Joining the SWP?

you're in, mi companero!

¡y tu tambien!

¿qué?

tu? Somos camaradas!

Steve, let me explain something to you ...

merci beaucoup

Achtung!

just to come back to the high level of theory demanded by anarchist groups, i think the UK anarchist federations do suffer a problem of seeming to require a high level of education of their members, and this is a problem. most of us don't have the time or for that matter the desire to read huge quantities of political theory, and that's fine. i don't know how we can get past it either tbh

It's not a question of needing a highlevel of theory, or having read the right books. It is a question of agreeing with basic principles. That way you can maintian internal democracy, cos everyone can be trusted.

Yeah I mean in the SWP or other top-down organisation's it's fine - having politically naive people in who don't really know their stuff is very useful for the Party, cos it means the leaders can boss them about to do their bidding, and the members don't ask too many questions. Till they read up on their stuff and leave, of course.

For anarchist/libertarian groups it's trickier, because everyone should be equal, but then of course like knightrose says you've got to trust the other person really does understand and believe in the aims + principles. This basically necessitates a little bit of political education before joining. I'm not sure any anarchist groups have this balance right (people in the feds have a high level of knowledge, generally, and people in the informal groups generally have not-very-much, or very incoherent politics, and make little to no effort to pass them on, or else just completely ignore the realm of ideas to just talk about the next "action", "social centre" or "pan-celtic federation" )

Picking up on what John. said, I think there's a squeamishness about political education among anarchos, out of a concern to differentiate ourselves from the authoritarian left.

In the ISG, for instance, there's a 3-month probation period during which you have to read a "set book" by Ernest Mandel & answer a set of questions about each chapter. Then & only then do you get put forward for membership. No, I am not joking.

However, there's a world of difference between that, and people chosing a book or pamplet (or news item) that looks interesting & relevant, and spending half-an-hour mulling it over as part of a regular meeting.

basically its like this: do you want to suck cock 10 times a day just to get some shitty stew? If not, join SolFed.

I thought it was "If so....." I've joined under false pretences.

Hi

Gift economy.

Love

LR

Is this the taste of things to come?

Peter Good (TCA)

I joined the SWP in 2000 because they had a stall in my high st and were tallking sense (compared to everything else which I saw at the time eg conventional media) and I was fed up with just seeing shit go on around me at home and work and on the news and not feeling able to do anything.

(I left 9 months later (after representing my branch at national conference) because I decided they were undemocratic, scary and elitist. Oh, and patriarchal and classist. But mostly because I'd finally met some anarchists who were not attacking me for being a swpie and took the time to answer my questions - i didn't want to just return to my previous state of solitary inaction and confused despair about the world around me.)

Has there ever been a poll on here about ex members? I certainly keep coming across them in anarchist circles in a way i'm sure is not mirrored for them - perhaos thats our best advertisement?

I think it is an education, although I do think that most ex members leave politics for good feeling burnt out, betrayed and cynical about all politics. (not necessarily a bad place to start from)

However - I do think its not surprising that people don't join "the Anarchists" as we really are in general shambolic and don't actually do that much to influence th world around us. In the SWP I would do a couple of stalls a week where I was constantly interacting with the public, leaflet local estates, regular demos, knew when and where the pickets were and was at all of them with a readymade leaflet (there was a strike on for part of the time) etc - yes it was 99% substitution activity and once I realised that I left, but from the outside, and at the beginning its attractive.

This is nothing new, nothing that hasn't been said (and flamed!) on here before. But until we actually start working hard, strategically and consistently good people are going to join trot/leninist parties, get pissed off and leave the class struggle.

Actually I don't think I've said but I'm pretty sure you were one of the first anarchists I met who did this ginger (at least in a prolonged + encouraging way), so thank you for that, really

Hmmm maybe aaages ago, I can't remember... could be worth starting one tho?

Wow, cool! That's made my day. Cheers!

8)