Solidarity 219, 5 October 2011

Dialectics, rival to analysis?

By Dave Osler A housewife knows that a certain amount of salt flavours soup agreeably, but that added salt makes the soup unpalatable. Consequently, an illiterate peasant woman guides herself in cooking soup by the Hegelian law of the transformation of quantity into quality. That — believe it or not — is a verbatim quote from Leon Trotsky. Leaving aside the casual sexism implicit in such an analogy, it does not strike me as a particularly impressive defence of one of major postulates of Marxist philosophy. When I first came across the notion of dialectics, I took it on board without much...

Tunisia's left seeks independent profile in election

Oussama, an activist of the LGO (Workers’ Left League) in Tunisia, spoke to Solidarity in September about the 23 October election for a Constituent Assembly in Tunisia. It follows the fall on 14 January this year of the old dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The “High Instance” [a sort of government advisory council] has declared that political publicity is forbidden — posters, TV, etc. The law has created some ridiculous situations. The other day two activists of the PCOT [Worker-Communist Party, a group looking to the late Albanian leader Enver Hoxha] were painting “PCOT” on a wall...

Greece: the system is bankrupt

ADEDY, the Greek public sector union organisation, has started a wave of occupations from 3 October. Occupations are taking place in the ministries of economics, culture, agriculture and development, justice, and labour, and in ten local councils. GSEE, the private sector union organisation, is already calling for a general strike on 19 October. The leader of ADEDY has denounced the Pasok government as sacrificing public sector workers and services to the financial speculators. “Our response will be a waves of strikes-occupations and demonstrations”. The leader of GSEE said: “Our struggles...

Dale Farm concessions

One of two legal cases brought against Basildon Council to stop the eviction at Dale Farm travellers site has forced some concessions. The Council has to leave five pitches and several structures intact. As full “clearance” can no longer go ahead, it should seriously undermine the stated intention of council’s eviction: to “return” the site to the green belt. That is a nonsense — the site was originally a scrapyard. The outcome of another legal case challenging the entire eviction will be available before 8 October. • www.dalefarm.wordpress.com

Labour conference: a delegate's diary

This year’s Labour party conference [25-29 September, in Liverpool] was, according to Campaign for Labour Party Democracy secretary Pete Willsman, the most lively in years – more support for references back, more support for speeches against the leadership line, and some political debate. This is the second year we’ve had contemporary motions back on the agenda, after they were abolished by Gordon Brown in 2007 and restored in 2011. Dave Prentis, general secretary of the public service Unison, got applause from the majority when, speaking on the Unison motion about public services and the...

Reinstate Edd Bauer!

Birmingham University student Edd Bauer reports: “The University of Birmingham [has] suspended my status as student, because of the Guild’s [Student Union’s] suspension of me as officer. I have now lost the right to be on campus, although not the right to be at the campus gates.” What had Edd done to be suspended as Vice President Education at the Guild [Student Union]? He had spent ten days in prison without trial for his part in a banner drop at Lib Dem conference. Two other Birmingham student activists are on bail. Edd was bailed on 27 September. He has not been tried or convicted. But on...

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