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On 13/09/12 9:06 AM, "En Passant with John Passant" <[email protected]> wrote: > Jorge says of his reasons for joining Socialist Alternative: > > 'It's the one organisation in Australia profiling revolutionary politics and > prioritising the theoretical discussions of Marxism that need to be put > upfront in this period.'... > I think Jorge's action in joining Socialist Alternative (of which I am a > member) and his reasons for doing so raise important questions for the left in > Australia and I look forward to comradely discussion and debate on the issue. This is of some interest to me. If I remember correctly Jorge is almost exactly the same age as me, within a week. We met when we were 18 or 19, although he was already an established SWP leader and an important student activist nationally and I was to hang around the left for 2 or 3 more years before joining the by then DSP. We worked together in the Resistance national office in 1994. Anyway, an understandable move, although I'd disagree strongly that SAlt is the "one" organisation doing as Jorge says. There are about 6 others. In the small universe of the radical left I'd say roughly SALt is strong in inner parts of the bigger cities, but doesn't exist in quite a few important outer suburban areas, state capitals and regional cities where for example Socialist Alliance is active. I'm impressed by SAlt's activity around refugee rights and Palestine but consider the complete abstention of the IS tendency around environmental campaigns, since the late 80s in my observation, rather appalling. In regard to Paul Le Blanc joining the US ISO, for one thing I have the impression from comparing "what we stand for" pages at least that SAlt is these days more upfront than the US ISO in denouncing the Cuban revolution as state capitalist. While errors, and sheer ignorance, about Cuba and Latin America generally, isn't, or shouldn't be, central, it is off-putting. To me and a whole lot of people in and around the radical left. Hopefully we can get beyond the mind-numbing reductionism that a particular position on Cuba necessarily equates to a particular position on the class struggle in Australia. I'd agree Jorge's decisions raises important questions and hopefully can promote fruitful discussion, including within Socialist Alternative. If comrades in the latter group can be prodded to think more about the utility of a less narrowly-defined basis with which socialists should organise, it'd be a good thing. At the moment the far left is Australia is less than the sum of its parts. ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: [email protected] Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
