This is an excellent piece of writing John. I liked the fact thst you stsrt with the issue of democracy. This is essential. Some further thoughts; would the concept of a circular economy be useful here?
Also Nye Bevan described Socialism as the 'generalisation of excellence'. I think this is another useful concept
I think John highlighted in the first part the idea of the narrowing of imagination and how that has affected progressive and radical socialist projects; it’s maybe helpful to think in terms of the popular imagination today and how that relates to practical political projects that have or might contribute to a socialist movement. It seems to me that leftist sentiment is often expressed in local campaigns and projects that address everyday concerns; since they are driven by small numbers of active people with limited goals, the relation between action and results is at least possible to see for those involved; this is also they way that people learn to do politics (not just talk about it). That has I think a real effect on the perspectives and ideals of organisers and participants close to the action - it is isolation and a tendency for action to devolve to the few which weakens these efforts. An organisation that begins to link these smaller localised campaigns with their very definite goals to larger, regional or national institutions (unions, tenants unions, community councillors, NGOs (where relevant)) could be a helpful start - it would potentially help to grow and connect the local, national and perhaps even international campaigns, help to share knowledge and objectives, and allow a conception of a better society to give out of democratic actions with achievable goals: it will help to expand the political imagination a bit too. The broad vision John describes here - of democratic socialism, as I understand it - is a fine one; I think it is also implied that the seeds (or echoes?) of this can be found in collective democratic actions and ‘projects’ (even where they are not explicitly socialist). If that’s the case then it’s the work of joining these projects together that will help to fill in the gaps between the ideal and the present political realities and limits we are meeting - that’s a little bit different from forming a party that attempts to map out the transition in isolation from existing (often isolated and fragmented) efforts at collective action that are already going on. In any case very much appreciate the article John and thanks also to Alan for posting.
Thank you, Jeff. You have elaborated on one of the key ideas that emerged from the early discussions we had in the Network of Independent Socialists—that local, grassroots engagement with people outside the organised Left is the true basis of building something better than we have had over recent decades, but this will dissipate if it is not shared and generalised through the networks of a national organisation. You might want to join our discussions as we broaden them out to more people in the New Year - the link is below the article.
Thanks John, thanks Alan. It is probably the case that many groups are coming to similar conclusions, which suggests something about the reality of our situation and the forces that are really there and those that need to be developed. I keep thinking about the activists at Grenfell, how they developed their knowledge and understanding and the communication of the problems they were facing, and how they were ignored and sidelined, and then …we all know what happened. there must be many other such groups with similarly pressing and important campaigns that could use regional and national organisations but presently don’t have that. Anyway thanks again for the articles!
A comprehensive description of how an ideal socialist world could function. The question really is how do we get from where we are to that nirvana ? Where do we start ? What would be priorities in terms of demands/ campaigns if building a new party was to be considered ? And by the way, aviation only accounts for 2.5% of global carbon emissions. Methane from the melting of the permafrost added to the production of beef is much more lethal for all living species.
Glad that you like Part 2 better than Part 1 Nicole. Thanks for that note re: aviation. Some, but not all, of the answer to moving ahead is forming and building a new MASS SOCIALIST party based on the view that there is no party today that can provide leadership to help get us there. The NOIS group --- see email above ---is devoted to that task. Why not write them? Alan
This is an excellent piece of writing John. I liked the fact thst you stsrt with the issue of democracy. This is essential. Some further thoughts; would the concept of a circular economy be useful here?
Also Nye Bevan described Socialism as the 'generalisation of excellence'. I think this is another useful concept
Bob, I'm not familiar with the circular economy. WHat is it?
I think John highlighted in the first part the idea of the narrowing of imagination and how that has affected progressive and radical socialist projects; it’s maybe helpful to think in terms of the popular imagination today and how that relates to practical political projects that have or might contribute to a socialist movement. It seems to me that leftist sentiment is often expressed in local campaigns and projects that address everyday concerns; since they are driven by small numbers of active people with limited goals, the relation between action and results is at least possible to see for those involved; this is also they way that people learn to do politics (not just talk about it). That has I think a real effect on the perspectives and ideals of organisers and participants close to the action - it is isolation and a tendency for action to devolve to the few which weakens these efforts. An organisation that begins to link these smaller localised campaigns with their very definite goals to larger, regional or national institutions (unions, tenants unions, community councillors, NGOs (where relevant)) could be a helpful start - it would potentially help to grow and connect the local, national and perhaps even international campaigns, help to share knowledge and objectives, and allow a conception of a better society to give out of democratic actions with achievable goals: it will help to expand the political imagination a bit too. The broad vision John describes here - of democratic socialism, as I understand it - is a fine one; I think it is also implied that the seeds (or echoes?) of this can be found in collective democratic actions and ‘projects’ (even where they are not explicitly socialist). If that’s the case then it’s the work of joining these projects together that will help to fill in the gaps between the ideal and the present political realities and limits we are meeting - that’s a little bit different from forming a party that attempts to map out the transition in isolation from existing (often isolated and fragmented) efforts at collective action that are already going on. In any case very much appreciate the article John and thanks also to Alan for posting.
Jeff:
Many thanks for your well-considered comment. Up to my neck in holiday tasks for next 72 hours ... but I will reply in time. Alan
Thank you, Jeff. You have elaborated on one of the key ideas that emerged from the early discussions we had in the Network of Independent Socialists—that local, grassroots engagement with people outside the organised Left is the true basis of building something better than we have had over recent decades, but this will dissipate if it is not shared and generalised through the networks of a national organisation. You might want to join our discussions as we broaden them out to more people in the New Year - the link is below the article.
Thanks John, thanks Alan. It is probably the case that many groups are coming to similar conclusions, which suggests something about the reality of our situation and the forces that are really there and those that need to be developed. I keep thinking about the activists at Grenfell, how they developed their knowledge and understanding and the communication of the problems they were facing, and how they were ignored and sidelined, and then …we all know what happened. there must be many other such groups with similarly pressing and important campaigns that could use regional and national organisations but presently don’t have that. Anyway thanks again for the articles!
A comprehensive description of how an ideal socialist world could function. The question really is how do we get from where we are to that nirvana ? Where do we start ? What would be priorities in terms of demands/ campaigns if building a new party was to be considered ? And by the way, aviation only accounts for 2.5% of global carbon emissions. Methane from the melting of the permafrost added to the production of beef is much more lethal for all living species.
Glad that you like Part 2 better than Part 1 Nicole. Thanks for that note re: aviation. Some, but not all, of the answer to moving ahead is forming and building a new MASS SOCIALIST party based on the view that there is no party today that can provide leadership to help get us there. The NOIS group --- see email above ---is devoted to that task. Why not write them? Alan