Date: Mon, 24 Feb 1997 23:17:12 +0100
From: m-14970-AT-mailbox.swipnet.se (Hugh Rodwell)
Subject: M-G: Re: M-I: More moans from Down Under...


After a fine rant about Aussie Tories, Gary characterizes Labour:

>What is missing from Labor at present is any sign at all of this
>intelligence and skill. Thus when Howard announced that young people would
>be made to work for the dole, Labor had no way of getting at him.  Such an
>idea can only be countered by the left wing demand of "jobs for all".  Yet
>throughout its 13 years of office Labor was content to let unemployment
>hover around the 10%.
>
>Nor is Beazley bright enough to spot Howard's ideological trickery.
>Predictably he plays right into Howard's hands by accusing Howard of being
>"boring". Duh! and mega duh!  "Boredom" i.e. security is exactly what people
>want.
>
>When will the people see through Howard's false populism?  At one level the
>growing  economic crisis will surely erode Howard's position.  But the fact
>that there is no strong counter hegemonic challenge from Labor will mean
>that he will have much more time than he should.
>
>The only real alternative is for the tiny, marginalised and divided Left to
>continue to try and advance its critique of the economic rationalist
>policies of both Labor and Liberal parties.


But this is exactly the kind of treacherous class leadership that me and
several other persistent comrades have been going on about for as long as
we've been on the lists.

Do we have to start saying things like "there is no strong counter
hegemonic challenge from Labor" for the significance of the actually
existing leadership of the working class in the class struggle and the need
to fight to *replace* it with revolutionary socialist leadership to sink
home? "Trying to advance a critique" is nowhere near enough. The critique
is necessary, but the main thing is organization and mobilization. Not just
understanding and getting others to understand, but *changing*.

Cheers,

Hugh




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