Re: marxism-digest V1 #4953

[benj <benj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

re Nigel Irritable's comments (from a DSP member)

> The other reasonable-sized organisations on the Australian left - - the
> Progressive Labour Party, the Communist Party, the Socialist Party and
> Socialist Alternative - have refused to get involved, seeing it as little
> more than a pact between the ISO and the DSP.  : Recently, the Melbourne
> branch of the SP signed their members up to the SA to help it get electoral
> registration, although they don't (yet) participate otherwise in the SA and
> your comment is fairly accurate. Socialist Alternative view the SA as an
> electoralist diversion (something the DSP is trying to ensure it doesn't
> become). The CPA regard SA as a sectarian gaggle of Trots (although they use
> more diplomatic language and attempt a theoretical justification). The PLP I
> haven't heard of lately as most of their active members here joined the SA.

> Now as I said at the beginning, it is is not impossible that the DSP are
> entirely sincere in their liquidationism. Stranger things have happened and
> without being on the ground, I can't tell.  : I was in favour of the idea
> for some time, and had the DSP leadership not put the proposal to the
> members themselves I would have suggested it myself in our current
> pre-congress discussion period. For what my word is worth, the DSP are
> sincere. But I wouldn't use the term "liquidationism".  See
> <http://www.fin-arkiv.blogspot.com/2002_06_30_fin-arkiv_archive.html#78501372>
> for Murray Smith's recent article on some theoretical justifications for the
> sort of course the DSP is taking; he is very thought-provoking and I
> overwhelmingly agree with his comments.

> On the other hand if this move really is about closer cooperation on the
> left, why is the process starting with a DSP announcement rather than a
> discussion amongst the "allies"?  : Because the DSP has to democratically
> decide it's course of action. It's trying to do this in a collaborative and
> open way by letting the other people in SA know what is being discussed. But
> we have to allow our membership to discuss and decide on our course of
> action.  Re-read the document and you might see it explains this.

Ben Courtice


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