who want revolutionary politics and see the necessity of being organised in a party rather than a loose anarchic banding with all the inherent dangers that is contained within it. We need to look to ourselves for the solution and not the current leaders in the SWP. This is of course the very principal of self emancipation, something that needs to be central in revolutionary struggles, so here it is; the challenge of the century. Dear God I pray that we will and that we can rise to it, for all of our sakes, and for our future.
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Monday, 18 April 2011
Friday, 8 April 2011
Meeeee! and the pretty Spring ( here at last!)
Hi people, this is me. I know I am sitting under a crucifix, but that is okay with me, being the symbol of God's sacrifice through his son for us, it has many completative meanings, including spiritual renewal and eternal life, so apt as the Spring returns.
You know what? All the people I like are those that are dead! What a colourful, bright and peaceful graveyard this is.
Okay I'll come clean, I have just visited West Malling Abbey (above), and here it is in all its imposition bit blurred too, nevermind. I have seen at least four very interesting gargoyles on the Abbey, although it is part derelict, and there are many bats surrounding it at night which is good so I have heard because they feast on mosquitoes and therefore keep them away from us ( mosquitoes absolutely love me) so hurrah for bats!
Pretty pussy cat, lovely stream! I was lucky to have got this picture of the resident cat because he is very old now, he is seventeen and rarely ventures out, he is enjoying the spring weather.
Such a spectacularly peaceful, clear and beautiful evening as dusk slowly turned to night, the angular branches of the fruit trees are just so fascinating, I could look at them forever. The sky was so picturesque too that night, captured and framed here by trees.**********************
Technology today is just so amazing, all these pictures were taken on my phone! It wasn't easy because the phones are so flimsy it makes you very scared you might drop it, the pictures are very often blurred because of the lack of weight, and the zoom ( yes my phone has a zoom) is not all that brilliant ( by a long shot), so since I failed to take my proper camera with me, I was very pleased to have got these shots.
Saturday, 2 April 2011
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Sunday, 27 March 2011
The SWP and Religion
I have a lot of time for Marx, Engels,Lenin's and other classical Marxists, left views and writings on religion. But they do still have to be contextualized to their own epoch; even so there is much to be learned from them and their literature on the subject.
Applying the format in Lenin's time does not fit exactly with today. I would argue that since the huge anti war movement or the movement for peace (as it became known), the politics in many religiously minded and motivated people took a shift to the left, whether it still stands to this day though I am not sure, but certainly things like Jubilee 2000 and drop the debt campaigns were enthusiastically supported by huge numbers of ordinary church going people, many of whom provided the motor for those campaigns and were visible on the many demonstrations during that time including the massive two million strong anti war demonstration in 2003.
Religion for a time was not about right leaning social democratic middle class and poor oppressed believers in God and followers of the local priest. Things changed, from around 1995 to recently ( it is hard to put an actual date on when the peace movement of that time either died or morphed into something else). There was more dynamism among religious groups as many of these people took to the streets to demonstrate causes of justice and peace. Many people from different walks of life and from the whole spectrum of faiths, felt inspired in those years and the question of religion captured peoples imagination. The left, with its tired old 'religion is the opium of the masses', really had to return once again to the classic texts and re-read some of Marx's most beautiful and courageous prose on the subject.
As hard as this is for materialists to understand, and I am one, I am a materialist, not everything can be answered in the here and now; even if Marx said it can, he had to clear a path for materialism on the back of the period of time that came before the enlightenment. Alongside Marx's criticism of religion and atheism is also beautiful writings on philosophy, and that is where the debate needs to shift to, and it is in the process of doing just that. There doesn't need to be any departure from Marxism but by using Marx's theories and applying them to the situation today in the struggle for socialism, we still find that the basic concept of unity stands, it is all in the fight for socialism, unity of the poor, the oppressed, the workers, men, women, black, white, gay straight, and also the unity of the religious and non religious.
That is not to say there should be cross class alliances, those who generally hold the dominant ideology in religious institutions is the same ideology in any other institutions, it is the ideology by and large of the right and of privileged class. In religious institutions where the main work is moral and spiritual, there are means of enforcing compliance with the overall system of minority rule. For example debate is not encouraged in a formal sense, and people's general confidence in themselves is also not encouraged (something that goes hand in hand with all other institutions we live in).
There used to be a terribly patronizing notion in the SWP, a notion that may have fitted with the Bolsheviks in their time and allow as we must consideration to be given to the fact that the majority in the society in Russia at that time were peasants ( and therefore the influence of religion was more of a stupefying one on peoples mental ability), but really it is a questionable practice for today; that any religious party member needs to be convinced out of their religious belief.
Any convincing one way or the other is perhaps an interesting debate but no-one should take the high ground on it; believers or non believers.
Also, I don't believe it is right for today or for the necessity of unity, to convince someone out of their belief and honestly sometimes the euphoria displayed in SWP meetings on the subject of religion that I have witnessed, comrades ecstatic when someone declares their atheism, it really beggars belief and in fact shows them up to be sect like because of it, because of their shallow understanding of the subject.
Something which I do believe (and hope) has stopped and a more sober approach adopted by now. I will be testing this out at the Marxism 2011 event, and hoping for greater depth and direction than what I have seen on some previous occasions.
Applying the format in Lenin's time does not fit exactly with today. I would argue that since the huge anti war movement or the movement for peace (as it became known), the politics in many religiously minded and motivated people took a shift to the left, whether it still stands to this day though I am not sure, but certainly things like Jubilee 2000 and drop the debt campaigns were enthusiastically supported by huge numbers of ordinary church going people, many of whom provided the motor for those campaigns and were visible on the many demonstrations during that time including the massive two million strong anti war demonstration in 2003.
Religion for a time was not about right leaning social democratic middle class and poor oppressed believers in God and followers of the local priest. Things changed, from around 1995 to recently ( it is hard to put an actual date on when the peace movement of that time either died or morphed into something else). There was more dynamism among religious groups as many of these people took to the streets to demonstrate causes of justice and peace. Many people from different walks of life and from the whole spectrum of faiths, felt inspired in those years and the question of religion captured peoples imagination. The left, with its tired old 'religion is the opium of the masses', really had to return once again to the classic texts and re-read some of Marx's most beautiful and courageous prose on the subject.
As hard as this is for materialists to understand, and I am one, I am a materialist, not everything can be answered in the here and now; even if Marx said it can, he had to clear a path for materialism on the back of the period of time that came before the enlightenment. Alongside Marx's criticism of religion and atheism is also beautiful writings on philosophy, and that is where the debate needs to shift to, and it is in the process of doing just that. There doesn't need to be any departure from Marxism but by using Marx's theories and applying them to the situation today in the struggle for socialism, we still find that the basic concept of unity stands, it is all in the fight for socialism, unity of the poor, the oppressed, the workers, men, women, black, white, gay straight, and also the unity of the religious and non religious.
That is not to say there should be cross class alliances, those who generally hold the dominant ideology in religious institutions is the same ideology in any other institutions, it is the ideology by and large of the right and of privileged class. In religious institutions where the main work is moral and spiritual, there are means of enforcing compliance with the overall system of minority rule. For example debate is not encouraged in a formal sense, and people's general confidence in themselves is also not encouraged (something that goes hand in hand with all other institutions we live in).
There used to be a terribly patronizing notion in the SWP, a notion that may have fitted with the Bolsheviks in their time and allow as we must consideration to be given to the fact that the majority in the society in Russia at that time were peasants ( and therefore the influence of religion was more of a stupefying one on peoples mental ability), but really it is a questionable practice for today; that any religious party member needs to be convinced out of their religious belief.
Any convincing one way or the other is perhaps an interesting debate but no-one should take the high ground on it; believers or non believers.
Also, I don't believe it is right for today or for the necessity of unity, to convince someone out of their belief and honestly sometimes the euphoria displayed in SWP meetings on the subject of religion that I have witnessed, comrades ecstatic when someone declares their atheism, it really beggars belief and in fact shows them up to be sect like because of it, because of their shallow understanding of the subject.
Something which I do believe (and hope) has stopped and a more sober approach adopted by now. I will be testing this out at the Marxism 2011 event, and hoping for greater depth and direction than what I have seen on some previous occasions.
Sunday, 13 March 2011
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Clay Glorious Clay
As a potter, well, more of a clay modeler, I absolutely adore clay, the feel of it. If I am upset or unhappy about something, just having some clay in my hands immediately lifts me.
Now my pottery classes at the Day Center are closed and pottery is no longer available for mental health service users in the area, despite there being resources and equipment such as a kiln on the premises.
It is very upsetting, but there is nothing more I can do about it, when we kicked up a fuss about it closing, we got a temporary reprieve, then when the clay ran out, I bought some from the internet and brought it in myself, the staff disallowed anyone bar myself from touching it, even to the extent of taking it out of their hands!
I was very upset about this situation, but realised that my pottery days were numbered, and now its over.
It is something to get used to, that's all.
So on missing my weekly clay fix, I have been reminiscing about it, and thought I would write all about clay, the different sorts that I have worked with and show some examples of my work.
This is the most commonly used clay, its Grey in colour and fires well and evenly. We all start off with this clay and still use it for advanced work too. The first thing I do with school buff when I have it in my hand, feel its coolness and earthy smell, is give it a good slap a fair few times.
Every time I did this I had to explain to my fellows what I was up to; you have to get the air bubbles out of the clay so that it won't blow when it gets fired.
Below is one of the pots I made, it was also sold and went to a good home.
This clay is fun and it can be full of surprises, it doesn't look too good when you first handle it and I didn't used to give it such a good slapping as with the school buff, not the best way to describe it, but I would say that its a bit slimey in consistency, well more so than any other clay, it was not something that bothered me, but would be a factor influencing the subject matter. A few years back I made this donkey from recycled clay.
Is high grade clay and very sensual, you don't want to slap it at all, only kiss it! Its smell is very subtle and addictive, it is beautiful clay. This photo shows a model I did with blue clay, the top of the flower is porcelain and so are the decorative hearts and stars. One of the stars fell to the base, something which seemed to be of significance.
Is low grade, red clay, very thick grains with a strong earthy smell it is easily manipulated and quite soft, I didn't like to slap it as hard as I would the school buff. It is very messy and gets everywhere!
Is incredibly fine clay, astonishingly challenging to manipulate but good for fine work like figurines. Porcelain requires extreme cleanliness, it cannot be 'contaminated' with other clays.
These are two figurine above, the male is in terracotta and the female in porcelain.
This is the most wonderful clay you can ever imagine, the photo below has not come out very well, but believe me, the possibilities and the fun you can have with this clay is immense. You must be very careful when handling this clay and it requires a good sharp initial cut. It must not be slapped, but rolled out very carefully. It is absolutely beautiful and it is in the rolling when you really can appreciate the colours and variations within it. I know its not a good picture but I enjoyed making the tankard below so much I call it my 'orgasmic tankard'!
Now my pottery classes at the Day Center are closed and pottery is no longer available for mental health service users in the area, despite there being resources and equipment such as a kiln on the premises.
It is very upsetting, but there is nothing more I can do about it, when we kicked up a fuss about it closing, we got a temporary reprieve, then when the clay ran out, I bought some from the internet and brought it in myself, the staff disallowed anyone bar myself from touching it, even to the extent of taking it out of their hands!
I was very upset about this situation, but realised that my pottery days were numbered, and now its over.
It is something to get used to, that's all.
So on missing my weekly clay fix, I have been reminiscing about it, and thought I would write all about clay, the different sorts that I have worked with and show some examples of my work.
School buff
This is the most commonly used clay, its Grey in colour and fires well and evenly. We all start off with this clay and still use it for advanced work too. The first thing I do with school buff when I have it in my hand, feel its coolness and earthy smell, is give it a good slap a fair few times.
Every time I did this I had to explain to my fellows what I was up to; you have to get the air bubbles out of the clay so that it won't blow when it gets fired.
Below is one of the pots I made, it was also sold and went to a good home.
Recycled Clay
This clay is fun and it can be full of surprises, it doesn't look too good when you first handle it and I didn't used to give it such a good slapping as with the school buff, not the best way to describe it, but I would say that its a bit slimey in consistency, well more so than any other clay, it was not something that bothered me, but would be a factor influencing the subject matter. A few years back I made this donkey from recycled clay.
Blue Clay
Is high grade clay and very sensual, you don't want to slap it at all, only kiss it! Its smell is very subtle and addictive, it is beautiful clay. This photo shows a model I did with blue clay, the top of the flower is porcelain and so are the decorative hearts and stars. One of the stars fell to the base, something which seemed to be of significance.
Terracotta
Is low grade, red clay, very thick grains with a strong earthy smell it is easily manipulated and quite soft, I didn't like to slap it as hard as I would the school buff. It is very messy and gets everywhere!
Porcelain
Is incredibly fine clay, astonishingly challenging to manipulate but good for fine work like figurines. Porcelain requires extreme cleanliness, it cannot be 'contaminated' with other clays.
These are two figurine above, the male is in terracotta and the female in porcelain.
Marble Clay
This is the most wonderful clay you can ever imagine, the photo below has not come out very well, but believe me, the possibilities and the fun you can have with this clay is immense. You must be very careful when handling this clay and it requires a good sharp initial cut. It must not be slapped, but rolled out very carefully. It is absolutely beautiful and it is in the rolling when you really can appreciate the colours and variations within it. I know its not a good picture but I enjoyed making the tankard below so much I call it my 'orgasmic tankard'!
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