minorities, women can be capable of fighting imperialism at all?
Along with defending the Iranian revolution and the overthrow of the Shah's regime, we must say loudly that all is not well on the Iranian front; that the situation is a 'return to the dark ages' and to medievalism as far as the women's position goes. The danger is that the masses are behind the clergy and religious ideology in Iran today.
I feel that the beginning of a new fascism is taking root in Iran. We can only struggle eifectively if we are aware of it and ready to combat it with all our forces. Revolutionary socialists must come down to earth from their high theoretical programme on nationalisation of the banks and planned economy to deal with everyday issues like discrimination against women, basic democratic rights, unemployment, physical violence against the people.
The best fruit of our revolution is the birth of a women's movement conference), along with the upsurge in the struggles of the national The movement is small and needs all the support it can get from socialists — - unless they think that a male socialist state would do for now.
If women are crushed by the fanatics then the socialists will be next to go. Remember Indonesia. Khomeini is a leader able to repeat it on a larger scale.
MANNY (member of Iranian Women's Group)
MEGAN Martin's review of 'The Thirties' (o December) misses out on one important point.- - the cost to the public of mounting such a prestigious and meaningless exhibition.
Rumour has it that one, temporary, mezzanine floor in the exhibition cost £150,000 — enough to fund a community arts project for ten rears. Meanwhile the Arts Council is cutting back on everyone eise's SHIRLEY FRANCIS (London ES] "The Tirties exhibition is at the Hayward Galery, South Bank, London SEl. untl 13 Janeary.
THE aternational pressure on the Inst por ernment to sign the ruling Jasses global agreement on the Socialist Challenge 3 January 1980 Page 10 IT was "ultra-left' of Julian Atkinson, writing on the Labour Party (13 December), to state that Ralph Miliband 'could not be described as left, let alone ultra-left'. Miliband who has contributed so positively to socialist literature and has been instrumental in setting up centres for Marxist education, certainly has every right to be described as 'left". GREGORY CAREY (Leeds)
*Weagree. The sentence in question should have read: Jenkins fails to point out that this mytholory" (about Bevanism) is itself the product of a rather broad current including Ralph Miliband, David Coates, and a host of writers who could scarcely be described as left, let alone ultra-left.' We apologise for this error, which occurred in the course of editing Julian Atkinson's article.
I MUST reply to the criticisms by Geoff Collier (SWP) and Brynley Heaven (13 December) of my article on the demise of Hull News (29 November), as important lessons can be learned for alternative media.
Geoff accuses me of "waffling' and 'mistakes'. Hesays: "What does seeking advertising from "businesses mean?' Well, what is the difference between Ford Motor Co. and Joe Bloggs Corner Garage? Inability to distinguish between the two, reliance on Dis adverses, was a Mal icasol for the collapse of Hull News.
He argues that the paper collapsed because of the Trades Council's isolation from the labour movement. But this begs the question. Hasn't ( sectoralism and poor cross-union organisation always been a historical weakness of the British trade union movement? Hull is symptomatic of many trades councils. And isn't this what the Defend Our Unions Campaign is trying to counter?
On the question of donations from the movement, if the comrades hadn't jumped overboard as soon as journalism. They lined up behind the editor 'not literate enough to write Hull News'. Therefore it would have to.be a paper for the workers rather than of the workers.
supported the editor's refusal to publish the Trades Council's 'Statement of Principles' in the first issue. Apparently, before we could. publish our policies in our own paper we would need the OK from this erstwhile Bernstein and Woodward! Such antics reduced the paper to a parody of a bourgeols tabloid, the foibles of a clique taking precedence over democratic decisions. On the media scare, both radio and YTY uncritically reproduced the statements of the car dealers that they were not backing a 'trade union paper'. What's this if not snowballing a 'run' on advertising?.
journalists not to substitute for but to service the activists in the field. Ultimately, however, the responsibility for the situation lies with the Trades Council for not initiating a hard political discussion before selecting personnel.
NOEL HIBBERT (Hull)
of Leeds WARF's comic (6 December), we would like to make the following points.
os white women alempung te analyse our own racism and confront institutionalised racism in society, we in no way presume to speak for the black community — nor would they expect us to. Weenvisage the comic being tsed as a föcus for discussion in predominantly white areas where racist attitudes and prejudices are often totally ignored or go unchallenged.
Bisi Williams seems to have completely missed the point by attacking one remark out of context of them'. This is, after all, a common THE OTHER BOOKSHOP Combal in the Erogenous Zone, by Ingrid Bengis — Wildwood House, Gender Advertisement, by Erving Goffman — Macmillan, £2.95 Spare Rib Women's Liberation Diary 1980 — £2.00 328 Upper Street, London N1 2XQ (Tel. 01-226 0571) Even worse, Brynley and Geoff mislead readers.
The lesson is that it is the role of members in the AUEW.
WITH regard to Bisi Williams' review lesson to us. 'He's on the scrounge like the rest workers £2.95 "participation" the Socialists Workers Party (6 December) was good, but one point worried me. Duncan Hallas has been quoted as admitting that the effective membership of the SWP is about Road, 1,500, and their own members confirm this. Even if it has a paper membership of 3,600 you should make it clear what sort of members you are talking about, or you will Lying about numbers is a bad habit and we should stop it. It misleads militants outside the organised groups and can mislead us in deciding our tasks. There is the danger of over-estimating our collective strength, and there is the opposite danger of pessimism about the political impact a small group can have in a favourable situation.
We should tell the honest truth about our numerical strength and set an example. Probably there are no more than 3,600 people active in revolutionary organisations in Britain all together. Let's at least be honest about our resources when we discuss Lelalls our political objectives. And if we can overcome the tiresome competitive attitude we know so well we will also be able to discuss political differences honestly in terms of what we call on the workers to do, not who has more I'mafraid the largest revolutionary organisation in Europe is probably the OCI in France, with Centre. 1,800 to 2,000 members, although they claim 6,000. That should be a CHRIS YOUNG (Oxford)
Inevitable betrayal GEOFF Bell's report on the past five years at British Leyland (6 December) is an excellent explanation of how the recently victimised workers helped to Fargate. prepare the ground for their own victimisation. It is a thorough indictment of the reformist nature of the Stalinist leaders of the Leyland workers — unable even to gain reforms in the interests of the But if defence of those victimised is to be effective and is to take the Leyland workers forward it must be combined with more than even unremitting criticism of the policies put forward and carried out by those same leaders; it must state clearly the need to replace the plant and national umen caders as well as mnel porcies It is not good enough, in fact it is wrong, to conclude that 'If Robinson, Brindle, and the rest had rejected ...they would have EVENTS ABERIEEN: SC sold Saturdays outside C&iAs - for more into phone Colin, 574068 BATH: SC on sale al 1985 Books Roman Baths. Phone 20298 for more details : SC 'available from Fourth Idea Bookshop, 14 Southgart BIRMINGHAM: S sale at The Ramp, Fri BRIGHTON: For more info phone Nick, BRISTOL: SC on sale 11-1, 'Hole in Ground'":
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RUDOLPH Bahro is months after his grrest by 'People's Police', trial on trumped-up charges of 'espionage', the author of The Alternative in Eastern Europe was recasco uader me amnest acclareo on tae suln anniversary of the Republic and allowed Germany.
An interview was arranged easily enough. Having pieced together his analysis of 109gt European 'socialism' with only a minimum of Rudolph Bahro was only too keen to talk to West European socialists.
On learning that I represented the press of the Fourth International, Bahro showed great interest, and a lot of respect, for Trotskyism: *The Trotskyists — even though I disagree with them — have the most developed theoretical analysis,' he told me. But for Bahro, that also meant that the Fourth International would have to give up its organisational independence if it wanted to make its analysis politically effective.
Bahro's political project is the unification of all socialist currents in a single organisation; the overcoming of the sectarian divisions on the left. He is very eager to learn more about the various tendencies, and a bit incredulous when described to him the tendencies to be found. 'No, not really - they can't be serious!' Eurocommunist Bahro describes himself as a EurocommunIst, but is ready to concede the opportunist' aspects in the practice of the Italian and French. Communist Parties. The parties have not thought out their strategy thoroughly enough. Yet a strategy of achieving *powerful ideological majority' in order to 'isolate the state from the monopolies', "peaceful, revolution against monopoly capital', is what Bahro has in mind, and where he agrees with Berlinguer, leader of the Italian CP free. Twenty-three East Germany's 15 months after his secret German Democratic to leave for West official sources, full spectrum of Eurocommunist consensus of . the democratic
----- pull-quotes -----
Cost of 'The Thirties'
Precedent for Terrorist' swap
The role of journalists
WARF comic - missing the point?
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