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Sir Keir Starmer

YOUR editorial Comment of January 14 noted how Sir Keir Starmers shadow chancellor, Anneliese Dodds, had announced the abandonment of Jeremy Corbyns economic policy, in what will be another U-turn, (Stuck on old, failed ways instead of seeking a new path).

A year ago, on January 23 2020, you published an interview with Sir Keir, when he was running to be the next Labour Party leader, (Im a socialist for me it has a very practical application).

Your interviewer, Richard Osley, attempted to draw from Sir Keir what his politics actually were.

The future Labour leader declared that I am a socialist. He added that there needed to be a fundamental change with a shift in power and wealth. Also that certain services simply shouldnt be in the private sector.

He accepted that Jeremy Corbyn had been vilified in the national press but when asked if the BBC had been biased, as Corbyn supporters had argued, he replied Ive never gone down that route.

Sir Keir was seeking the votes of those hundreds of thousands of them who had joined the Labour Party because of Corbyn and his attempt to move his party from the old centre-right consensus of parliamentary politics.

Sir Keirs mailing to those with votes in the leadership election stated 10 principles, which he offered as his pledges.

These included defence of workers rights and repeal of the Trade Union Act; increased taxes for high earners and corporations, and tackling tax avoidance; that public services (including rail, mail, energy and water) should be in public hands and not making profits for shareholders; no more illegal wars and a review of UK arms sales.

One issue that Richard Osley did not report on in his piece was the source of Sir Keirs funding. His main opponent from the left, Rebecca Long-Bailey, had done so before the votes were cast.

Although Sir Keir announced ahead of the election that he had received 100,000 from a local lawyer, he did not reveal possibly using a delaying tactic based on parliamentary rules the names of some other large donors. This meant that by the time the donors were identified, the election was over.

These donors included wealthy New Labour and anti-Corbyn types, including a hedge fund manager, and a pro-Israel lobbyist. We might assume that they were at ease with Sir Keirs brand of socialism.

Since the leadership election we have learned, through the leaked internal Labour Party report, of attempts from within the party machinery to undermine Corbyn and his campaign to win the 2017 general election.

There has been no serious condemnation by Sir Keir of these plotters, neither of those Labour MPs who were part of this anti-Corbyn subversion.

In 2016, a year after Jeremy Corbyn was first elected leader, Sir Keir was one of the shadow cabinet members who resigned in timed sequence, in an attempt to force Corbyn to stand down.

There are suspensions from the party once more, as there were in 2016 during the leadership contest. The Corbyn-backing leader of Scottish Labour, Richard Leonard, has resigned.

The left-wing MSP Neil Findlay called those who made efforts to oust him flinching cowards and sneering traitors. I wonder if Sir Keir, who formulaically praised Mr Leonard after the fact, would agree.

ERIC KRIEGER Haverstock Road, NW5

The rest is here:
A year is a long time for a socialist - Camden New Journal newspapers website

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Go here to see the original:
Letter to the editor: Scared by prospect of socialism - TribLIVE

Socialism or barbarism? Reform or revolution? These phrases both describe modern political debates and essays written by leftist political theorist Rosa Luxemburg over 100 years ago. The New Haven Free Public Library made this connection explicit Friday night in its event Rosa Luxemburg and a Century of World-Changing Women, featuring a talk with Luxemburg biographer Dana Mills and adult services librarian Rory Martorana during lunch hours, on Zoom and Facebook Live.

A titan of political thought, Luxemburg was never a leader in her time. She was one the founders of the Polish Social Democratic Party, which would become the Polish Communist Party, and later worked for the communist Social Democratic Party in Germany. She critiqued socialists and communists from the left, taking issue with both moderate reformism and the less democratic side of what was then-nascent Leninism.

Mills, author of Rosa Luxemburg, walked the viewers of this talk through Luxemburgs life her intellectual development and the historical moments that led to her murder at age 47 at the hands of members of a conservative German paramilitary group with the expertise of someone who has fully studied another, and the sense of living vicariously that comes from it.

The talk with Mills, a self-identified leftist based in Israel but teaching in Amsterdam (and speaking in New Haven), showed the best potential of our current remote reality. Radiating a love for her subject matter and always eager to quote Luxemburg directly when appropriate, Mills was quick to connect Luxemburgs times with our own lives, from her Jewish identity to her socialist-feminist ideals.

But the true beauty of the talk and Luxemburgs most urgent relevance came out in the audience Q&A portion of the event. Zoom webinars dont offer the perk of an observer knowing just how many people have tuned in, and Facebook Live is an imperfect tool. But the caliber of questions helped one imagine a full lecture room anyway. Martorana fielded questions across platforms and asked them verbatim, and Mills answered with aplomb. On socialism and feminism in Luxemburgs thought, Mills said, Luxemburg was an intersectional feminist before it was cool. She was born and died in a very different world from ours ... she was the lefty celebrity of her time. She didnt see gender as separate from class. one of the people she closely collaborated with was ... Clara Zetkin, another member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany who led the organization of the first International Womens Day in 1911.

Luxemburgs unwillingness to sacrifice democracy in favor of revolution is a hallmark of her thought, and in leftist discourse, an extremely prescient one. Electoral politics and direct action, Mills said, both have places in todays society.

We need both legal changes and structures and revolution, Mills said. Thats why we need each other none of these changes happen on their own ... you have to form collectives that will support you.

Mills cited her own attitude toward politics as one of obligation: I always consider my role in history. For me politics is not a joyful activity. Its something you do because there is a moral calling that you have to do. In cultivating her own sense of duty, and the sense of needing to work toward change even in dire circumstance, she drew directly from Luxemburg.

Another thoughtful question by an anonymous attendee (others commented more publicly, particularly through Facebook) asked about how to dispel fears about the word socialism in contemporary U.S. political discourse. Mills thanked the asker for the generous question and delivered a compelling answer. It began with the long history of socialist organizing within the United States, and then pointed toward the regard for politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But fundamentally she advised people to define what socialism meant beyond its strict economic meaning (that is, the means of production are in the hands of government, rather than in the hands of property owners, as under capitalism, or of workers, as under communism) and in a broader political context.

Socialism is about equality. Its about equal access to dignity. The very simple assertion that no one should be starving if there is enough to feed everyone, Mills said. Its about respecting everyone, putting in place the integrity to protect ourselves ... healthcare is so important for us. No one wins if there are poor people in our midst.

As Mills repeatedly pointed out, Luxemburg lived in a world very different from our own, but she summoned us here today. Many of the issues she wrote on the intersection of class and gender, the need for both reform and revolution, the necessity of a different way of life than that which capitalism could provide are still just as relevant and just as debated.

Mills ended her talk with an exhortation: Keep reading, keep talking to each other keep connected. Its so important. It is, after all, what Luxemburg would do.

Millss biography, Rosa Luxemburg, is available at the New Haven Free Public Library. Visit the librarys calendar to view talks and other virtual events the library is hosting.

Go here to read the rest:
Reform Or Revolutoin? Rosa Luxemburg's BIographer Revisits Question With Library Crowd - New Haven Independent

Two days after the 2020 election, which saw Democrats capture the White House while losing ground in Congress, House Democrats held a conference call to discuss what went wrong. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (DVa.) was unequivocal: "We need to not ever use the wordssocialistorsocialismever again," she said.

Indeed, socialism was something of a political loser this election cycle. The specter of it likely cost Joe Biden his chance at winning Florida. It appears President Donald Trump won over many Latinos in the state with targeted ads tying the Democratic Party to left-wing authoritarianism in Latin America. And while voters reelected all four members of the socialism-friendly "squad"Reps. Ayanna Pressley (DMass.), Ilhan Omar (DMinn.), Rashida Tlaib (DMich.), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.)the consensus among the party's leadership seems to be that thes-word is toxic outside of heavily left-leaning districts.

Rep. James Clyburn (DS.C.), the House's third-ranking Democrat, urged members not to run on "Medicare for All or socialized medicine" in the future. Even some progressive Democrats echoed these concerns. "I think Republicans did get some traction trying to scare people on this socialist narrative," said Rep. Jared Huffman (DCalif.), a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. "What's the point of embracing a phrase like that?"

Flirting with socialism may have cost Democrats dearly. If Republicans win either of the two runoff Senate races in Georgia, President-elect Joe Biden will face a GOP-controlled Senate. That would mean Republicans could block virtually all of the structural changes that progressives were counting on in order to consolidate power, such as D.C. statehood, an expansion of the Supreme Court, and nuking the filibuster. The Senate can also kill off lofty legislative proposals, vote down Biden's judicial picks, and thwart liberal Cabinet nominees. "The Biden presidency will be doomed to failure before it starts," frettedNew Yorkmagazine's Eric Levitz.

For democratic socialists, the 2020 election cycle began with great promise: The hard left had not one but two progressive primary candidates, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (DMass.) and Bernie Sanders (IVt.). But neither Warren nor Sanders could overcome Biden, the Democratic candidate who worked hardest during the primaries to put serious distance between himself and socialism.

Democratic socialists thought they were riding a blue wave. Instead they gave us divided government. That's not what they intended, but it might be the best possible outcome.

Visit link:
The 2020 Election Was a Rebuke of Socialism - Reason

Our commenting has been temporarily disabled.

You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to ourTerms of Service.

We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments either by the same reader or different readers

We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. Don't include URLs to Web sites.

We do not edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. But these suggestions should be sentvia e-mail. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article.

Read the original here:
Letter to the editor: Socialism vs. fascism - TribLIVE