A paper of Marxist polemic and Marxist unity weekly New light on April theses: n Letters and debate workern Populism’s moment Lars t Lih focuses on Lenin’s n Left unity in Italy polemic with Plekhanov n China Miéville: review No 1168 Thursday August 31 2017 Towards a Communist Party of the European Union £1/€1.10 OUR LADY OF THE TABLOIDS 2 weekly August 31 2017 1168 worker LETTERS Letters may have been Alongside this he rejected any political dumping various manure heaps of are betraying most needs of both than winning local parliamentary shortened because of support to the provisional government, deception and duplicity - in harness our domestic and the international elections. space. Some names critical or otherwise, and put forward with simple hypocrisy - as it did so. working class. Indeed, doing so Speakers at Compass events may have been changed the perspective of “a patient, Here’s a selection. in arguably comparable manner to include Ed Balls, Derek Simpson, systematic and persistent explanation” Via appearances at the head of Corbynist Labour - even if not as Hilary Benn, Hazel Blears, Ed Opportunism that soviets are “the only possible form memorial services and marches outright poisonously as any ‘royal’ Miliband, Dave Prentis, Frances I attended the Communist Party of Great of revolutionary government”. Within for those who died in Barcelona’s families. O’Grady, Jon Cruddas, Jon Trickett Britain’s 2017 ‘Communist University’ about a month (according to Lih’s car-ramming attacks, the so-called Of course, we must dispatch all and Chuka Umunna. How to lose event - the first time I have done so in research) this was to manifest in the ‘king’ of Spain - alongside other of them to that proverbial dustbin elections, anyone? many years. Bolsheviks’ public use of ‘All power members of his ‘royal’ family - tried of history - both monarchists A July 6 YouGov poll gave Labour One item that kept coming up to the soviets!’ that replaced ‘For a to commandeer the raw emotions and reformist ‘social democrats’ 46% and the Tories 38%. Labour throughout the week was how to revolutionary democratic dictatorship of local Catalan as well as national alike. But simultaneously we must is ahead of the SNP in Scotland assess the significance of Lenin’s April of the proletariat and the peasantry’ as citizens; all of that on behalf of wider acknowledge partial responsibility (36%/31%). And that is surely down theses. CPGB comrades argued that, the main slogan regarding the nature state machinery. With somewhat for - and indeed feel all due shame to outright rejection of Compass while the theses did mark a change of state power. similar intent, back here in the UK our about - the part we’ve played in progressive alliances. in direction for the Bolsheviks in Perhaps the reader will at this mass media gave blanket coverage to permitting the continuation of both Gerry Downing 1917, it was just a minor adjustment point be wondering whether this two ‘princes’, telling us how much this utterly farcical farrago of our Socialist Fight among comrades all pretty much on discussion about political struggles in they miss their late mother, Diana, a own organisational fragmentation the same page and which was more the Bolshevik Party in 1917 has any so-called Princess of Wales. and that ultra-criminal crap of their Social being or less consistent with all that had relevance for politics today. I believe it Also here in the UK, Labour capitalist system. Tony Clark makes a curious comment gone before, especially in regard does and present the following related continued in its attempts to straddle In general terms, everything in the course of this running debate on to continuity of the slogan for a discussion at Communist University the canyon that lies between our presented here relates to how things the subject of energy policy (Letters, ‘revolutionary democratic dictatorship as evidence. parliamentary ‘democracy’ and currently stand, rather than with an August 10). It’s a bit off-topic, but of the proletariat and peasantry’. In a CU session on the rise of what anything even remotely close to true eye to any future, sensibly ‘evolved’ still worth a mention. To back this up, the CPGB make is being called ‘populism’, I recounted socialism - in this particular instance, or freshly reformulated communist According to him, Marxism is much of the recent work done by my experience in Ireland with Sinn by mildly modifying its posture and potential. In precisely that same flawed in its assumption that social academic historian Lars T Lih on Féin’s role in the anti-household/ policies on the 100% fraudulently context, no communist should being determines consciousness the degree of difference within the anti-water charges movement and contrived matter of Brexit. forget where ignoring truth, honesty (rather than the other way around). Bolsheviks concerning Lenin’s April more specifically my criticism of In pursuit of perpetuating their and objective facts ended up for It’s a bit like saying, says Tony, that theses. I have now read the five the Socialist Party’s refusal to take myths about ‘great days of empire’ the Stalinist USSR. If only those “when a person crosses the road the pieces on this question that Lih has a principled position of ruling out and all the rest, clearly the mass/ comrades from history had paid decision was made by his legs rather published so far (available on John participation in a government with the corporate media of Great Britain proper attention to the warnings from than his consciousness”. But I think Riddell’s blog - https://johnriddell. openly pro-capitalist Sinn Féin, as they still find value in deploying sickly Leon Trotsky and others, how very he has got the wrong end of the stick wordpress.com - as part of a projected do with what they understand to be the sentimentality. Also quite clearly, differently things might have turned and has misunderstood what is meant seven-piece series) and write this three main capitalist parties (Fianna the capitalist state machine in Spain out in relation to ‘globalisation’ for by “social being” in this context. I letter to highlight what seems to be a Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party). has recognised a golden opportunity our socialist values; in connection would refer him to Peter Stillman’s significant problem with the narrative As I have detailed on my blog (https:// within Islamism’s murderous and with securing permanence for our useful article on ‘The myth of Marx’s being presented. revolutionaryprogramme.wordpress. nihilistic jihadist attacks to further Marxist-Leninist ideas and ideals. economic determinism’, in which The problem is that Lih and the com), the Socialist Party consider its own sordid, toxic agendas (most By way of a final note on Stillman observes: “Marx’s aphorism CPGB find themselves in opposition this to be a question of clever tactics. notably, by deflecting attention away developments whilst you met at - ‘It is not the consciousness of men to the central political figure Jack Conrad described my from far more substantial matters your Communist University, not that determines their being, but, on involved in this 1917 dispute, as understanding of working class - such as top-level banking and until statues of Karl Marx, VI Lenin, the contrary, their social being that outlined in Lenin’s Letters on tactics independence as a matter of principle, political corruption, the current king’s Leon Trotsky, Patrice Lumumba determines their consciousness’ - (www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/ which provided a framework for sister and brother-in-law recently and Thomas Sankara are standing in presents its assertion asymmetrically. works/1917/apr/x01.htm), written in making concrete political positions being investigated for fraud, etc). public spaces within Charlottesville Having denied the leftwing Hegelian the days immediately following his and actions, as being a “shibboleth” And the situation in respect of and other US cities will there have stance that consciousness determines presentation of the April theses. and instead, exactly like the Socialist Corbyn and McDonnell’s Labour been any meaningful change in that being, Marx reverses the terms, but Lenin provides the following Party in Ireland, presented such Party? Well, if you try to straddle the nation’s level of egalitarianism or adds ‘social’ - and ‘social being’ is context for writing Letters on tactics: decisions as merely tactical. fence between Britain’s notionally real democracy. That is to say, either not defined, but seems to be more “Both the theses and my report gave In what he somehow seemed to democratic parliamentary system and statues of those specific members extensive than merely forces (or rise to differences of opinion among think was a killer blow against my any true representation of the interests of humankind or directly equivalent forces and relations) of production the Bolsheviks themselves and the insistence on the principle of working of working people, inevitably your others who have come along in a and indeed as ‘social’ likely includes editors of Pravda. After a number class independence being a guide to genitals will receive serious damage meantime of class-conscious struggle consciousness” (www.marxists.org/ of consultations, we unanimously political programme, Conrad presented - even terminally so! and fully enlightened engagement. subject/marxmyths/peter-stillman/ concluded that it would be advisable his understanding of the “cross-class Nothing either surprising or Bruno Kretzschmar article.htm). openly to discuss our differences.” alliance” that he believes both made unexpected in any of that, some email To advance his argument, Tony As an aside, CPGB members and the Russian Revolution and constituted might think. But what does remain Clark gives us the example of the supporters might do well to note the initial revolutionary government.