THE long-awaited Fragments' was attended by 1,400 people. from a myriad of local activities, they hoped to develop between the formalised programme or a strong national structure.
However, ute proved to be a fragmentation of experience. The conference overcome this. At its best the discussions in the workshops were amiable and bland. But being unable to find the minimum basis on which links become possible demands, common initiatives, and national co-ordination reverted to an easier theme: slagging off the revolutionary left.
Many these revolutionary left — its lack of roots in the organised membership, its inconsistent attitude to the women's movement, towards certain types of community-based struggles 'Beyond the conference last Saturday proved Coming national links "fragments' without fragmentation also was strikingly unable to the conference too often criticisms of the working class, its turnover of national indifference - nave a certain amount of truth.
But it is just silly to say that these 'locally'? organisation, structures and hierarchies.
A more serious diagnosis might be that there are political reasons why the left has unable to project politics into all spheres of society popular and concrete fashion. On this level, of how to develop a socialist programme, Beyond the Fragments has some pertinent points to make.
For example, there is the tendency of far left organisations to concentrate on short-term issues — the immediate response to redundancies in a factory — rather than the longer-term work on a theoretical and grass roots level, which is necessary to develop an adequate response to unemployment and a clear view of what socialism could provide.
Also, it is true to say that a national organisation can, because of its nationally determined priorities, cut across the tactics and priorities which local members may have developed from a closer involvement in their own town.
Of course, the opposite is also true. The initiatives of orgallisalion are vitel precondition for local campaigns could the Anti Nazi League have developed day Does this really Or does Perhaps the 'vision discussing and Britain rather than Only about political revolutionary around demands, how original ideas in Beyond the Fragments did not surface at the conference. Two general trends were visible and both were expressed through the most common phrase 'the need to develop our vision of mean concentrating looking at structures and hierarchies with a retreat into smaller and smaller groups and more localised activity as the only way vision of socialism'? In other words, is BTF a staging post for those who are leaving or who have left political activity aimed at mass social change?
something else? means developing detailed manifesto for the struggle for socialism in stereotyped and predictable ragbag of demands that is often dignified by the name of a programme?
that agreement about political principles can there be openness tactics. The movement started from a certain agreement goals Without political agreement and unity in action, tactical flexibility can only become a recipe for greater fragmentation. CONGRATULATIONS, on the political statu be all in the same •BRING called by Anwar Ditta FIGHT POLICE ATTACKS! Public It in the Brixtor , Rd, Brixton (op Speaker to Even turkey, fi disco, Sun 7 Se Colombo Street, , SEI Cor 2-50 or a one o
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