Mike Macnair reviews István Mészáros and his posthumously published 'Beyond Leviathan' - n Letters and debate n Ukraine-Russia war n DSA and ...

 
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Mike Macnair reviews István Mészáros and his posthumously published 'Beyond Leviathan' - n Letters and debate n Ukraine-Russia war n DSA and ...
A paper of Marxist polemic and Marxist unity

                           Mike Macnair reviews István                           n   Letters and debate
                                                                                 n   Ukraine-Russia war
                           Mészáros and his posthumously                         n   DSA and Democrats
                           published ‘Beyond Leviathan’                          n   Sri Lanka in revolt
No 1403 July 14 2022                           Towards a mass Communist Party                     £1/€1.10

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Mike Macnair reviews István Mészáros and his posthumously published 'Beyond Leviathan' - n Letters and debate n Ukraine-Russia war n DSA and ...
2                                                                                                                                                                              July 14 2022 1403 worker
                                                                                                                                                                                                             weekly

LETTERS
                                               For those of us in the Labour Party     debate on the early anti-imperialist       Wolfenden report of 1957 (And                  There is some interesting


              Letters may have been         who seek to transform it into a true       movement for Science and Society,          comrade Ford eloquently exposes the         theoretical work in the last decade or
               shortened because of
                space. Some names
                                            party of the working class as part of      the comparison likened the two             deficiencies of its main legislative        so, connecting queer perspectives to
              may have been changed         the struggle to replace capitalism, we     because of their reliance on “large        project - the 1967 Sexual Offences          Marxian social reproduction theory,
                                            have to conclude that the existing left    standing armies, a colonial service, a     Act - which still left gay people open      like the work of Peter Drucker, or
                                            groups (the Labour Representation          war fleet and increased taxes needed       to legal discrimination and police          some of the authors collected in the
No change                                   Committee, Campaign for Labour             for support of colonial expansion”.        harassment). But it was not a complete      ‘Transgender Marxism’ collection
As a postscript to my article, ‘Under       Party Democracy and Momentum)              While the Anti-Imperialist League          temporal break. The Committee for           from Pluto Press - although the fact
false colours’ (June 9), I would            will take us nowhere. They are content     had some cultural purchase for a           Homosexual Equality, which was also         that neither Peter Taaffe, Alan Woods
like to further comment on the              to resume their abusive partnership        couple of years, most of the capitalists   focused on legal reform, continued to       nor Alex Callinicos was involved
recent elections to Momentum’s              with the Labour right, convinced that      abandoned it in the wake of its            exist alongside the GLF and became          in writing any of this might prevent
top body, the national coordinating         small gains - a new councillor elected     endorsement of Bryan in the 1900           the largest gay organisation in the UK      engagement by the existing Marxist
group (NCG).                                here, a left MP reselected there; a rule   election, given his strong advocacy of     in 1972, the year of the first UK Pride.    sects.
    I reported that there were two          change proposal here, a conference         abandoning the gold standard, and it       Nor was the GLF a group without             James Tansey
slates contesting the election. In fact     resolution there - will one day lead       drifted into irrelevancy.                  its own considerable organisational         South-West Communist
there was also a small intervention         to another crack at running the party.         Unlike Gompers and the                 and strategic weaknesses, which
by a third slate, the ‘Momentum             They refuse to confront the reality of     Democrats, however, the socialist          we should be able to recognise in           Be prepared
Internationalists’ of the Alliance for      the failure of that strategy provided by   press paid keen attention to the issue     retrospect.                                 The capitalist state will aim to, but
Workers’ Liberty. A brave move,             the Corbyn experience.                     - (sometimes) with an internationalist         Comrade Ford laments that               will never be able to, totally control
considering the proscription by                The alternative way forward,            perspective. Already in 1900,              “the whole movement for sexual              procreation and completely restrict
Labour of their parent body - but these     promoted by Labour Party Marxists,         International Socialist Review was         liberation has fragmented into              sexual autonomy in spite of its laws,
social-imperialists failed to win a seat.   requires the defeat of the right at all    covering the economics and politics        wretched sectionalism”, yet already         decrees,       intimidation,   personal
    The two slates that shared the          levels in the Labour Party, and looks      of imperialism. Unfortunately the first    by February 1972 only four months           and social stigmas, persecution
29 seats 15:14 were ‘Momentum               beyond Labour governments that             issue came out in July 1900, so we         after the publication of the GLF’s          and political terror, or any form of
Organisers’ and ‘Your Momentum’.            manage capitalism and participate          can’t look at its coverage of the topic    manifesto in October 1971, it suffered      repression. The spirit of resistance
The MO slate was a warmed-up                in Nato wars in the interests of US        in 1898 and 1899. However, in the          a split between women’s and men’s           will endure, like life itself.
version of the slate that lost two years    imperialism.                               first volume, several articles directly    groups.                                        The black-robed junior Hitlers
ago as ‘Momentum Renewal’, but,             Clive Dean                                 deal with the issue, including serious         The whole formation was                 on the court in the US should be
before that, had dominated the NCG          email                                      economic and political analysis. In        incredibly unstable. It had already         careful what they wish for: in my
when Jon Lansman ran the show. The                                                     an article covering the platforms          eschewed any strong, centralised,           mind, they’ve created conditions
YM slate previously had a majority          Imperialism                                of the Democrats and Republicans           national structure in imitation of the      for a revolution by rescinding
on the NCG, having won most                 In part one of Mike Macnair’s              for the 1900 election, the socialist       Women’s Liberation Movement,                fundamental and basic democratic
seats in 2020 under the ‘Forward            ‘Imperialism and the state’ series, he     vice-presidential candidate, Job           and experiments in communal                 rights which the population was
Momentum’ label.                            offers a history and prehistory of the     Harriaman, excoriates the policy.          living tended to intensify personal         accustomed to. Weren’t similar
    Judging by the joy at the result        Marxist use of the term ‘imperialism’          The volume includes a two-part         enmities between participants as            conditions existent in Spain in 1936?
displayed on the MO Facebook page,          (March 17 supplement).                     article from October and November          much as point the way forward to a          There the high expectations of the
perhaps we can conclude that, with              I’m writing to make a fairly minor     of that year by HL Boothman entitled       utopian, liberated society. Its collapse    masses were curtailed, giving rise
support from the 10 other unelected         historical point that will fill the gap    ‘The philosophy of imperialism’.           after three years shows some of the         to an environment that might have
members of the NCG, the MO slate            between the British use of the term in     Interestingly (from my limited             general weaknesses of the types of          contributed to the Spanish revolution,
is back in control of Momentum once         the 1880s and John A Hobson’s 1902         understanding of their arguments),         movements thrown up by the new              which ultimately failed.
more.                                       book, which in turn led to the Second      both this article and an editorial by AM   left, which often relied too much on           Are we ready for a mass upsurge
    Was I able to identify the political    International theoretical debates          Simmons, entitled ‘Expansionism and        the energy of young activists coming        in the United States? We better be
differences between these two slates?       on imperialism, and eventually to          the Chinese question’, seem to agree       out of the radical student movements        when it happens (and history tells us
No, I have to admit defeat on that          Lenin’s well known pamphlet. While         with comrade Macnair’s analysis that       without much thought for long-term          that it will happen) - for example,
score. The differences were purely          the Bernstein-Bax debate is well           imperialism was an inevitable result       strategy or patient organisational          the need for a mass political party,
in the realm of implementation.             known as a precedent to the later          of capitalism rather than a result         work.                                       a programme, vanguard political
MO is focussed on winning MP and            debates in the Second International, it    of a discrete stage stemming from              Instead of a good, non-sectional        direction, etc. Capitalism creates
councillor selection contests, and          may surprise readers that in this gap      the turn-of-the-century “advent” of        GLF and a bad, sectional, modern            the tools for its own destruction: the
gaining majorities on Labour Party          American Marxists also played a role.      monopoly capital. Lucien Sanial, one       corporate LGBT movement, it might           working class, restless and oppressed,
internal committees. YM wants to                The immediate context for the          of Daniel De Leon’s lieutenants in the     be more fruitful to view the history        who haven’t lost hope and dreams
support campaigns beyond Labour,            adoption of the term in American           Socialist Labor Party, also produced       of the LGBT movement since 1970             for a true democracy - a socialist
and is keen to promote member               politics was the 1898 midterm              a somewhat better-known (but still         as one in which two tendencies have         democracy.
involvement in Momentum via click-          elections and the Spanish-American,        obscure) pamphlet titled ‘Territorial      coexisted - sometimes peacefully               No other force except the working
based democracy.                            as well as the Filipino-American,          expansion’ in 1901.                        and sometimes with intense hostility        class has the capability and interest to
    As Labour List reported, both slates    wars. US republican ideology had a             A brief skim of the footnotes in       between the camps. The first                destroy and rebuild what’s necessary;
were able to parade endorsements            historical principled stance against       Hobson’s book doesn’t seem to turn up      tendency being a movement for legal         to think otherwise is a dangerous
from Labour MPs: “The Your                  territorial expansion (outside of the      any citations from the socialist press.    emancipation within the framework           and disarming illusion that leaves us
Momentum slate was backed by John           North American continent, that is).        In 1900, the socialist movement was        of the existing constitutional state; the   defenceless against what’s bound to
McDonnell and Nadia Whittome,               This worked out well enough for the        still extremely marginal, with Debs        second being a movement for social          come down from the bourgeoisie in
while Rebecca Long Bailey and               capitalist class, as long as westward      only receiving half a percentage point     emancipation from the patriarchal           trying to maintain its power, once the
Grahame Morris gave their support           expansion could continue, providing        in the presidential election. It was       family structure and its cultural           people move.
to Momentum Organisers. Zarah               raw materials to send back east in         only in 1901 that the various social       attendants. These tendencies don’t             Real change in le monde réal
Sultana backed two Momentum                 exchange for finished goods, but by        democratic and utopian socialist sects     map exactly onto class divisions,           can be practical and possible. The
Organiser candidates and one Your           the end of the 19th century the frontier   merged to form the SPA that Debs is        but the former has obviously always         working class has proven its power to
Momentum candidate.”                        had become exhausted. American             known for. Yet it’s possible there were    been more friendly to capitalism and        fulfil its historic mission and destiny,
    Whilst the names of the winners         financiers - at least the ones smart       socialists in the German movement          sought its support primarily from           although many revolutions haven’t
have been published by Momentum,            enough to see which way the wind           who were reading the American press        the Labour Party, while the latter          succeeded for various reasons. But,
the full details of the nine counts         was blowing - realigned in the ‘Fourth     and paying attention to these analyses.    is generally anti-capitalist, but not       hopefully, my faith in humanity will
have not been released. Given that          Party System’ into the Republican              The socialist response to US           necessarily specifically Marxist. The       be vindicated.
the single-transferrable-vote method        Party and looked hungrily towards          imperialism around the turn of the         first tendency tends to attract the         GG
was used, those details would have          Cuba, Hawaii, the Philippines and          century was a small section of a           passive majority of the community.          USA
been handy. Momentum members                other overseas possessions of the          wider debate on the US left, which         The second tendency was most
were sent an email with photos of the       ailing, Spanish-restored Bourbon           included agrarian populists, yellow        ascendant during the halcyon days           Going, going …
winning 29 and invited to click on a        empire. This coincided with agrarian       labour leaders, and middle class           of the 1970s, but it never completely       Jack Conrad gave an excellent account
link named ‘Want a full rundown of          populist William Jennings Bryan’s          progressives like Hobson and Brooks        disappeared.                                last Sunday of Boris Johnson’s
the results?’ This led to a webpage         capture of the Democratic Party.           Adams. It may be an interesting place          At Edinburgh Pride (2022) a             approaching exit, along with an
with ... photos of the winning 29.              In opposition to the new               for further research on the historical     contingent of hundreds of marchers          analysis and history of what is going
Labour List managed a few more              Republican Party policy, a group           development of the Marxist theory of       broke off in protest of the organisers      on. It took up most, not surprisingly,
details: The turnout was 3,380 (down        of eastern capitalists formed the          imperialism.                               accepting sponsorship from fossil fuel      of his ‘A week in politics’ presentation
from 8,580 in 2020) and “Momentum           American Anti-Imperialist League in        Parker McQueeney                           companies, to join the striking RMT         on July 10.
Organisers candidates received 1,708        1898. Mark Twain was famously a            USA                                        workers and protest the Roe vs Wade             The mainstream media also
first-preference votes, compared to         member, but it also included an ex-                                                   repeal at the US embassy. This shows        devoted a lot of attention to his
1,544 secured by Your Momentum              president (the conservative Democrat,      Misleading                                 that there is still a more militant and     resignation, but without much in the
hopefuls.”                                  Grover Cleveland), Andrew Carnegie,        Eddie Ford’s article on Pride takes an     radical spirit subsisting in parts of the   way of analysis or history.
    So will the new NCG be able to          and the racist craft union leader of       overly rosy view of the original UK        community.                                      We have ‘the runners’, the bookies’
turn around the fortunes of this once       the American Federation of Labor,          Gay Liberation Front, and provides             I think a more fruitful endeavour       odds, allies and opponents and lots
formidable Labour pressure group?           Samuel Gompers. Craft unionists            a potentially misleading reading           for Marxists than counterposing             of ‘vox pops’, especially in the Tory
Or are we looking at a fresh team of        opposed imperialism because they           of the history of gay activism, as a       class unity and sectionalism in the         ‘strongholds’. (Apparently journalists
soft-left careerists, hoping for a lift     thought it would lead to competition       simple downward trajectory - from          abstract, or simply lamenting the           know that, if you ask enough people
up the ladder on their way to that          from cheap labour in colonised             the radical politics of gay liberation     commercialisation of Pride, would           in the street for their opinion, you will
cherished MP selection meeting?             nations, driving wages down for            to the capitalist orgy of contemporary     be to engage with the more militant         always find some who will say what
(Mind you, having Momentum on               white workers. The Anti-Imperialist        commercialised pride celebrations          elements of the LGBT movement, as           you want to hear.) So, lots of vapid
your CV just now is like the kiss of        League formulated the traditional          (‘Take it back from them’, July 7).        they exist now; attempt to provide an       drivel. Political theatre. And it will
death.) I’ll leave it to the reader to      republican opposition to colonialism           The Gay Liberation Front marked        analysis which can make historical and      keep them going for months now.
decide, but I checked out one of the        with a ‘Lost Cause’ flare, likening        a hugely positive break with the           theoretical sense of their struggle; and        In The Observer of July 10, for
successful NCGers in my region. Her         the Republican policies to the British     pre-existing ‘homophile’ groups            endeavour to build concrete links of        instance, about 20 pages out of 64
career so far includes stints in the        empire and “the mistaken southern          like the Homosexual Law Reform             solidarity with other movements. This       were devoted to Johnson (in the main
USA working for the Democrats and           policy of the Congressional Radicals       Society, which was formed to               is the kind of positive engagement the      news section, that is). There were
six years working in MPs’ offices at        during Reconstruction”. As pointed         campaign for the implementation            Marxist left mostly failed to provide       passing references to more important
Westminster!                                out by Ronald Radosh in a 1964             of the recommendations in the              in the 70s.                                 matters: an article in the ‘Review’

         BCM Box 928, London WC1N 3XX l 07379 532160 l www.weeklyworker.co.uk l editor@weeklyworker.co.uk
Mike Macnair reviews István Mészáros and his posthumously published 'Beyond Leviathan' - n Letters and debate n Ukraine-Russia war n DSA and ...
weekl16
worker 1403 July 14 2022                                                                                                                                                                                      3

section told of the collapse of the river
Po in Italy (the weekend Financial
                                             Perhaps that’s what flummoxed
                                             commentators who emphasised what
                                                                                       British road to socialism comrade
                                                                                       Conrad correctly attacks comrade
                                                                                                                                  Tolpuddle Martyrs festival
                                                                                                                                                                                 ACTION
Times had an article headed: ‘Italy’s        he was (an Etonian), rather than what     Northall,     “while       the   CPB’s
farmers wilt in worst drought for            he stood for.                             constantly ‘updated’ Britain’s road to     Friday July 15 to Sunday July 17: Annual commemoration festival,
decades’).                                       He always had a nose for his          socialism is marginally to the left of     Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum, Dorchester Road, Tolpuddle DT2.
    So, the most important ‘story’ is        constituency. When he ran for             Eurocommunism, the old paradigm            Tickets £20 to £50. Organised by Tolpuddle Martyrs:
only occasionally touched on by the          London mayor, he emphasised               basically remains the same. There is       www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/festival.
mainstream media: we get references          better buses and flattered the outer      a national road to socialism, there is     Stand up for the children of Gaza
now to “the hottest day”, yesterday          boroughs against central London. He       a constitutional road to socialism …”      Friday July 15, 7.30pm: Fundraising comedy evening, Conway
or tomorrow. There are pictures of           appeared on telly and played games;       But then he presents an almost             Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1. Monies raised will support
crowded beaches, or pictures of              he charmed fellow journalists, even       equally confused solution.                 the work of the Palestine Trauma Centre (UK) in Gaza. Entrance by
crowded airport terminals, as people         centre-left ones. He often looked             Let us recall how the original         ticket - £22.15. Organised by Brent Friends of Palestine:
wait, often in vain, to get to such a        a fool, but was considered a ‘good        1951 version put it:                       www.facebook.com/events/3243239425956837.
beach somewhere or other.                    laugh’. What he wasn’t was a                  “The enemies of communism              Fossil fuel trail
    Personally, I don’t like this weather.   ‘sensible’ politician: the type who       accuse the Communist Party of              Saturday July 16, 10am: Assemble Leazes Park, Newcastle upon
I used to think that we might get three      comes over as entitled and superior.      aiming to introduce Soviet power in        Tyne NE2. Uncover the truth about the fossil fuel industry in 10
or four heatwaves (by my definition          He was even recorded as saying            Britain and abolish parliament. This       different locations across the city - and what we can do about it.
anyway) each summer, which would             “Fuck business”.                          is a slanderous misrepresentation          Organised by Extinction Rebellion North East:
last three or four days, but it looks as         He wanted to be a king, so he         of our policy … Britain will reach         www.facebook.com/events/560526675563980.
if the current one will be 10 days or a      appealed to a mass movement, of           socialism by her own road. Just as
fortnight at least. It didn’t used to be     course. He saw Brexit as the one issue    the Russian people realised political      Stop Rwanda deportations
like that. There is a rhyme: “March          that appealed to voters fed up with       power by the soviet road, which            Saturday July 16, 1pm: Demonstration, assemble outside Costa,
winds and April showers bring forth          bureaucrats and elites (some people       was dictated by their historical           Alexandra Park, Scotia Road, Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent ST6. Show
May flowers.” The flowers have               underestimated that sentiment).           conditions and background of tsarist       opposition to the government’s disgusting Rwanda deportations.
arrived, but it has seemed to me over        He didn’t mind being thought of as        rule, and the working people in the        Organised by North Staffordshire Trades Union Council:
the last 20 years or so that the “March      ‘leftwing’ during the pandemic (a         People’s Democracies and China             www.facebook.com/events/577905190396518.
winds” have been blowing hard into           supporter of state intervention) or       won political power in their own           Solidarity with Clover strikers in South Africa
April, May, June … But at least they         irresponsible, when he didn’t initiate    way in their historical conditions, so     Sunday July 17, 2pm: Fundraiser at Peer Hat, 14-16 Faraday Street,
can now grow grapes for wine in              lockdown early enough or closed it        the British communists declare that        Manchester M1. Live music and poetry supporting Clover workers,
Kent. Apart from the occasional flood        too early. Even progressives wanted       the people of Britain can transform        on strike since last November. Clover, South Africa’s biggest dairy
or wildfire, it hasn’t been too bad in       to relax. He was opportunist and          capitalist democracy into a real           manufacturer, was taken over by the Israeli-led Milco, which began
the UK - so far. Unless, of course, it’s     flexible.                                 People’s Democracy, transforming           a programme of job and wage cuts, factory closures and attacks on
your house that’s flooded or caught              No doubt he will be replaced by       parliament, the product of Britain’s       working conditions. Tickets £6, all proceeds to strike fund.
fire.                                        someone behaving ‘responsibly’            historic struggle for democracy,           Organised by Manchester Palestine Action:
    But what about the rest of the           (like Keir Starmer), who will support     into the democratic instrument of          www.facebook.com/events/3149981595331082.
world? In Italy, one of the problems         Nato and Brexit and help British          the will of the vast majority of her       Oppose Farnborough war show
is the collapse of glacial waters -          business (even if the latter two may      people. The path forward for the           Monday July 18, from 9am: Day-long protest against Farnborough
and the collapse of glaciers that led        be in contradiction).                     British people will be to establish a      International Airshow. Assemble Government House Road/Queens
to 11 deaths just a few days ago.            Mike Belbin                               People’s Government on the basis of        Gate Road, Farnborough GU14. This is a shop window, where the
In the US the loss of snowfall due           London                                    a parliament truly representative of       world’s arms dealers sell weapons to repressive regimes.
to global warming has reduced the                                                      the people” (our emphasis).
Sierra Nevada snowpack and hence             Scorn                                         Comrade Conrad sets out his
                                                                                                                                  Organised by Greater Rushmoor Action For Peace:
                                                                                                                                  www.facebook.com/GRAWantiwar.
the supply of water to northern              Jack Conrad correctly pours scorn on      programme, which sounds quite
California. California’s two largest         Andrew Northall’s politics, but says      ‘transitional’ in many ways - at least     Time to speak up for Palestine
reservoirs are drying out and the            he is a “comrade”, as he is “clearly a    it is one min-max effort and not           Monday July 18, 7pm: Online rally. Labour must not step back
southern and western states of the           partisan of the working class” and “a     two: “Supreme power in the state           from its commitments to immediate recognition of the state of
US are facing long-term drought              revolutionary Stalinite” - as opposed     will be a single popular assembly          Palestine and an end to the blockade, occupation and settlements.
conditions. Northern India and               to the counterrevolutionary Stalinists    composed of delegates who are              Speakers include: Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Kim Johnson MP and
Pakistan are enduring a heatwave             like (comrade?) Robert Griffiths,         elected and recallable at any time.”       Yasmin Dar (Labour NEC).
and drought that threatens to                it seems. Presumably this applies         But where are these “delegates”            Organised by Arise: A Festival of Left Ideas:
destroy food crops in vast areas of          equally to the Young Communist            from, how are they to be elected?          www.facebook.com/events/582293756660323.
both countries. The war in Ukraine           League with their “Ho, Ho, Ho Chi         Is it the model of the democratic          Stop Rwanda flights - no offshore detention
threatens famine in huge areas of            Minh, Che Guevara, Stalin”. So,           All-Russian Congress of Soviets of         Tuesday July 19, 9am: Protest outside Royal Courts of Justice,
Africa and the Middle East.                  are the Communist Party of Britain        1917-24, the Constituent Assembly          Strand, London WC2. This hearing will decide whether the Rwanda
    Ah, Ukraine! That’s the big              leaders around the Morning Star not       of 1917-18 or some amalgam of              deportations policy is lawful.
story now - albeit one that has gone         partisans of the working class, albeit    both? If the delegates are elected         Organised by Trades Union Congress and Stand Up To Racism:
down the scale, thanks to Johnson’s          profoundly misguided comrades,            from local soviets/workers’ councils       www.facebook.com/events/424295039569316.
problems. Even before the current            also?                                     in local assemblies, this is genuine
excitement and his resignation                   In the post-split Workers             workers’ democracy, diametrically          System failure: what should socialists do?
Ukraine has been edging its way into         Revolutionary Party the leadership        opposed to bourgeois democracy,            Tuesday July 19, 6.30pm: Online meeting. The government has
the inside pages of the mainstream           around Cliff Slaughter defended           which Joe Stalin dictated for Britain      collapsed amidst war, a cost of living crisis and a wave of strikes.
media. But Ukraine is part of the            one Dave Smith, a Yorkshire               and everywhere else around 1951.           Starmer’s Labour shifts rightwards, offering no alternative for
biggest story: as the US and Nato            miner, who said at a conference           Comrade Conrad’s “Local organs of          workers who bear the brunt of massive attacks on living standards.
battle Russia to the last Ukrainian,         in 1987: “Stalinism is the most           government must have a wide degree         Speakers: Lindsey German and James Schneider.
there may be famine - ie, massive            counterrevolutionary force on the         of autonomy” does not sound much           Organised by Counterfire:
numbers of dead - but that’s just a          planet.” I pointed out that this was      better than more democracy for             www.facebook.com/events/1256910951793866.
footnote.                                    wrong: imperialism is the most            local councils today, which have no        We all want to just stop oil
    There is plenty to celebrate! Coal       counterrevolutionary force on the         measure of workers’ control at all.        Saturday July 23, 11am: National march and sit-down. Assemble
is back! New oil wells springing up          planet. Stalinism was its agent, as was       At the end of his list of democratic   at one of five London locations: Waterloo Station; Victoria Station;
in the US and the North Sea; the             social democracy/Labourism. These         (transitional?) demands, comrade           Angel Station; Euston Station; Paddington Station. March to
Supreme Court is busy dismantling            were “two counterrevolutionary            Conrad concludes: “… in short              Parliament Square. End new fossil fuel licensing and production!
the Environmental Protection Act;            internationals” (Trotsky), but both       the character of the revolution is         Properly tax fossil fuel companies, the super-rich and big business!
some people are making an awful lot          were still part of the working class.     profoundly democratic; it is prepared      Provide cheap, green public transport! Insulate all our homes!
of money - let’s not forget the arms         I was hit by a hysterical blizzard        to use physical force, but prefers         Organised by Just Stop Oil, and Peace and Justice Project:
companies.                                   of demonisation led by the top            peaceful means; it involves a rupture      www.weallwanttojuststopoil.com.
    A few words come to mind, like           table. Cyril Smith (not the Liberal       in class rule, but seeks to combine        Hacking justice: Julian Assange
Tom Lehrer’s song (written about             Democrat) admitted to Dave Bruce          this with gradualism.”                     Wednesday July 27, 6.15pm: Film screening, Act One Cinema,
nuclear war, but still …), We will all       that I was right, but explained his           Serious Marxists know that the         The Old Acton Library, High Street, Acton, London W3. Followed
go together when we go, and the line,        gross opportunism by: “The point          counterrevolution will inevitably          by Q and A with representatives from Wikileaks and the Julian
“Oh, we will all burn together when          was to get Downing”.                      emerge; comrade Northall is right to       Assange Defence Committee. If Julian Assange is extradited to
we burn.” Another little snippet, and            We must oppose the Stalinophobia      post that picture of Allende in 1973       the United States, he will face a sentence of up to 175 years for
an ancient saying: “Those whom the           of the self-declared Trotskyists of       as an example of what will happen          publicising US war crimes, including torture, murder and human
gods wish to destroy they first make         the WRP and others, but also avoid        if you do not prepare for it. So ‘For      rights abuses. Organised by Ealing Amnesty Group:
mad”.                                        the Stalinophilia of Michel Pablo,        or against the revolution’ in the          www.facebook.com/events/2006475179524351.
    Still, Extinction Rebellion is           Ernest Mandel and comrade Conrad.         dictatorship of the proletariat will be
having a big do in September - better        Trotsky put it thus:                      the byword, not ‘extreme democracy’.       Big Ride for Palestine welcome rally
than nothing? Maybe. But their first             “The general historic role of         Full workers’ control of industry via      Sunday July 31, 12.15pm: Final stage of cycling event, Platt Fields
call is for institutions - governments       the Stalinist bureaucracy and their       local soviets; no ‘democracy’ for the      Park, Manchester M14. Around 250 cyclists will participate in
for instance - to tell the truth. What!      Comintern is counterrevolutionary.        counterrevolution; no rights for the       this three-day cycling fundraiser from Derby, in solidarity with the
    We need mass working class               But through their military and            Tory Party or the fascists to stand for    people of Palestine against the apartheid practices of the Israeli state.
parties all over the word to avoid           other interests they can be forced        election or produce their propaganda.      Organised by The Big Ride for Palestine 2022:
extinction - of humanity and much            to support progressive movements.             The Bolsheviks were correct            www.thebigride4palestine.com/big-ride-summer-2022.
other life. Wars and Boris Johnsons          Even Ludendorff felt himself              to scatter the assembly on                 Thames walk for Palestine
can be made history thereby too.             forced to give Lenin a train - a          January 19 1918: it was the seat of        Saturday August 13, 8.30am: Walk along the Thames, raising
Jim Nelson                                   very progressive action - and Lenin       counterrevolution against the All-         funds for Medical Aid for Palestinians. Start at Thames Barrier
email                                        accepted. We must keep our eyes           Russian Congress of Soviets. The           (about 11 miles) or Greenwich (six miles), ending at Tower Bridge.
                                             open to discern the progressive           latter was abolished by Stalin and         Organised by Lewisham Stop the War Coalition:
Responsible                                  acts of the Stalinists, support them      replaced by the pseudo-bourgeois           www.facebook.com/events/785813662424210.
Boris Johnson was ‘posh’, but                independently, foresee in time the        parliament, the Supreme Soviet,            CPGB wills
he wasn’t ‘elitist’ - rather like            danger, the betrayals, warn the           in 1936. Revolutions do not work           Remember the CPGB and keep the struggle going. Put our party’s
Wodehouse’s Bertie Wooster, who              masses and gain their confidence”         through extreme democracy.                 name and address, together with the amount you wish to leave, in
had an adoring butler and was                (Letter on India, 1939-40).               Gerry Downing                              your will. If you need further help, do not hesitate to contact us.
up against domineering aunts.                    Also, in the debate about the         Socialist Fight
Mike Macnair reviews István Mészáros and his posthumously published 'Beyond Leviathan' - n Letters and debate n Ukraine-Russia war n DSA and ...
4                                                                                                                                                                           July 14 2022 1403 worker
                                                                                                                                                                                                        weekly

TORIES

Expect an early general election
Smear campaigns, dirty dossiers, stitch-ups - yes, it is a Tory leadership contest. Eddie Ford also notes that
Penny Mordaunt is way out in front when it comes to the bookies

Will be Rishi and another (possibly Liz Truss, probably Penny Mordaunt)

A
       s everyone knows, after Grant      of Truss’s most vociferous backers,        rival campaign teams have sent                Finally, whoever is elected, it is     Labour Party a safe second eleven
       Shapps dropped out, with both      Jacob Rees-Mogg, has attacked Sunak        the Labour Party ‘dirty dossiers’          more likely than not that there will be   for capitalism and is aiming to rewin
       Sajid Javid and junior minister    on the basis that he made decisions        packed with allegations against their      a honeymoon period - fresh broom,         the so-called Red Wall seats lost to
Rehman Chishti failing to secure          “of the left rather than on the right”     potential opponents - including about      new chapter, born again and all that.     the Tories by triangulating on Brexit.
enough nominations - the support of at    - referring to him as “the last Labour     extramarital affairs, the use of tax       Therefore a high chance of an early       Having urged, pushed and shoved
least 20 Tory MPs - eight candidates      chancellor”, “socialist chancellor”,       dodges, illegal drugs and prostitutes,     general election. Expect opinion polls    Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet into
made it to the first round of voting in   and so on. He has also attempted to        with at least one private investigator     to go from showing a Labour lead - up     favouring a second referendum, he has
the Tory leadership contest on July       disparage Sunak’s Brexit credentials,      reportedly hired to probe some             to 10% in some cases - to favouring       now done a U-turn. His position on the
12. A day later and we were down to       even though he voted ‘leave’, by           candidates’ financial arrangements.        a new prime minister. If that happens,    EU is now barely distinguishable from
six, with Nadhim Zahawi and Jeremy        calling him an “ostensible Brexiteer”      Nadhim Zahawi has complained               and it might well not, then the chances   Theresa May’s soft Brexit circa 2019.
Hunt eliminated. Soon it will be just     whose department had resisted ending       about being “smeared” after reports        are they would go for a general           Either way, Sir Keir has a real chance
two. The expectation being that it will   the “supremacy of EU law” during his       appeared saying that a “flag” had          election. Maybe as early as October       of getting into No10 and fulfilling his
be Rishi Sunak and another (probably      tenure.                                    allegedly been raised about his            2022 or more likely the spring of 2023.   ambition of becoming Britain’s first
Penny Mordaunt but possibly Liz               Additionally, there has been a         personal finances before he became         Labour is planning for May 2023.          former Trotskyist prime minister.
Truss).                                   demented ‘war on woke’, Kemi               chancellor - another allegation being         The Fixed-Term Parliaments Act            The left’s stupid idea that he was
   Then it will be head-to-head TV        Badenoch being the most prominent.         that Boris Johnson went ahead with         would be suitably amended and the         fixated on beating the left and does
debates and the gruelling round of        Former equalities minister and famous      the appointment “despite the possible      new prime minister will be looking to     not really want to beat the Tories was
constituency meetings before a final      for hacking into a Labour MP’s             concerns” over Zahawi’s tax affairs.       gain their own mandate.                   always just that - stupid l
vote of Conservative Party members        website and changing all the material      Zahawi promised to publish his                Not that we dismiss Sir Keir. He
(believed to number around 160,000).      to say complimentary things about the      tax returns … if he becomes prime          has already succeeded in making the       eddie.ford@weeklyworker.co.uk
The winner will formally replace          Tories, she has said that schools which    minister.

                                                                                                                                                 Fighting fund
Boris Johnson as prime minister on        teach that “white privilege” is an             According to a survey of the
September 6. Johnson himself has          uncontested fact are breaking the law      bookies’ odds, Mordaunt is the clear
magnanimously said that he will           and that they should not openly support    favourite. They give her a 60% chance

                                                                                                                                              Help us out
not be openly backing any of the          the “anti-capitalist” Black Lives          of winning in September. Sunak might
candidates, as he “wouldn’t want to       Matter. She also wants to ban gender-      be well ahead when it comes to MPs,
damage anyone’s chances with my           neutral toilets. Clearly, Badenoch         but not when it comes to the bookies.
support”.                                 has her eye on another ministerial         He is rated with just over a 20%
   At this stage, there is no obvious
winner. Nor is there any obviously
Johnsonite candidate, which you can
                                          appointment … and becoming the
                                          darling of the October 2022 Tory
                                          Party conference in Birmingham (if it
                                                                                     chance, while Truss comes in third, a
                                                                                     tad behind him.
                                                                                         In some ways, the left and the
                                                                                                                                    T  he three most notable
                                                                                                                                       donations to this week’s
                                                                                                                                    fighting fund came, unusually, via
                                                                                                                                                                          reckon we have a good chance
                                                                                                                                                                          of getting there.
                                                                                                                                                                             That, of course, depends on
roughly define as getting Brexit done     happens - see below).                      labour movement can learn from                 PayPal. All three - from SB, RL       you, our readers and supporters,
(again), levelling up, big government         Of course, no Tory leadership          the Tory Party election contest. Four          and US comrade PM - were for          upon whom we rely to make sure
when needed, etc. Then again, there is    contest would be complete without          women and four people of colour                £50.                                  we get the cash we need not only
no real distinctive Johnson philosophy,   rampant treachery and Machiavellian        made it to the first round of voting,             But they weren’t the largest       to keep the Weekly Worker going,
or ideology, in the way you might         plotting (or ‘tactical voting’, to use     with no elaborate quota system or              amounts. The prize for that goes      but to improve and expand its
have described Margaret Thatcher.         another term). Nadine Dorries has          bureaucratic positive discrimination           to comrade PB, who donated her        content and quality. If you want to
Ultimately,      what     distinguished   accused the Sunak team of pulling          - it can be done. Organisations such           usual £60 monthly standing order.     help us out, you know what to do!
Johnson himself was sheer naked           “dirty tricks” - perish the thought! -     as Momentum, Left Unity and the                Other standing orders were from          You can donate via PayPal,
ambition and shameless opportunism.       after Jeremy Hunt made it into the first   Labour Representation Committee,               BO (£35), NH (£30), GD and DV         of course, or by bank transfer
   Apart from Rishi Sunak, the            ballot of MPs. She was responding to       the Labour Party itself, have endless          (£25 each), SM and CC (£10),          to ‘Weekly Worker’ (sort code
other main candidates have pledged        a tweet which claims ex-chief whip         rules and regulation to ensure gender          while comrade Hassan came up          30-99-64,      account     number
to lower taxes - this has been the        Gavin Williamson had been trying           equality, the representation of ethnic         with his usual note (this time for    00744310). And - yes - we still
contest mantra so far. Liz Truss, for     to siphon off votes here and there,        minorities and the like. That inevitably       £10) and MF donated a fiver.          accept cheques! Please help if you
example, has promised to cut taxes        so Hunt would eventually make it to        leads to shoo-ins, charges of tokenism            That comes to £360 raised          can l
from “day one” - such as reversing        the final run-off with Sunak before        and even uncontested elections.                in the last seven days towards                               Robbie Rix
the hike in national insurance. Sunak,    the membership - believing that Hunt       And, of course, it does nothing, not a         our £2,250 July target, taking
by contrast, told The Daily Telegraph     would not stand a chance, which is         thing, to advance the actual position          the running total up to £919.             Fill in a standing order form
that tackling inflation is his “number    doubtlessly true. For the outraged         of women, ethnic minorities, gay               That means we’re just a little            (back page), donate via our
one economic priority”, claiming          Dorries, this is an attempted “stitch-     people, etc. But it does help not a few        behind the going rate, but, with           website, or send cheques,
that Margaret Thatcher would have         up”.                                       second‑rate careerists up the political        18 days still to go, as I write, I         payable to Weekly Worker
backed his approach. In response, one         We also read that at least two         ladder.
Mike Macnair reviews István Mészáros and his posthumously published 'Beyond Leviathan' - n Letters and debate n Ukraine-Russia war n DSA and ...
weekly
worker 1403 July 14 2022                                                                                                                                                                                                   5

COMMENT

That’s entertainment!
Boris Johnson’s persona is part Psmith, part Flashman and part Tim Nice-But-Dim. Paul Demarty traces
the rise and fall of the ‘Red Tory’
A
        little over three years ago,                                                                                              to use and quietly mothballed) were           all he may seek revenge against the
        as Theresa May served out                                                                                                 swamped by the endless process of             people who did for him - Westminster
        her notice period, Andrew                                                                                                 business as usual, the sacrifice of the       rumours have abounded for a long
Rawnsley - the ultra-Blairite                                                                                                     capital to rapacious developers and           time that he does not even really want
parliamentary diarist for The                                                                                                     nihilistic speculation, its consolidation     the job.
Observer - quoted an anonymous                                                                                                    as a money laundry with ideas above               How can things have been so
senior Tory, who predicted an easy                                                                                                its station. All these things were in         different from his last major gig,
victory in the upcoming leadership                                                                                                full flow under ‘Red Ken’, and have           in London? The mayor’s office
election for one Alexander Boris de                                                                                               continued under the ‘serious’ Labour          offers a ‘big personality’ like Boris
Pfeffel Johnson. Tory members, he                                                                                                 machine politician, Sadiq Khan.               (or Ken) both more power than
said, “now want some entertainment                                                                                                    Johnson returned to parliament in         a ‘parliamentary’ system, and
and wickedness. So they will                                                                                                      2015, towards the end of his second           paradoxically greater ease of not
probably take a punt on Boris. It will                                                                                            mayoral term. He found himself                exercising it; an executive bureaucracy
be a wild ride on the tiger. Boris will                                                                                           in an unexpected Tory majority                can get on with administration, with
be a hoot. The question is whether                                                                                                government; David Cameron had                 basically no oversight, leaving the
the country wants a hoot.”1                                                                                                       expected a further coalition with the         top man free for glad-handing and
    If nothing else, Boris’s downfall                                                                                             Liberal Democrats, and now had to             nonsensical pet projects. For a prime
has been a “hoot” - a masterpiece in                                                                                              deliver on a promise he regretted very        minister, everything is subject to
that subtle comic art of the delayed                                                                                              rapidly, to give the British people           parliamentary arithmetic. Though
punchline. The clown survives a                                                                                                   a referendum on their continued               Boris should have been untouchable,
series of lethal obstacles, and then                                                                                              membership of the European Union.             with his huge majority and anaemic
slips on a banana skin and knocks                                                                                                 The rest, as they say, is history. It is      opposition, the pandemic was the
himself out. Given his humiliating                                                                                                not clear what calculation led Johnson        cruellest blow, right on the natural
‘victory’ in the confidence vote, his                                                                                             to side with the leavers in the end.          fracture line between Tory ideology
next mistake was always likely to                                                                                                 Perhaps he assumed they would be              and that party’s historic commitment
prove fatal, whether it was a fresh        London mayor victory speech in 2008                                                    defeated, but Tory members would              to Staatsraison. The need of the hour
one or a newly unearthed piece of                                                                                                 remember his principled stand in              was a bonfire of Thatcherite verities.
dirt. So, when the parliamentary              thinking, ‘There’s a war, weird shit     political opinions, so far as they are     future leadership elections; perhaps          Every vote on every lockdown
standards commissioner, Kathryn               happens in a war - play for time,        known. Their children were upwardly        he detected a change in the mood              policy threatened a major backbench
Stone, received the news that Johnson         play for time, I can still get out of    mobile; Boris, famously, attended          music of politics in western liberal          rebellion. The graft and corruption
not only knew of Chris Pincher’s              this - I got a mandate, members          Eton, albeit on a scholarship; and         democracies. Either way, he found             were assailed from all sides - from
proclivities, but dismissed them              love me. Get to September …’ If          from that moment he was on the             himself riding the wave of history.           Labourites who viewed it as a verdict
breezily with a joke - “Pincher by            MPs leave him in situ there’ll be        yellow brick road to great things. He      The hara-kiri of David Cameron                on Johnson’s character and from Tory
name, pincher by nature” - and                carnage.2                                went on to Balliol College, Oxford,        after losing the vote gave Johnson his        hardliners for whom it was evidence
appointed him deputy chief whip                                                        and became head of the Oxford              first sniff of the top job, but he was        of the failure of ‘pandemic socialism’.
regardless, the Conservative Party’s       What kind of “carnage”? At the              Union; from university, he went into       outmanoeuvred by Michael Gove, and
immune system ground belatedly into        very least, attempts to steer the           journalism and then, in a roundabout       it was Theresa May who succeeded as           Downwardly mobile
gear.                                      leadership election from the bully          way, into politics.                        a unity candidate.                            The failure of the Johnson
    It was a very Johnsonian               pulpit he still occupies. Johnson’s            On paper, this is not exactly an                                                      administration, then, presents us
dénouement. A keen classicist like         people have already been extensively        atypical road to travel. Not all Eton-     Sick man                                      with an unflattering picture of British
the PM will know the basic rules of        briefing against Rishi Sunak and            Oxbridge products go on to be Tory         May’s disastrous showing in the               bourgeois politics. Britain’s world
classical tragedy - in particular the      Michael Gove; no doubt they can hit         prime ministers, of course; but an         2017 snap election, however, losing           role could not, in the end, be defended.
one that states that the hero’s downfall   others. Johnson has promised not to         awful lot of Tory prime ministers          the majority bequeathed her by                Its job as a US-paid saboteur within
must stem necessarily from his or          introduce major new legislation, but        have had that sort of provenance. The      Cameron, offered Johnson his real             the EU demanded an endless kabuki
her essential character flaws, not by      the manifesto he won on was - as they       difference with Boris was precisely        chance. As one humiliation followed           theatre of Euroscepticism; there was
mere happenstance. Johnson has             always are - wildly more ambitious          his detour into the world of the lovable   another, Johnson followed a strategy          always the danger that enough people
survived for so long behind the mask       than what he actually achieved in his       celebrity. His journalism was hardly       of tension, strategically resigning and       would come actually to believe it to
of ‘Bozza’ - a certain sort of public      four years in office. He has a cabinet,     of the Woodward-Bernstein sort, but        castigating her ‘soft’ Brexit plan from       do something disastrous. This led, as
schoolboy with a Peter Pan complex, a      of a sort; several of its members are       rather a matter of Psmith escaping the     the sidelines. By the time May finally        the Brexiteer Tory, Daniel Hannan,
bounder who gets away with it by self-     looking to replace him. He can pick         pages of PG Wodehouse. His most            called it quits two years later, he was       put it, to an “unfrozen moment”,
deprecation and even self-satirisation.    a fight with any of them, to make           notorious innovation, the ‘Euromyth’       the clear frontrunner to replace her,         which coincided roughly with a
His staggeringly obvious amorality         them look bad. Or he can do what he         - the entirely fabricated story about      and the party (and the country) were          global move towards vicious national
appears as the cheerful mischief-          promised: keep his nose clean, and let      nonsensical       European        Union    ready to ride the tiger. He purged the        chauvinism.
making of a ruddy-faced 13-year-old        things play out ‘naturally’. Perhaps he     regulations - was itself the closest       Tory parliamentary party, and pushed              Johnson’s buttoned-up predecessor
in full Eton uniform. It is, therefore,    really does, as various tell-all accounts   possible approach of ‘serious’ political   through a hard Brexit; his rhetoric           sounded similar notes to his about
quite fitting that an end should be        suggest, hate the job, and just wants       journalism to Bullingdon Club              switched from his conventional                ‘levelling up’ and turning the Tories
called to his reign over an essentially    to have his belated wedding bash at         repartee (Johnson filed copy claiming      Thatcherism to the ‘one nation, Red           into a party of the working class.
adolescent attitude to the professional    Chequers and be gone. We should             that the perfidious mandarins wanted       Tory’ mould. We were reminded last            She, and advisors like Nick Timothy,
mores of his trade.                        not assume anything about Johnson’s         to regulate the size of condoms, on        week, amidst all the resignations, that       failed. Boris failed too: the idea of
                                           behaviour from here on out; we              account of the Italians’ alleged under-    there is even a ministerial portfolio for     ‘Red Toryism’ - the empty promise of
Carnage                                    have long departed the economics            endowment in the trouser department).      ‘levelling up’.                               it - works well enough as an electoral
He is, of course, not done yet. The        professor’s domain of rational self-        His crossover into comedy was sealed           The post-Brexit uplands were never        gambit. Yet it is a mirage, for the same
Tory Party is not yet accustomed to        interest.                                   by well-received appearances over          likely to be as sunlit as promised by         reason as all versions of ‘socialism
switching horses mid-parliament, at                                                    many years on BBC shows like Have          Johnson and his allies. Even with that        in one country’ are mirages - the
least not while it is in government.       King of comedy                              I got news for you and Room 101.           caveat, events rapidly overtook him.          economy just is globalised, and has
But Johnson is not the first premier to    It is worth zooming out and asking             Having got a certain level of           His reluctance to take stern measures         been since the days of Venice and
be so ejected; his hero, Mrs Thatcher,     what this all means for bourgeois           brand recognition, the time was right      in the very early days of the pandemic        Genoa. The succession of attempts
and his predecessor, Mrs May, are          politics in this country in its broader     to move into politics proper, which        was a predictable failure from this           at making the mirage a reality have
the two pertinent examples. Yet the        historical development. There have          he did as MP for true-blue Henley-         scourge of the straight banana, and it        been a succession of attempts at
only way to get rid of him as PM           been no end of worthy editorials            on-Thames in 2001. The round of            was not a unique failure on the world         re-articulating what is essentially a
before the protracted horror show          since the Partygate revelations began,      constituency surgeries bored him;          stage. Still, Britain had a very bad          fantasy, or even a lie.
of the leadership election to replace      castigating the moral void at the centre    but his ambition would not allow           pandemic until Johnson’s government           And so we ended up with … a clown,
him is to side with a more-or-less         of the government. Johnson simply           him to remain merely a sort of Tory        caught on to the need for central state       an embarrassing national stereotype
inevitable vote of no confidence in        does not have the values, so it was         Dennis Skinner, offering comic foil        direction; it is some irony that one of       - equal parts Psmith, Flashman and
parliament. To offload him, 80-plus        said, to lead this great nation.            material from the back benches. As         the better recent illustrations of the        Tim Nice-But-Dim. When the sober
Tory MPs would have to side with               From this perspective, one could        the New Labour era dragged on, he          power of mass social mobilisation was         and serious partisans of the ‘Red Tory’
Labour and the rest, which is hardly       almost interpret the whole Boris era as     supposed a bigger stage might be on        a state-run vaccination programme             phantasm were dispensed with, only
an unachievable number, but we will        a cosmic accident; but to do so would       offer in London city hall: the directly    administered by a government whose            the Bullingdon bounder was left to
have to wait and see. The government       be an act of wilful blindness. Our          elected mayoral office had revived         hatred for socialised healthcare is           give it another go. His was not a mask
has procedurally fended off such a         interest of such ‘accidents’ is not in      the career of a Labour Party maverick      barely concealed.                             that concealed a ruthless operator (or
vote for the time being.                   the lords of misrule whom they propel       and ‘big beast’, Ken Livingstone, so           The scandals began around                 perhaps it concealed nothing other
   Most perhaps hoped that he would        to power - Johnson or, a fortiori,          perhaps it could do the same job for       then, with rampant corruption in              than a ruthless operator). He could
resign the premiership with the party      Donald Trump - but in what they             Johnson. Astonishingly, it did - and       procurement, ‘fast lane’ sweetheart           win the war, but he could not win the
leadership, and hot-foot it from No10      disclose about the political structures     not once, but twice. In the intervening    deals for Tory donors and ministers’          peace - perhaps because there is no
the same day. That wish unsurprisingly     so vulnerable to shysters and unholy        years, London has solidified into the      mates, and all the rest. Meanwhile,           peace to be won l
turned out not to come true. Among the     fools of this sort.                         strongest base of Labour support;          those bloody Downing Street
thousands of notables live-tweeting            Johnson’s family background is          but back then it was quite difficult       parties began in earnest. Johnson’s           paul.demarty@weeklyworker.co.uk
the proceedings on Thursday was one        not quite so resolutely blue-blooded        to see Johnson as any kind of threat.      government has generally careened
Dominic Cummings, former Johnson
flunky, but long since split from his
                                           as one might guess from his public
                                           image. His father is the descendant of
                                                                                       He certainly was not to London: his
                                                                                       occasional follies (doomed projects
                                                                                                                                  from one crisis to the next - in
                                                                                                                                  Cummings’ memorable phrase, like a
                                                                                                                                                                                Notes
                                                                                                                                                                                1. www.theguardian.com/
old boss. Dom told his followers:          minor branches of European nobility         like the Thames garden bridge and the      shopping trolley with a broken wheel.         commentisfree/2019/may/26/what-makes-
                                           on the one side, and late-Ottoman           proposed ‘Boris Island’ airport in the     Some of the crises have been scandals,        tories-think-anyone-must-be-better-than-
                                                                                                                                                                                theresa-may.
   I know that guy and I’m telling         officialdom on the other; his mother        Thames estuary; the purchase of anti-      others have been ‘events, dear boy,           2. twitter.com/dominic2306/
   you, he doesn’t think it’s over. He’s   was a middle class painter of leftish       riot water cannon that were illegal        events’. The upshot of it all is that - for   status/1544990924572430337.
Mike Macnair reviews István Mészáros and his posthumously published 'Beyond Leviathan' - n Letters and debate n Ukraine-Russia war n DSA and ...
6                                                                                                                                                                                  July 14 2022 1403 worker
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  weekly

UKRAINE

First our own rulers
Far from running out of troops and material and facing defeat, Russian forces continue to relentlessly advance.
But, Alexander Gallus of the US journal Cosmonaut argues, for us the main enemy remains at home
D
        aily headlines over the past                                                                                                                                             sided outrage broadcast daily on
        months have assured western                                                                                                                                              the American and European media
        audiences that Ukraine is                                                                                                                                                about the conflict in Ukraine, the
constantly on the verge of a victorious                                                                                                                                          driving concern of the imperialist
counterattack, that Russia is facing a                                                                                                                                           governments is not - surprise - human
depletion of ammunition and that the                                                                                                                                             suffering, but a continuation of the war
Ukrainians “will drive out the Russians                                                                                                                                          towards certain ends.
from their territory”. While events                                                                                                                                                  These ends are perhaps not as
over the past month have somewhat                                                                                                                                                clear today as with colonial conquest
dampened such widespread optimistic                                                                                                                                              in the past. For instance, there is a
attitudes, the war aims of killing and                                                                                                                                           lot of evidence that the US and UK
defeating Russians on the battlefield                                                                                                                                            war aim in Iraq was not simply the
continue to be almost unanimously                                                                                                                                                immediate seizure of oil, although
shared and declared by American and                                                                                                                                              personal enrichment and corruption
European governments. From the                                                                                                                                                   certainly occurred. The aims were
outset, it is important to highlight here                                                                                                                                        more to prevent Iraq from artificially
that Russia is, in reality, not losing                                                                                                                                           increasing the global cost of oil by
the war in Ukraine, despite what we                                                                                                                                              keeping export production low, to end
constantly hear in the media.                                                                                                                                                    the protectionist, nationalised character
    Ukrainian independent frontline                                                                                                                                              of Iraq’s oil industry (a practice which
reporters, as well as US and Canadian                                                                                                                                            secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld
mercenaries who have fought Russia                                                                                                                                               called “Stalinist”), to fully integrate
alongside the Ukrainian armed forces                                                                                                                                             Iraq into the profitable global market
in the Donbas, testify to the asymmetric                                                                                                                                         and to geopolitically plant the flag of
balance of forces and the change in                                                                                                                                              “liberal democracy” in the Middle
Russia’s initial tactics. According                                                                                                                                              East. Efforts to turn Ukraine into a
to their accounts, Russian ground                                                                                                                                                “restructured” market befitting US
forces have turned to using much                                                                                                                                                 and European capital have been
more caution with infantry advances                                                                                                                                              underway for decades - with little
and how they utilise their technical                                                                                                                                             success until recently, of course, due
military superiority. At the start of                                                                                                                                            to its economic, political and - yes -
the invasion, the Russian standard                                                                                                                                               cultural integration with the Russian
approach - using heavy artillery before                                                                                                                                          Federation. At the heart of the United
sending in infantry - was abandoned                                                                                                                                              States’ special interest in and treatment
for mechanised infantry runs deep into                                                                                                                                           of Ukraine, and its outrageous, multi-
Ukrainian territory without combined                                                                                                                                             billion-dollar military support in the
arms cover. This surprising approach                                                                                                                                             current conflict, is this entity.
appeared to most analysts to hinge                                                                                                                                                   What the US calls a strategic
on false Russian intelligence, leading                                                                                                                                           “near-peer” military and geopolitical
them to believe that most Ukrainians                                                                                                                                             rival - the Russian Federation and its
would welcome them. In reality, of                                                                                                                                               bourgeoisie - does not, like dozens
course, Russian platoons were met by                                                                                                                                             of other targeted nations, follow the
tactically superior Ukrainian soldiers                                                                                                                                           esteemed “international rules-based
who had been trained up to Nato                                                                                                                                                  order” as dictated by the US, and
integrational standards for eight years,                                                                                                                                         incidentally possesses untold amounts
or were often stranded dozens of miles                                                                                                                                           of natural resources as the largest
inside enemy territory without gas,                                                                                                                                              country in the world. Tellingly, US
having to destroy their equipment if                                                                                                                                             Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
possible and flee.                                                                                                                                                               said a few months ago: “We want to
    The human cost of the conflict          When it comes to artillery, Ukraine is outnumbered 10:1                                                                              see Russia weakened to the degree
is quite stark. Almost 10 million                                                                                                                                                that it can’t do the kinds of things it has
Ukrainians have sought refuge               unlike those of the Ukrainians.             fired daily, as against 60,000 by the       the Russian army’s entrance to the           done in invading Ukraine.”5 And the
outside the country, while thousands        According to an American military           Russians. More importantly, it is also      city. These sorts of telling incidents       billions of dollars in weapons being
of civilians and tens of thousands          advisor writing for the Modern War          not prudent to believe that the Russian     and pro-Russian sentiments are much          sent to Ukraine, handily indebting the
of soldiers have been killed. Yet, it       Institute at West Point, the Ukrainian      government is currently not politically     more widespread in the Donbas than           people of Ukraine to the International
is clear at this point that the conflict    casualty rate is so high that part-time     capable of implementing its stated          our western oligarchs would have us          Monetary Fund, are precisely intended
threatens to become much larger if          and local territorial defence forces        goal of increasing military production.     believe, yet clearly not as uniform as       to “defeat Russia on the battlefield”.
global tensions continue to escalate,       from around the country are being sent      Of course, this could change, but the       the Russian mass media report either.        They are merely a continuation of
and if the US/Nato do not show a            to the front, into sieged defensive lines   Russian army seriously threatens                In the midst of all this, the official   longstanding US foreign policy goals
willingness to negotiate on Russian         that are strategically indefensible, to     to continue and expand beyond the           Communist Party of the Russian               to economically and militarily render
demands forwarded on December 17            much protest from their relatives. He       current main battle areas to the rest       Federation’s youth wing has seen             Russia incapable of competing with
last year, or to instruct the nationalist   further says:                               of Ukraine if negotiations are not          resignations and expulsions of youth         it economically or militarily. The aim
proxy regime in Kiev to negotiate                                                       pursued, which still seems unlikely.        members protesting the war in light          of in fact breaking up Russia precedes
soon and accept territorial losses.            Even in units that fall within the           While it appears very true that         of the continued ban on factions,4           the 2008 Bucharest Nato summit
As The Guardian and a number of                Ukrainian special operations             corruption and consequent logistical        and the party continues to support the       by decades - and is even positively
other western newspapers such as the           command, most soldiers are sent          issues trouble the Russian army,            government’s war aims, along with            and openly advocated by sections
New York Times report or infer, the            to the front line with very little       especially visible with the many            all other major parties, and building        of the radical left in Germany, of all
Ukrainian armed forces are suffering           training. In one such unit, we           successful Ukrainian attacks at the         a sizable Marxist media opposition           countries.
up to 20,000 casualties a month.               estimated that just 20% had even         beginning of the invasion, the Russian      proves to be as difficult to build in            During the Madrid summit on
Russian, Donetsk and Luhansk                   fired a weapon before heading to         army’s recent success last month in         Russia as here.                              June 27, Nato secretary general Jens
casualty estimates are speculated on           combat [!]2                              the quick battles for Severodonetsk                                                      Stoltenberg declared that the alliance
wildly, with casualties reported using                                                  and Lisichansk - the latter of which        US and Nato                                  will increase its ‘response force’ from
absurdly high figures. Even in light        With the Russian army seemingly             fell in less than a week, despite           The      1990s      triumphalism     of      its current 40,000 to the lofty goal
of the Ukrainian government now             having overcome much of its initial         the geographical obstacles and              globalising capitalism, with its             of 300,000 soldiers by 2023. At that
being armed with heavy weaponry             logistical failures and importing a         many years of Ukrainian defensive           promise of free trade, prosperity and        same summit, Turkey struck a political
from the US, Germany and other              estimated 3,000 tons of ammunition          preparations - nevertheless emphasise       liberal democracy for all, is quite          agreement with Sweden and Finland
Nato countries, these deliveries are        daily, according to Die Welt Moscow         the conventional military capabilities      dead - put to sleep by what are the          for the extradition of “terrorists” it
in reality only aiming to create parity     correspondent Christopher Wanner,           of the Russian army.                        allegedly uniquely aggressive actions        seeks to politically persecute, thereby
between the Russian and Ukrainian           it shows no signs of slowing down:              It is further important to realise at   of a handful of evil dictators. “They        improving the catastrophic possibility
militaries and to counteract the            the Duma recently passed two war            this point that politically the Russian     hate our freedom”, as George W Bush          of those countries’ membership
massive, disproportionate losses of         economy bills, obliging businesses          ‘special military operation’ is not yet     quaintly put it, when he was asked why       of Nato’s military alliance. This
the Ukrainian army in the Donbas.           to supply the military with goods           widely unpopular nor a matter of            the United States became a target of         potential future reality would indeed
Amidst many indications that Nato is        and services, and workers to work           great controversy internally, with the      terrorists on 9/11 - this has seemingly      be catastrophic, as the Kremlin
delivering key battlefield information      overtime.                                   Atlantic Council reporting that “more       become the undergirding intellectual         has promised repeatedly that the
to Ukrainian troops using advanced              Russian missile attacks targeting       than three-quarters of Russians still       rationale which supposedly explains          installation of Nato military equipment
technologies,1 the German member            the entirety of Ukraine have not let        support Putin’s Ukraine war” and            our world today. Yet the underlying          and missile systems in Finland, on
of parliament, Ali Al-Dailami of Die        up either - quite the opposite - while      that a quick end to the war will not        reality of the great powers conflict         Russia’s border, would be targeted
Linke, questioned whether German            Russian air force sorties number            come about through expedient regime         tearing up Ukraine and prematurely           by its military. Any offensive action
submarines were used in the sinking         200-300 a day, compared to 20-30            change or revolution.3 Thousands of         extinguishing the lives of tens of           against a Nato member automatically
of the Russian navy ship Moskva.            for the Ukrainians. A similar 10-to-1       civilians of Lisichansk in Luhansk,         thousands is quite different from            activates the article 5 ‘protection’
    Despite varying analyses, the           ratio is to be found in the devastating     for instance, have reportedly been          this simplistic and arrogant narrative       guaranteed by the alliance, requiring
capacities of the Russian military do       frontline use of artillery, with at best    resisting the Ukrainian armed forces’       being spoon-fed to millions through          other alliance members to get involved
not yet show any real signs of depletion    6,000 Ukrainian artillery rounds            attempts to evacuate residents before       the mass media. Despite the one-             in the conflict. Practically speaking,
Mike Macnair reviews István Mészáros and his posthumously published 'Beyond Leviathan' - n Letters and debate n Ukraine-Russia war n DSA and ... Mike Macnair reviews István Mészáros and his posthumously published 'Beyond Leviathan' - n Letters and debate n Ukraine-Russia war n DSA and ... Mike Macnair reviews István Mészáros and his posthumously published 'Beyond Leviathan' - n Letters and debate n Ukraine-Russia war n DSA and ... Mike Macnair reviews István Mészáros and his posthumously published 'Beyond Leviathan' - n Letters and debate n Ukraine-Russia war n DSA and ...
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