Karl Marx born on 5th of May, 1818

Repost from SOYMB 5 May 2016

‘To dismiss the ideas of Marx on the grounds that it has been tried and failed is to misunderstand the revolutionary message of Marx. We can safely conclude that the world has not yet seen a Marxist revolution.

Marxism is not a dogma, not a record of the sayings and doings of Karl Marx to be carefully preserved and uncritically applied whatever the circumstances. Marxism is a method of assessing what, at any particular time, is in the best interest of the working class and should be done to hasten the establishment of socialism. The validity of Marx’s theories is independent of Marx the man. Nonetheless, criticisms of Marx have been made because of the misinterpretations and distortions of Marxism that have occurred. We can safely conclude that the world has not yet seen a Marxist revolution.

The Marxian analysis of society and its development – historical, economic, political – will not die, nor go away, nor even lie down. Today, the interest in the ideas of Karl Marx is wider than ever. Marx provided a consistent, comprehensive and applicable picture of the origins and development of capitalism and of how it must be replaced by Socialism. The Socialist Party of Great Britain is a Marxist party in the sense that we accept the basis of Marx’s theories – the Materialist Conception of History, the Labour Theory of Value and the political theory of the Class Struggle.

For Marx, history is a process in which humans actively create their own conditions, doing so, at all times, within the limitations which existing economic conditions make possible. History is not given to us, like a mystery gift from above, but is made by us. History is not simply a story of the past, but a vision of the future. All historians before Marx — and too many since — believed that humans were the subjects of history, often going under the alias of God or The Invisible Hand of the Market: Marx recognised that humanity would only be liberated when it used its ability to comprehend and design history. The revolutionary point in Marxism is its proposition that mass human consciousness (our ability to think, plan and fashion our own behaviour) can transform society.

Karl Marx wrote a great deal, on a wide variety of subjects and over a long period of time.  Some of his writing was in response to political issues of the day which are long forgotten, some were concerned to criticise opponents who held views now rarely encountered while some were of a very abstract and philosophical nature.  Marx’s writings cannot be simply divided into those on economics, those on history and those on politics, for these subjects, were for Marx closely interrelated. The Socialist Party has published much on Marxism and is a party in the classical Marxian tradition. We use his ideas as tools of analysis, which have been further developed and modified by socialists, to explain how the working class are exploited under capitalism and how world socialism will be the emancipation of our class.

The Socialist Party has further developed Marx’s theories and has made plain where it disagrees with Marx. We do not endorse Marx’s ideas regarding struggles for national liberation, minimum reform programmes, labour vouchers and the lower stage of communism. On some of these points, the Socialist Party does not reject what Marx advocated in his own day but rejects their applicability to socialists now. There are other issues upon which the Socialist Party might appear to be at variance with Marx, but is in fact only disputing distortions of Marx’s thinking. For example, the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ is usually understood in its Leninist interpretation. Indeed, it is a tragedy of world-historical proportions that Marx has been Leninised; what is basically a method of social analysis with a view to taking informed political action by the working class, has had its name put to a state ideology of repression of the working class. Instead of being known as a tool for working class self-emancipation, we have had the abomination of ‘Marxist states’.

Undeterred by these developments, the Socialist Party has made its own contributions to socialist theory whilst combating distortions of Marx’s ideas. In the light of all the above, the three main Marxist theories can be restated as:

1. The political theory of class struggle

2. The materialist theory of history

3. The labour theory of value

Marxism is not only a method for criticising capitalism; it also points to the alternative. Marxism explains the importance to the working class of common ownership, democratic control and production solely for use and the means for establishing it. And while it is desirable that socialist activists should acquaint themselves with the basics of Marxism, it is absolutely essential that a majority of workers have a working knowledge of how capitalism operates and what the change to socialism will mean.’

https://soymb.com/2016/05/happy-birthday-charlie.html

Historically free speech must be viewed in the context of confrontation and compromise. The suppression of free speech has always been used by the dominant value system as a political weapon against the working class, i.e. the alienation of the proletariat as a means of disenfranchising the proletariat. However, there came a time when, due to the pressures of democracy free speech was more permitted by the ruling elite. Better to allow the pressure cooker to let of steam rather than explode and cause damage to the existing order.

The first amendment of the American constitution specifically bans the abridgement of freedom of speech or of the press.

Sedition is defined as ‘Conduct or language inciting rebellion against the authority of a state’.

‘The United States has had two sedition acts: the Sedition Act of 1798 and the Sedition Act of 1918.

The Sedition Act of 1798 was part of the Alien and Sedition Acts, which were enacted by the 5th United States Congress. This act criminalized false and malicious statements about the federal government, aiming to restrict freedom of speech under national security grounds. It expired in 1800.

The Sedition Act of 1918 was an amendment to the Espionage Act of 1917, extending the scope of offences to include speech and opinions that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light. It applied only during times when the United States was at war and was repealed on December 13, 1920.’

Within the UK The Sedition Act 1661  ‘aimed at suppressing criticism of the King and maintaining governmental authority. Passed shortly after the Restoration of Charles II, it imposed penalties on anyone who wrote, printed, or preached words against the King, reflecting the monarch’s efforts to consolidate power and control over the press and public discourse.

This act was later amended and its provisions were incorporated into other laws, such as the Treason Act 1695 and the Treason Felony Act 1848. The Sedition Act 1661 was repealed on 21 July 1967 by the Criminal Law Act 1667, but some of its key provisions, particularly those related to treason, continue to influence modern UK law.’ Internet.

In 2009, the UK government abolished the offences of seditious libel and criminal defamation, marking a significant shift towards protecting freedom of speech’.

The establishment has little or no sense of humour and when it feels that satire and mockery have gone too far it will take steps to punish its lampooners. American entertainers and stand-up comics Bill Hicks and Lenny Bruce are two examples of state suppression. Bruce was arrested for obscenity in his act and Bill Hicks was censored. Hicks gig on the David Letterman Show in 1993 was completely cut and not aired. As to what effect their use and promotion of recreational drugs was a factor is debatable.

The anarchic punk band The Sex Pistols had their recording ‘God Save the Queen’ banned by the BBC and nearly all the radio stations in 1976 presumably for upsetting the monarchy in Jubilee year. They were also refused visas to enter the United States, but that ban was later lifted. There were many musicians banned from entering the USA for one reason or another.

Under the guise of protecting workers from harassment the current Labour Government is trying to implement legal sanctions against conversations between drinkers in pubs.

‘Under Ms Rayner’s new rules, pubs will need to protect its staff from harassment from “third parties”, such as drinking punters. Landlords fear they could be sued if someone takes offence to “overheard conversations” among patrons. Brian Whiting, the chief executive of WH Pubs, said: “We are very good at controlling our customers but I can’t control what they say.”’.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2003013/angela-rayner-pub-owner-tax-hikes-national-insurance

Offence can only be taken, not given.

The capitalist system using various means to defend the status quo. Socialists will always highlight the charade of a system that props up the greed and avarice of free-market entrepreneurs who use ‘free speech’ as a marketing device for the furtherance of the capitalist agenda.

Free speech is fundamental to the advocacy of socialism. Socialists use free speech as a defence against exploitation, not as a weapon of anger, bigotry and racism and to prevent further the cause of capital exploitation.

Barry Watts

Reprinted from SOYMB 1 May 2016

“Arise ye prisoners of starvation, Arise ye wretched of the earth.”

Exhibition Review

Hive Mind

You are probably not familiar with the word melittology: it is the scientific study of bees (from the Ancient Greek word for ‘bee’). ‘Bees: a Story of Survival’ is an exhibition at the World Museum in LIverpool, on until early May, designed by the artist Wolfgang Buttress. It uses sound and visual effects in a variety of ways, often very striking and sometimes based on reactions by visitors, to put across informative points about bees.

Bees play a crucial role in propagating life, as they pollinate trees and plants, including wildflowers, fruits and vegetables. They have 170 smell receptors, and use scent, as well as vibrations, to communicate with each other.

Altogether there are twenty thousand bee species, and in the UK alone there are over 250 (including two dozen bumblebees but just one species of honeybee). Bees have lived on Earth for 120 million years, since the time of the dinosaurs. Their existence is now under threat, however, because of climate change, loss of natural habitat, use of pesticides and increased air pollution. The UK, for instance , has lost 97 percent of its wildflower meadows since the 1930s. According to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (www.bumblebeeconservation.org), bumblebee numbers in Britain declined by almost a quarter in 2024, compared to the 2010–23 average.

So bees are far more than annoying insects that may sting you. They play a vital role in life on this planet, besides being fascinating creatures in their own right. This exhibition is an intriguing reminder of their characteristics and benefits.

PB

The effects of tariffs.

‘The successes of industrialisation did not at all mitigate the internal contradictions. On the contrary, the circumstances under which the industry of Spain, a neutral country, flourished under the golden rain of the war was transformed into a source of new difficulties at the end of the war when the increased foreign demand disappeared .Not only did the foreign markets disappear… but the dictatorship was compelled, with the aid of the highest tariffs wall in Europe, to defend its domestic markets from the influx of foreign commodities. The high tariff led to high prices, which diminished the already low purchasing power of the people. That is why industry after the war did not rise out of its lethargy, which is expressed by chronic unemployment on the one hand, and the sharp outbursts of the class struggle on the other.’

Leon Trotsky The Spanish Revolution

Television critic misunderstands socialism.

‘Yet I can almost guarantee the Tardis will, henceforth, never randomly land in the following settings: The Soviet Union during the Stalinist purges of 1936-38, Budapest in the brutal crushing of the 1956 uprising, North Korea at any time and China during either the cultural revolution (1966-76) or the great famine of 1959-61.

Or indeed anywhere else that would remind BBC1 viewers socialism is one of the most lethally stupid ideas in the whole history of mankind.’

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/34621290/doctor-who-ratings-political-bias/

War propaganda

‘A former defence minister has warned people across the UK to stockpile now for a Russian attack. Tobias Ellwood, who was a captain in the British Army before becoming a Conservative MP, said Russia would sow “confusion and panic” by crippling Britain’s water, gas and electricity supplies and bringing down computer systems.’

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2046219/uk-households-stockpile-food-waterhttps://

Scientists unaware of law of unintended consequences.

‘UK scientists are to launch outdoor geoengineering experiments as part of a £50m government-funded programme…

Geoengineering is controversial and some previous planned outdoor experiments have been cancelled after strong opposition. Most geoengineering proposals aim to block sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface, for example by launching clouds of reflective particles into the atmosphere or using seawater sprays to make clouds brighter.’

www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/22/uk-scientists-outdoor-geoengineering-experiments