A paper of Marxist polemic and Marxist unity weekly Ben Lewis looks at the German n People’s Assembly workern Cameron’s nemesis lefts who sided with their own n Miners 1984-85 imperialism in 1914-18 n Iran’s supreme leader No 1016 Thursday June 26 2014 Towards a Communist Party of the European Union www.cpgb.org.uk £1/€1.10 Sinking loyalism and lifeboat nationalism 2 weekly June 26 2014 1016 worker LETTERS Letters may have been campaigning reached its high point failure to understand the point about (Letters, June 12). This is the voice of passes painlessly into socialism. shortened because of in 1998 with the creation of the first anti-English racism in the referendum totalitarianism speaking. Stephen Diamond space. Some names Scottish parliament since it was period. I make no claim about how the When Marxists gain control of the email may have been changed abolished by the Act of Union in 1707. situation may change after the result. I left and get into power, they start their In 1998 the CPGB was calling for a hope to comment on the ‘dark side’ of war against religious people. Religious Animal piss Get active “parliament with full powers”. The the ruling class on another occasion, people believe that humanity is being Without wishing to appear rude, I I was glad to see a bit of coverage in struggle for more democracy did not when all Ian sees is their sweetness and manipulated by the devil and his must confess to almost pissing myself the Weekly Worker for the People’s end in 1998 and will not end in 2014, light, in which “a refusal to accept the demons and so the religious element with laughter when reading Jon Assembly movement. Peter Manson whatever the outcome. result of the referendum by the British naturally regard Marxists as the agents Hochschartner’s letter that sought to raised the important question for the If the referendum does not yet achieve state is not very likely”. I don’t know of Satan and teach that communism develop a Marxist animalism (June 19). aftermath of the No More Austerity “full powers”, it is certainly more whether the word “accept” includes must be from the devil, when in fact Marxism and animalism cannot march: ‘Where next for the People’s powers for the parliament and people sabotage, blackmail and other dirty it is humanity’s natural state. be married. Working animals do not Assembly?’ (June 19). than Blair’s settlement of 1998. As for tricks. This is one example of how produce value, nor surplus value, and In particular, he asks it of two the word “struggle”, the referendum is Steve Freeman Marxism, a fundamentally flawed have no desire to be emancipated from leading members of Counterfire - I simply the latest focus for agitation, LU Scottish Republic Yes tendency doctrine, has undermined the struggle their lives of drudgery. Maybe we suspect this is by way of an invitation propaganda, street canvassing, petitions for socialism and will continue to should be nicer to them, though. to debate. Since I’m not a member of and demonstrations, etc. In Scotland Hoi polloi so until the left wakes up. I want a The source of all value is human that organisation, I can only comment political activists are struggling, even The letters page of the Weekly Worker socialist revolution, not a Marxist one. labour. Animals add nothing, but like on its perspectives as an outsider. I if where Ian is in London there is no never ceases to amaze, given the Tony Clark all the other tools, they can transfer part suspect, like many of the signatories to struggle. breath-taking range of ideas and email of their own value (the original cost of the PA, their members are of the view The unionist camp is for no change, erudition often on display. Last week, the beast) on to the production of a that events external to the movement so it says ‘no’ on the ballot paper. The Tony Roberts informed us that the Rate of profit new commodity only in the context of we can build today will be decisive in unionist parties are trying to cover their “Vicar of Rome does not really believe Arthur Bough argues that the tendency utilisation by man. the PA’s strategy - such as the outcome obvious conservatism by promising in in god’s existence” (June 19). to decline doesn’t apply to the true It’s best to regard working animals of the independence referendum, the the event of a ‘no’ majority they will I am shocked by this revelation, (annual) profit rate, concluding: as akin to machinery when assessing general election, and so on. introduce as little change as possible. but also overcome with envy. Despite “The only way the law could cause them from a Marxist standpoint. Their Certainly, this appears to be the view But once they have won, their incentive repeated requests to the Vatican, His permanent stagnation would be if ‘work’ only has an ostensible aura of of leading members of the Communist to deliver will diminish close to zero. Holiness has never seen fit to grant me capital, and its harnessing of science value-creation to the extent it is utilised Party of Britain, as evidenced by their This would not bother Sandy an audience. Yet comrade Roberts has and technology to its needs, absolutely by mankind. Hence it is blatantly general secretary’s recent Morning McBurney, for whom democracy not only managed to meet the pontiff, ran out of innovations, by which obvious that if there was no mankind Star articles on the Labour Party. The is irrelevant, because capitalism but has also had privileged access to his new use-values could be turned into nothing an animal does would have Greens want to position themselves as is capitalism. Changes in political innermost thoughts. I wonder what the commodities, providing capital with economic value. a repository for disillusioned Labour institutions and constitutional laws pope sees in comrade Roberts that I so new lines of production, into which the Therefore, the possible increase in votes, but have activists who are just make no difference. Lenin would have obviously lack. released capital, accumulated surplus wealth from the utilisation of animals as sincere in wanting to build the PA. condemned such ‘economism’ as the Is he aware, for example, of value and relative surplus population can only be understood in the sense of So I found comrade Manson’s left/ failure to recognise or understand the comrade Roberts’ destructive could be employed” (‘False premises, it increasing the productivity of human right positioning a little confusing: of importance of democratic political appetites? I fear not. Roberts tells us false conclusions’, June 19). The claim labour. Thus human labour historically the supporters he lists as being “well struggle. Ian is not much better at in his letter that “people who believe and conclusion are inconsistent with became more productive with the use to the right” of a “shopping list” of recognising a “struggle for democracy” in god should be forewarned that all the labour theory of value; they also of animals - for example, with its time- demands that anyone “to the left of the or its class significance. religious buildings after the revolution foster reformism. saving properties. Tories” would agree to, I imagine all Hence Ian says: “Communists will be bulldozed and replaced with The inconsistency can be seen by So scratch beneath the surface: bar Rowan Williams would publicly seek to overthrow both bourgeoisies, hospitals and decent housing for the means of a thought experiment, where the root of the wealth remains human advocate such reforms. not rearrange their relations with working class”. One wonders what constant capital completely replaces labour. To see an animal as a source Most of the parliamentary Labour each other”. This leads to ultra-left other interesting ideas he might have variable capital. Regardless of whether is to fetishise a thing and mystify the Party would not (yet?) publicly conclusions - stand aside or abstain for “after the revolution”. Why stop at you accept the empirical possibility, real process. Animalism is no more support demands for energy company from the political ‘rearrangement’ of bulldozers? Perhaps he would like to it simplifies the logic: in a labour- rational than a chef who is completely renationalisation, a statutory living the national question. In fact this is rip out all the pictures in the National free market economy, there can be absorbed in commodity fetishism and wage, etc - but nothing I’ve heard or upside-down. It is the bourgeoisies that Gallery with any religious content and no exploitation, no surplus value and, consequently might falsely attribute read from War on Want’s John Hilary, seek to “rearrange their relations with with them build an impressive bonfire ultimately, no production. the source of the value of his fried fish the Green MP Caroline Lucas or TUC each other”, and communists see in in Trafalgar Square. No doubt a small The thought experiment is a logical to his brand-new spatula rather than general secretary Frances O’Grady this the opportunity to overthrow them. army of zealots could be employed, exercise, but it isn’t merely that. his own work. suggests that they are out of step with Ian seems concerned that equipped with Stanley knives, to cut Perhaps a century hence (according Barry Curtis the People’s Assembly’s adopted communists and republican socialists out of every book all references to to the experts), if humanity lasts long email policy direction. The consciousness won’t accept the result if there is a religious matters, and so on.