I've been hit with a touch of blogger's block lately. When it eventually evaporates readers can look forward to pieces on neoliberalism and regeneration, socialism and regeneration, a few incoherent thoughts on the coming "emergency" budget, another Gramsci piece, a report on next Thursday's AGM of Stoke Central CLP and a toast to People's Korea's triumphant march to the next round of the world cup.
In the mean time, here's an underrated classic choon from 2004:
6 comments:
Phil - What were the key conclusions of your PhD and what do they tell us about the nature and future of Trotskyist politics?
Strictly speaking my PhD wasn't about the history or futures of Trotskyism, though I did talk a great deal about them. There were four main objectives of the research. First, to demonstrate how reflexive sociological practice (see here) is a precondition of the study of social movements and radical politics; second to make an intervention in current debates within social movement research in favour of a 'holistic' approach to the radicalisation of activists; third develop a model to do the same for commitment (an area surprisingly ill-served by social movement scholarship); and finally establish British Trotskyism as an important "constituency" worth paying attention to, despite their being less glamourous than the direct action/anarch-ish/anti-cap types that normally grab the media's attention.
In as far as I make any conclusions specifically on the two organisations studied (the SP and SWP), I argue that provided both organisations sustain the particular forms of activism they're known for they will continue - and there's little chance of that changing as their circumstances plus the weight of tradition more or less imposes this model upon them. I also argue that the crisis in Respect has produced a realignment of sorts on the far left with the SWP in relative decline and the SP in (relative) ascendency.
I hope you will recount the glorious moment we shared when the DPRK put that goal past Brazil...stunning!
Of course - that goal was far superior to anything England have offered so far!
7-0: gutted!
Phil I really liked your history of the UKLN.
It's interesting that nearly all the Bloggers who came from the UKLN are in fact activists. So much for the idea that people who spend a lot of time on the Web do nothing else.
Anway if you check-out Tendance Coatesy's latest post you'll find an important topic for trotskyists: how the French PCF is co-operating with them (Piquet Tendancey).
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