Counterfire

Strauss-Kahn and Assange

Counterfire have published an article by Lindsey German questioning what it says about the French “left” (or, rather, Parti Socialiste) that a man with the reputation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn might be considered an acceptable Presidential candidate. It’s perfectly valid to discuss what the emerging picture of Strauss-Kahn’s behaviour tells us about the French political system and the sweeping under the carpet of vile sexist behaviour towards women in case it damages the cause. Funny, then, that German is unable to apply the same analysis to the Julian Assange case. Of course, Wikileaks is of...

Gramsci with the feet cut off

SWP splinter group Counterfire has launched a series of forums in London, and started on 19 May by inviting Peter Thomas to speak on Gramsci . The meeting showed that Counterfire's Gramsci is a Gramsci with the feet cut off. Peter Thomas's book shows that Gramsci was and remained a Comintern Marxist, a working-class revolutionary socialist whose framework was set by the ideas of the Bolsheviks, Lenin, Trotsky, the best of the pre-1914 Marxist movement, and the Communist International from 1919 to the early 1920s. So, in fact, do a number of older books. Gramsci's Prison Notebooks are notebooks...

Counterfire says: go for broad "resistance", not the labour movement

Around 100 people attended the Counterfire conference in London on Saturday 7 May. Although this turnout was smaller than I had been led to expect, the event was staged in a very slick, professional way. I arrived 20 minutes late but was directed and greeted by several people before I entered, and given a glossy leaflet urging me to join Counterfire. I think the event was aimed at, and to some extent attracted, young people without fully formed politics. This would be fine were it not for the appalling version of 'socialist' politics on offer from these shysters. Meaningless platitudes and...

The Quinlan Terry of Marxism

The architect Quinlan Terry designs buildings to look classical from the outside, but be modern (structure, materials, floorplans, cabling, ventilation) inside. Above: his 264-7 Tottenham Court Road building. For a revolutionary socialist party, however, Marxism should be not just a "classical" exterior, but the defining structure of politics. Eleven years after the death in 2000 of its long-time leading figure, Tony Cliff, the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), Britain's biggest left group, is in trouble. Of the main second-rank leaders who worked with Cliff, only one is left on the Central...

Ex-SWPers form "International Socialist Group (Scotland)"

The 38 members of the SWP in Scotland who recently resigned from the SWP together with Chris Bambery have put out a statement launching themselves as “the International Socialist Group (Scotland)”. A group of revolutionary socialists have come together to form the International Socialist Group (Scotland). We will participate in the movements against austerity, war and racism and will campaign around climate change, disability discrimination, LGBT and women's oppression. We believe that the Marxist tradition is essential for anyone who believes we need radical social change and will attempt to...

The left: slipping towards Qaddafi?

When the revolt against Qaddafi started in Libya, hardly anyone on the left — however broadly defined — could say anything in defence of Qaddafi. With the start of the "no-fly zone", many on the left started to sideline the issues within Libya and focus their efforts on denouncing NATO. Now the denunciation of NATO, in turn, is acting as a lever to introduce defence of Qaddafi and denunciation of the rebels into broad-left discourse. The Morning Star of 18 April, in an article by Alexander Cockburn, started by saying that the casualties in Qaddafi's assault on Misrata, while "cause for dismay"...

Stop the War Coalition's pro-Qaddafi demo

Today's Stop the War Coalition protest outside Downing Street, against Western military intervention in Libya, was attended by about a hundred people. It was heavily dominated by Stalinists, with a definite majority from groups including the CPB, Socialist Action, the Greek Communist Party and the CPGB-ML - the last of which was distributing a leaflet saying "Hands off Libya! Victory to Qaddafi!" This was, at least, more coherent than the SWP's oxymoronic line of "No to intervention in Libya! Victory to the Arab revolutions!" I saw a Counterfire activist with a placard listing the anti-working...

Coalition of Resistances focuses on 26 March

The first meeting of the Coalition of Resistance National Council was held on 15 January. The main political blocs on the Council (which is over 100 people) are Counterfire (the key animating force behind CoR), Green Left and Socialist Resistance. There is a handful of SWPers, a few from Workers’ Power, individuals from smaller left groups and a scattering of independents. The first session consisted of speaker after speaker making long, windy speeches that reminded us all that cuts were bad and that we needed to fight back. My proposal that CoR support the National Campaign Against Fees &...

Coalition of Resistance national council meets, attendees learn cuts are bad

The first meeting of the Coalition of Resistance National Council did not indicate a particularly bright future for the campaign. The main political blocs on the Council (which is made up of over 100 people - everyone who stood, in fact, given the unilateral announcement at the founding conference that there was “no time” for elections) are Counterfire (the key animating force behind CoR), Green Left and Socialist Resistance. Apart from myself, there is a handful of SWPers, a few from Workers’ Power, individuals from smaller left groups (including one Permanent Revolution sympathiser and two...

Coalition of Resistance conference: potential, but too much hot air

The immediate fact of the Coalition of Resistance conference was that over 1,000 people, some of them young, attended a (mostly) radical anti-cuts conference where they heard many speeches that communicated militant class-struggle politics. In the context of an upturn in struggle – led by student direct action – the conference may well have been an inspiring experience for some. That should be welcomed. For those not used to the sectarian manoeuvring so common on the left, the conference's worse elements will have been harder to spot and many attendees will have gone away feeling part of a...

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