File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1997/97-01-14.221, message 15


From: "Karl Carlile" <joseph-AT-indigo.ie>
Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 19:32:36 +0000
Subject: Re: M-I: Adam Rose's Crystal Balls


KARL: How so you know Adam Rose has crystal balls. God he would want 
to very careful if they are made from crystal. Be careful then how 
you handle them.

>
> The SWP in Britain is not a sect with no influence.

This is the SWP's prime delusion. In fact it is a sect with one hell of a
lot of influence over its members- they forgo any Marxist analysis for a
verbatim acceptance of  half-baked wishful thinking sent down from on high.
This keeps them happy and if the SWP leadership told its members that their
hot air altered the British weather, they'd believe it. 

So let's have a look at some of their recent claims:
> 
> In 1977, the Nazis started growing in Britain. They started
> coming third in by elections, beating the Liberals. To 
> counter them, the SWP set up the anti Nazi League.
> This was successful. The Nazis were smashed by the 
> early 80's. 

Baloney. The 'Nazis' are not the problem in Britain. What is a problem is
the inherent racism of the British state of which jingoist anti-German
ideology plays a key part. By identifying 'Nazism' as a pressing political
problem the SWP's front the ANL tapped directly into this ideology. After
all, in British politics every one from the former minister Norman Tebbit
through to the Alf Garnets of this world (a fictional British TV racist),
is anti Nazi. What destroyed the support for the likes of the National
Front was Margaret Thatcher playing the anti-immigrant card. She spoke of
supposed British fears of being 'swamped by an alien culture' and duly
passed yet more draconian anti immigration laws. Playing the 'race card'
worked and support for the far right slumped. Naturally, that ineffectual
sect the SWP/ANL claimed that it was their songs and dances that did them
in.

> 
> In the late 1980's, our members organised a strike in
> North Manchester General Hospital. This set off three
> waves of strike action in a year in the health service.
> Our members lead the rank + file strike committees
> which coordinated the action.

And they were beaten.
> 

> In the early 1990's, the Nazis started growing in Britain
> again, as they were in the rest of Europe. My proudest
> moment as a member of the SWP was the night
> after the Nazis had their first local council election
> victory for years. The day after, our members led a
> strike of council workers in the Borough on the
> basis of Black + White, unite and fight, and committed
> themselves not to cooperate with him in any way.

Big deal. 

> In Italy the Nazis are the main right wing electoral bloc.
> In France they have control of three local councils, and
> regularly get 15% of the vote. In Austria they are rivalling
> the the two main parties. In Belgium and Germany they
> have a significant base. In Britain, they are stuffed, and the
> reason they are stuffed is that the ANL stuffed them. This
> would not have happened without the SWP.

Utter nonsense. How precisely did the ANL transform the BNP into a Xmas
Turkey?

> 
> Recently, we launched a petition against Tony Blair ie the
> leader of the Labour Party. This petition got thousands and
> thousands of signatures. Socialist Worker couldn't even 
> print all the names of the shop stewards that had signed it.
> It resorted to saying things like "Jo Bloggs and 8 others
> on the  Stewards Committee".
And the influence of this petition....?

> 
> Your attack [Louis'] on my party comes in a month where three
> SWP members have been victimised ...

That's it play the victim card- it always goes down well in Britain.

Overall Adam trots out the usual SWP workerist pap. The only thing he
forgot is the 'We brought down Maggie' line. Perhaps he'd like to explain
how there incessant cries of 'Maggie Maggie Maggie Out Out Out' finally
turned the lady and how this relates to the Tories interminable split over
Europe that really led to her forced resignation.

A sect with influence? -Your'e gazing at your crystal balls again.

Russ.



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