Really interesting discussion between Jeremy Gilbert and Alex about, well, the topic you see above these letters. Jem's argument is the counter-culture of the 1960s raised serious questions about individuality and living in a thoroughly commodified society that are still with us. Acid Corbynism then is about radically transforming our impoverished culture in the same way Labour aspires to reconfigure our broken political economy. An engaging and at times inspiring call to arms. Give it a listen!
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Many thanks Phil, this podcast made me laugh. The discussion between Jeremy Gilbert and Alex Doherty sounded so much like a take-out from the BBC skit 'NW1': so, hurrah, yeah, no, crap, great, kind of, sort of...…
ReplyDeleteOn a more serious note, there is something to be said about the antecedence of Corbynism but I'm not convinced it's got much to do with dropping acid. Remember, John Mc Donnell was a member of the GLC, which was associated with ideas around municipal socialism (the new urban left) in the 1970s & 1980s. This, I suspect is a more interesting line of enquiry, rather than daft hippy ideas from the 1960s (eg. the Weathermen planning terrorist campaigns whilst taking LSD).
Those Local Authorities, like the GLC, who were developing policies around anti-racism, anti-sexism, consciousness raiding about sexuality, workers' cooperatives, decentralisation, collectivised transport solutions etc were at the forefront of shifting what had been in the past, stultifying local politics, into very radical areas. The media was keen to describe these LAs as 'looney left' And I remember Kinnock using his opposition to some of these ideas to bolster his leadership credentials.