re: Bill's email

[DAVID MURRAY <dmurray@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Bill

No doubt you have recieved the opinions of many on the list. It all depends on 
your view on what a 'good marxist party" is.

Things to consider are, their attitude to trade unions, attitude to the working 
class, and their orientation to political debates such as imperialism, current 
events, the 'socialist' states. It is obvious that you have been dissatisfied 
with your experiences in the Socialist Alliance and the Greens. There is 
nothing wrong with that and you are not along, I myself have made bad political 
choices in joining the DSP and PLP in the past, neither of these lasted more 
than a year. A couple of things to remember 'bigger isn't always better' and 
'be wary of "working class militants" who frequent coffee shops'.

I'm in the Socialist Party and I'd urge you to consider our politics, you can 
find some of our ideas
at the CWI website http://www.worldsocialist-cwi.org. I argue this as I 
consider the SP to be the most consistent socialists, have the best orientation 
to the working class and trade unions and have earned great respect with their 
activism and are more consistenly internationalist than any other group.

But it is important that you read all the 'marxist organisations' positions 
fully, meet their members and study their past and involvement in the movement, 
you can find most at the website http://www.broadleft.org, in the section on 
asia and oceania. Also if you have access to a good library, read a great deal 
of socialist texts, and if you have a good video shop near by, hire out a copy 
of the Brittish Comedy 'the Young Ones', and watch the character RIK, he will 
teach you heaps about the student coffee shop types.

In any case it is good to see that despite your bad experiences, you are still 
keen to be involved in left politics in Australia.

good luck, now and in future

David Murray
visit the SP NSW website
http://www.geocities.com/spnsw