Building a World Socialist Consciousness

the Carnival of Socialism

I shall be hosting the Carnival of Socialism on the 16th August.

No doubt there will be a collective cry of "oh no!" from the Left at the thought of what a Socialist Party of Great Britain member will do with it. Never fear - I will abjure from point scoring or petty stuff.

Hosting the Carnival will also mean doing something I haven't done and ought to: spend time surfing blogland. I have always intended reading more blogs so this should give me the motivation to get around to that.

Phil BC is the latest host.

Do They Mean Us?

Darren "the Ingrate" posted a number of entries on his blog dealing with how others have viewed (and sneered) at the SPGB - apropos the entry on RTP yesterday.

Socialism (overview)

The "Socialism" pamphlet was published in 1920 but the version on RTF is probably from 1925. (must enquire about that one!)

For ease of reading here is a link putting the eight chapters together.

Brian Moore's Head

Brian Moore's Head (Looks Uncannily Like London Planetarium) is the thing to read if you're interested in the Gills.

It started life as a fanzine but ceased printing a couple of years ago, preferring the bold new age of the Internet instead. Brian Moore is the only celebrity to have supported the club, hence the name. (The rest is taken from a Half Man Half Biscuit song.)

Anyway, this is what BMH had to say about the Shrewsbury game

Just when you thought it was safe to open your eyes….getting dicked 6-0 at Wolves in the Championship was one of those things you were prepared to put up with given our unprecedented lofty status; getting gubbed 6-0 at Ashton Gate in League One was bloody annoying but hardly out of character in those days of kamikaze defending and an utter lack of confidence as we slid through the division on a tide of reckless hidings. But, but, how do I put it? Some wise old crows once sung that they’d “been done seen about everything when I see an elephant fly” - well those wise old crows got to see Dumbo take to the air but they sure hadn’t seen everything. I really never thought the day would come when I witnessed GIllingham equal their record margin of defeat in a sleepy Shropshire market town.

the rest is here

Socialist Thinkers - People Who History Made

Following on from the previous post, Darren has also posted a series of lectures on socialist thinkers. (He also provides detailed lists and links for suggested further reading.) The lectures don't dwell on the person in the title - rather they examine political ideas and their relation to the ideas of the SPGB.

SPGB Lectures on Economics

Inveresk Street Ingrate (one of my fav. blogs) has posted a series of lectures by the late E. Hardcastle on aspects of marxian economics. Darren provides the details.

Marx's Capital

There is a series of lectures online (from a course on Marx's Capital) by Professor David Harvey of City University New York here

Against the Left Overview

Against the left in a handy link

How Capitalism Works Overview

The entire series in a handy link

Questions of the Day overview

Just for ease of access, here is one link for the entire pamphlet...

and for the sake of completeness, the foreward and contents list to this 1978 pamphlet are below

A pamphlet with the same title was first published in 1932. In addition to reprints,
new editions were issued in 1942, 1953 and 1969, some sections in the earlier editions being omitted and new ones added as fresh issues presented themselves. Four new sections have been added to this edition.

The purpose of the pamphlet is to give in handy form statements of the attitude of the Socialist Party of Great Britain towards important problems and happenings about which questions are put to us. It includes a section on the founding of the Socialist Party of Great Britain in order to show what were the reasons that led the founder-members to draw up the DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES that has remained unaltered as the basis of the Party, and of our Companion Parties in other countries.

For fuller treatment of some issues the reader is referred to other pamphlets advertised at the back of this pamphlet and to the Party's monthly journal the SOCIALIST STANDARD

Executive Committee

SOCIALIST PARTY OF GREAT BRITAIN
March 1978

CONTENTS

WHAT IS CAPITALISM?
PARLIAMENT
DEMOCRACY & DICTATORSHIP
MARX AND DICTATORSHIP
GRADUALISM & REVOLUTION
THE FUTILITY OF REFORMISM
NATIONALISATION
TRADE UNIONISM
POLITICAL PARTIES—TORY, LIBERAL AND LABOUR
THE SO-CALLED LEFT WING PARTIES
SOCIALISM AND THE LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
THE MYTH OF OVER-POPULATION
HUMAN NATURE
WOMEN AND CLASS
THE CHINESE REVOLUTION
INFLATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT
WHAT SOCIALISM MEANS
THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF GREAT BRITAIN