Does French Philosopher Jean-Francois Lyotard have anything to teach democratic socialists? Martin Jenkins has his doubts Post-modernism’s impact on western intellectual life was at its height in the 1970s and 1980s, and was received by many on the political left as a threat.(1) As many prominent post-modernist thinkers were ex-Maoists, ex-communists and ex-Trotskyists, they...
Articles
Valley Fever
Ben Tullett reports on the battle to beat back the BNP in Halifax during the latest round of local elections Outside London, the June 2004 council elections were particularly significant. Following boundary changes, in large swathes of the country all seats were up for election, meaning that instead of having just one vote, many...
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism exists and needs to exist, because contemporary capitalist societies are corrupt in fundamental ways: by the unjustifiable and unaccountable economic control by a small minority; by the consequent concentration of immense power in a few hands; by the disempowerment of the majority and the social exclusion of a significant sector of society;...
A democratic economy
It also implies a new economic egalitarianism, which starts from the recognition that the economy should exist to serve and empower people as a whole. Instead of capital being used to exploit, demean and disempower labour, the challenge is to build an economy in which labour exploits capital for the benefit of all; an...
Democratic politics and the state
In this there is an essential role for the democratic State, which can and must be a force for safeguarding democratic structures and practices and for meeting those needs not met by the market in a socialist economy. The democratic socialist sees this State as the guardian of rights and freedoms, as well as...
The democratic potential
Nevertheless, we in the ILP still want to stress the link between the status, condition and experience of people and the fortunes of democratic socialism; to underline the significance of the political-economic consciousness that can be encouraged amongst people who are economically disenfranchised or oppressed in other ways, and to emphasise the vital importance...
The democratic socialist party
Independent Labour Publications encourages membership of the Labour Party and sees the future of democratic socialism bound up in the fortunes of the Labour Party. Clause IV of the Party describes Labour as a democratic socialist party, committed to:- a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many...
Democratic practice
We in the ILP see it as a duty of Labour Party membership to seek to help the Party grow and develop through discussion and debate. To that end we are also committed to work to defend and develop member participation, democratic practices and a constitution which, in many respects, prefigure the democratic socialist...
The temptation of honest mutuality
DAVID BYRNE examines the recommodification of the welfare state, and says mutuals must decide which side they are for – corporate capital or socialism. “He who sups with the devil had best use a long spoon.” (Traditional) We are at a crisis point in the trajectory of welfare capitalism. It is worth dwelling for...
About Democratic Socialist
Democratic Socialist is the bulletin of the ILP Friends’ Network, a loose organisation of democratic socialists who wish to discuss ideas and learn from each other as a means of creating a living political community. See Introduction to the ILP for further information. It is published three or four times a year by Independent...
An integrated future?
Integrated education is vital to the future of a non-sectarian Northern Ireland, says Gary Kent There was a time when Northern Ireland barely made any impact on mainland and mainstream British politics. It was, to use a phrase popularised by the Sunday Times, John Bull’s slum. After partition in 1921, which Britain accepted rather...
Beggars belief
Ben Turley examines the implications of new laws to tackle religious discrimination The purpose of this article is to look at the new civil legislation and case law around religious discrimination. I am not qualified to comment on the criminal law and therefore have little to say about the controversial incitement to religious hatred...