tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6920488656220463337.post4012618167807309904..comments2024-02-07T19:30:21.880+11:00Comments on Left Focus: Election Reflections – Three perspectives - pls read and Contribute to the debateVaughann722http://www.blogger.com/profile/11604027151490275320noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6920488656220463337.post-27544136253080086612020-09-20T21:14:28.345+10:002020-09-20T21:14:28.345+10:00I have to search sites with relevant information o...I have to search sites with relevant information on given topic and provide them to teacher our opinion and the article. <a href="https://hufforbes.com/" rel="nofollow">World News</a>haseebkhatrihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00085164834920018802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6920488656220463337.post-75340744646300905682010-08-26T11:36:27.662+10:002010-08-26T11:36:27.662+10:00Found this at GLW online; and interesting take on ...Found this at GLW online; and interesting take on the independents. See:<br /><br />http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/45186Vaughann722https://www.blogger.com/profile/11604027151490275320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6920488656220463337.post-49358038486365631992010-08-25T15:25:15.453+10:002010-08-25T15:25:15.453+10:00This is an interesting and very necessary debate. ...This is an interesting and very necessary debate. One can see good points made by both sides. The point Mike makes about internal party forms, I feel, is spot on. The point the author makes about shifts and so on is also right, for example in Germany the Greens supported NATO imperialism and neoliberalism for much the same reasons that the ALP has done in Australia. If I were a German I would support The Left Party, not the SPD or the Greens. I think so would most socialists in Australia if such a choice existed here. No such party exists in Australia, the PDS means this is pretty German centric, so the question is; what to do? I myself am seeking to form a socialist forum dedicated to rethinking and reconceptualising the socialist ideal. I think it is possible to imagine a renewed "emancipatory socialism" that puts emancipation, "human emancipation" let us say, at the core; this would be a more liberatory, and non Bolshevik, socialism that would be at odds with the old state socialist models (even the old socialist objective of the ALP was a type of state socialism). Such a reconceptualisation would include new thinking about what role a working class party, and a more grass-roots bottom-up from of unionism, can **help** play in bringing about such a rethought socialism into being (non-reformist reforms perhaps). This would require regular discussion, a journal or magazine, a mini think tank etc. It would involve active work within political parties, for example at ALP fringe conferences and so on. It can be, and must be, done. If interested send us a line.<br /><br />Marko B<br /><br />marko.beljac AT gmail.comMarko Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6920488656220463337.post-45581390031488677202010-08-25T10:45:39.875+10:002010-08-25T10:45:39.875+10:00Tristan
I did not intend to imply that who holds ...Tristan<br /><br />I did not intend to imply that who holds government is unimportant. <br /><br />I don't take the view, held by some on the left, that who wins elections does not really matter because the ALP/Coalition are the same.<br /><br />The two parties are not the same - and are not viewed as such by much of the electorate.<br /><br />My concern is that in the context of the ALP where policy formation is undemocratic, the behaviour of elected representatives is largely independent of broader party structures, and much party funding comes from big companies, the impact that left activists can make on both the party and the broader political culture is minimal.<br /><br />On the left the momentum at present is with the Greens. <br /><br />If a few thousand ALP activists left the party and joined the Greens the ALP would continue (substantial donations from Westpac and ANZ, among others, will ensure that) and it would help to ensure the growth of a significant left-alternative that can check the ALP's march to the right.<br /><br />Committed and experienced activists are a valuable political resource for any left party. My concern is that this resource is being squandered in the ALP when it would be much more productively employed in the Greens.<br /><br />Mike mikegreensx@gmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6920488656220463337.post-20354785947520722892010-08-24T20:10:03.250+10:002010-08-24T20:10:03.250+10:00Mike;
You'd be right to say there's more...Mike; <br /><br />You'd be right to say there's more to the struggle than electoral politics. A vital struggle is in the cultural sphere; in setting the terms for debate within which the mainstream parties (now including the Greens) move, and also in winning victories outside the parliamentary context. <br /><br />As I said in my contribution here - the Greens have a vital position in that - given their electoral base - they have more freedom to speak out on many issues than the ALP has. Also as I stated - the ALP's electoral base is marked by internal contradiction.<br /><br />In the electoral sense at least - the ALP has to 'carry the field of the RELATIVE centre'.(pushing to the Left limits of this 'field') For progressives, here, the cultural struggle focuses on shifting this relative centre in support of social justice, sustainability, social justice and liberty. <br /><br />The electoral contest can lead to some ugly politics sometimes. But I still think who holds government really counts for something. From my perspective as an ALP activist - there is the task of keeping progresive ideas and culture within the party alive. Even if the Greens managed 20% of the popular vote, they would still need partners in the ALP to work with.<br /><br />While recognising the limits of pure electoralism; I think we need recognise the strategic value of government. And that whatever good the Greens may be able to do - they will need partners for change in the ALP.Tristan Ewinsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6920488656220463337.post-72346123016559774202010-08-24T18:20:46.298+10:002010-08-24T18:20:46.298+10:00Why did Labor do badly?
Yes, I agree the power of...Why did Labor do badly?<br /><br />Yes, I agree the power of the miners and the media played a part. But the ALP made life easy for them. The appalling climb-down over climate change left many ALP supporters I know speechless. The government should have gone through a consultation process with the miners before announcing a new tax package - even if they intended not to listen to the miners core complaints. <br /><br />In the context of a electorate that is largely disengaged from the detail of politics and policy formation, and who are therefore prone to having their views of complex issues heavily influenced by the media and powerful business interests, political optics matter. Rudd and Swan blew it. <br /><br />The future for the ALP?<br /><br />I should declare my interest as a Green Party member.<br /><br />Those in and around the ALP must ask themselves if the party is any longer a vehicle for progressive politics.<br /><br />Many social democratic/labourist parties around the world have become little more than electoral machines over the past 20/30 years. Their 'taut electoralism' means they have dismantled member influence over policy and become preoccupied with focus groups and the median voter.<br /><br />The only measure of political success is securing and retaining power. This means an internal party culture of 'defensive unity' has become hegemonic: in opposition we must rally around the leadership to regain power; in government we must rally around the leadership to retain power. <br /><br />The leadership (and their clique of unelected policy advisers and pollsters) always wins.<br /><br />This political-organizational environment makes building and sustaining a substantive left-of-center politics highly unlikely. <br /><br />In the present political-ideological climate left-wing politics is a minority pursuit (albeit with significant potential). But in the context of parties like the ALP this minority status makes it extremely vulnerable to being swamped, marginalized and silenced by the over-riding and constant imperative to maximize votes and regain/retain power. <br /><br />In short, under present conditions electoralism and the growth of progressive politics (historically always in tension with each other) have now become profoundly antithetical to each other.<br /><br />For those socialists/progressives inside the ALP there are, it seems to me, to be two options: leave and build anew, or remain in a party whose policies are beyond your control and whose leaders increasingly regard you as 'useful idiots'.<br /><br />Sorry to be so blunt - but the time for self-deception and wishful thinking has long gone. <br /><br />Mike mikegreensx@gmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com