Re: [Marxism] The DSP's fresh approach to applying democratic centralism

["Jeff Richards" <jeffare2@xxxxxxxxx>]

Ed,
 
I'm sorry Ed, Tom was doing more than quoting, he was "very likely"
agreeing: 
 
"This is fantasy, and since wish-fulfilment usually results in
organisational decline, the minority's description of an "aging and
depleted"  DSP cadre is, sadly, very likely correct." 
 
I enjoyed  glParramatta's response, so I will repeat it here:
 
Translation: ``I haven't got a clue if this is correct, but I'll have a
free kick anyway''
 
My response was partly to answer Tom's question "Fair point. So tell us,
what are the facts?"
 
Much of the problem is the acceptance of the description of the minority,
old guard, former leadership group of the DSP who now operate as the
'Leninist Party Faction'. The platform they have is absolutely bleak. The
document reads like it was written more than a year ago. You get no sense
that working people in Australia have finally come to their senses and
thrown the Howard government (and Howard himself) into the trash can and
even stomped on the trash for good measure! You don't get any sense of the
sorts of political opportunities' that this defeat of the Howard government
presents. In its place we have a kind of nostalgia for something in the
past, a yearning for the good old days, a desire for the certainties that no
longer exist. Of course, there is a more cynical explanation for the LPFs
bleak assessment of the political situation: they want to use that view to
gain support for the sad/nostalgic refrain "We want our party back" ("We
want our party back" is the title of one of the LPFs earlier documents.)

Moreover, I think the assessment of how far the organisational decline of
the DSP/Socialist Alliance  has gone is overstated. Again, I think this is
because the LPF minority has an interest in making that claim. In any case,
the left as a whole in the Howard era suffered badly and any assessment must
take into account the decline of the entire radical left when they make a
balance sheet of how the DSP/SA is faring. I leave aside the conversation
about what happened to the Socialist Alliance before everyone else left
(that could be quite a good thread to have, as long as we are able to avoid
too much sectarian flatulence during the discussion).
 
Let me give you my own impressions about the DSP/Socialist Alliance. At the
Asia Pacific Solidarity conference I was impressed by the range of
individuals there and the range of age cohorts present. Comrades who were
present, many of whom were dedicated activists with decades of experiences
were upbeat about the prospects for the socialist alliance. The vast
majority of people I spoke to were of the view that the far left must build
political unity now and that their allegiance was based on 'unity momentum'.
I would also argue that there was little in the way of a desire for some
return to the monastic version of 'Marxism-Leninism'. I stress these were my
impressions and not some scientific study. There was an impressive number of
participants from the organised labour movement. I think that the Socialist
Alliance seems to have attracted some leaders from the organised labour
movement, an excellent thing for a radical left organisation.

In my city of Adelaide, I have been impressed by the work of the
DSP/Socialist Alliance. Two young organisers here have seen the
DSP/Socialist Alliance have gained the respect of other sections of the
(small) radical left in this city, whether it be the Communist Party
Comrades who are largely based in the satellite city of Port Adelaide or the
Ecosocialist Comrades from the left of the Green Party. The Greens in
Australia are moving to the right. The recently elected senator for the
Greens in South Australia is from the dominant right wing of the party. The
Ecosocialist wing of the Greens in South Australia is a substantial,
reasonably well organised force who are now looking at wider fields than
their own party. I bet that there are Ecosocialists all over Australia
'looking further a field'. As I have said, there are some very important
shifts in the political landscape of the left that the majority of the DSP
leadership have recognised and the LPF refuses to recognise. 
 
Leaving these points aside, I am fascinated by the guarded affection shown
by Ozleft (and even Tom) for the old guard of the DSP (grouped around the
Leninist Party Faction). Is this some sort of nostalgia thing, or do people
like Bob Gould think that they have some redeeming features for the vanguard
party of the future (compared to the majority 'Boyle group', which clearly
don't have any redeeming features). I think that view should be turned the
right way up: the redeeming features belong to the majority. 
 
P.S.
By the way Ed, I would be very interested your views on OZLEFTS vicious
character assassination of an individual who has an outstanding thirty five
year history of non sectarian radical activism and who is known widely on
the far left among comrades in Sydney and Melbourne? Reading Bob Gould's
contributions on this question this past year nauseated me. Did it nauseate
you?

 


This message was sent by:
Jeff Richards
P.O. Box 84,
Glenside 5065
South Australia
Tel: 0439991421
email: jeffare@xxxxxxxxx
Web Diary (blog)
http://jeffrichards.blogspot.com/
 


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