Letter from SRP

To the Discussion Bulletin:

          Responding to Dr Who's invitation, I like some of the ideas behind his proposed Manifesto for the Imagine International (MII), with a few reservations. I write as a socialist, that is, an opponent of all forms of capitalism (some of which, like a socialist market economy or socialist exchange, go under the false colours of socialism) and a proponent of revolotionary world post-capitalist society, the principle features of which are common ownership, democratic control, production for use and free access.

          One good thing about MII is the prominent place it gives to John Lennon's "Imagine" as an attempt to describe a socialist future. Excellent critic of capitalism though he was, Marx was a poor advocate for socialism, restricted by his self-imposed refusal to write recipes for future cookshops. Morris did rather better with his News from Nowhere, although his "How the change came" is today completely unbelievable.

          I can't see why groups like Leninists, Trotskyists, Maoists, Stalinists, etc. should want a "piece of the action" of MII. After all, they are essentially short-term reformists, who offer revolutionary socialists only the poisoned chalice of "work with us today for x (reform) and tomorrow we start the revolution". And of course tomorrow and the revolution never come.

          There's no point in diluting the proposals of revolutionary socialists in order to artificially inflate our numbers. I'm wary of those who "merely reflect differences in means but not in ends". Choice of means is important, as is clear in Dr Who's three levels. I don't want to be in coalition with Level 2 people - MARKET socialists - though I want to exchange ideas with them as potential recruits to Level 1 - nonmarket socialists. Far less would I want to be in coalition with Level 3 people - capitalist and reformist groups.

          So for me the "coalition" boils down to a few hundred members of the World Socialist Movement plus some others who think similarly but await being "collected" into the WSM. The year 2004 will see the centenary of the formation of the SPGB. Socialism didn't have a very good 20th century, so let's see if we can develop a viable WSM. Helpful though electronic communication is, I can't see it taking the place of face-to-face communication. So I'd like us to plan for an international WSM conference in 2004.

SRP