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 It applied only during times when the United States was at war and was repealed on December 13, 1920.’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 The Sedition Act 1661 was repealed on 21 July 1967 by the Criminal Law Act 1667, but some of its key provisions, particularly those related to treason, continue to influence modern UK law.’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

In William Shakespeare’s play, Henry V, Henry’s exhortation to the English army fighting the French, ‘Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’ holds no resonance for contemporary, or historical socialists of the SPGB as there is no god, gods spring from human imagination, we reject the notion that we are ‘subjects’ of a self perpetuating monarchy and we reject nationalism. Far more relevant, uplifting and purposeful is the call for Workers of the World Unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!

On Bill’s birthday it’s worth reading his biting piece about money:

‘Gold ! yellow, glittering, precious gold ! No gods,

I am no idle votarist: roots, you clear heavens !

Thus much of this will make black white; foul fair; 

Wrong right; base noble; old young; coward valiant. 

. . . Why, this

Will lug priests and servants from your sides;

Pluck stout men’s pillows from behind their head;

This yellow slave

Will knit and break religions; bless the accursed;

Make the hoar leprosy adored; place thieves,

And give them title, knee and approbation 

With senators on the bench: this is it

That makes the wappen’d widow wed again;

She, whom the spital-house and ulcerous sores 

Would cast the gorge at, this embalms and spices 

To the April day again. Come, damned earth.

Thou common whore of mankind, that putt’st odds 

Among the rout of nations . . .’

Timon of Athens Act Four, scene three.

Date first performed not known but it is to be found in the First Folio of 1632.

The quotation below is from Karl Marx’s Capital Volume One, Chapter 3 “Money” (part 3) Everyman’s Library (page 112)

‘As the circulation of commodities extends, the power of money increases, of money which is an absolutely social form of wealth, ever ready for use. Columbus, in a letter from Jamaica penned in 1503, says “Gold is a wonderful thing! Whoever owns it is lord of all he wants. With gold it is even possible to open for souls a way into paradise!” Since money does not disclose what has been transformed into it, everything, whether a commodity or not, is convertible into gold. Everything becomes saleable and purchaseable. Circulation is the great retort into which everything is thrown, and out of which everything is recovered as crystallised money. Not even the bones of the saints are able to withstand this alchemy; and still less able to withstand it are more delicate things, sacrosanct things which are outside the commercial traffic of men.’

The below is from Vaux Populi blog 23 April 2008.

‘Things have moved a long way since Enoch Powell’s rivers of blood speech 40 years ago. Today, all the mainstream parties are against immigration, as long as it’s illegal of course. A border police force has even been set up to keep them out. St. George’s Day was once celebrated only by fascists. Now the red-and-white coloured rag is even flown on public buildings. The gentlemen of the League of Saint George (see http://www.leaguestgeorge.com/) must be happy.



Yes, unfortunately, St George’s Day is upon us again, but what is this mythical saint supposed to have done?



We all know that, according to legend, he slew a dragon but in The History of the Seven Champions of Christendom we are told that, among his many feats of valour, he did away with two.



He was, so the story goes, born in Coventry, son of Lord Albert, High Steward of England. Having been abducted as a baby and held captive by the witch Calyb for 14 years, he tricked her into revealing her magic whereupon he split a rock and imprisoned her in it. This freed not only St George but also St Denis, patron saint of France, St James (Spain), St Patrick (Ireland) and St David (Wales), after which they went their separate ways on great adventures and acts of valour. These included sorcery, battling against incredible odds and rescuing princesses.



George, the legend continues, fought and won many battles, apparently single-handed. In the course of one he also freed St Denis who had carelessly allowed himself to be captured. And, of course, he slaved that dragon.



On his return to England he wanted to turn to a contemplative life but the king asked him to slay one more dragon which was terrorising the people of Dunsmore. This time, although he killed the beast, he also died from the poison spewed on him by it. He was, we are told, buried in the chapel at Windsor Castle and his sons – no mention of a wife – were given high office by the king.



If you believe all this you’ll believe anything, including that St George’s Day is anything more than an excuse for xenophobia – and for pubs to sell more beer.



We shan’t be celebrating today but will continue distributing our leaflets in favour of world-wide socialism where the planet and its resources will have become the common heritage of all humans and the world won’t be criss-crossed by frontiers.

https://spgb.blogspot.com/2008/04/st-george-and-flag.html