reviews Building a Socialist Alternative by Alan Thornett a Socialist Alliance pamphlet ACTIVISTS in the Socialist Alliance have been calling out for more material for our stalls and meetings and this new pamphlet by Alan Thorett goes some way to filling that need. It sets out the current deep crisis of Blairism, the opportunities for a so the that wouid on the left. The crisis is most clearly expressed in the illegal imperalist war in Irag and the British involvement in a vile occupation that already looks like the kind of quagmire that the USSR got into in Afghanistan, or the US in Vietnam. The popularity of Tony Blair and the way he got away with his nauseating 'trust me' stance now seems like a strange and incongruous memOry.
But the crisis of contemporary Labourism goes deeper than this and is presented as a 'crisis of labour representation' in which the working class now have no voice in parliament, not
Led and limited voice provided by the old traditions of 20th century Labourism. The author doesn't go as far as to see New Labour as a completely bourgeois party, but the evidence for its Tory agenda and for the isolation of the Labour left (even with the rise of the Reclaim the Party' movement) is very strong.
The opportunities are presented in a brief account of the emergence of new 'anti-capitalist and anti-war movements, marked by political radicalisation and the involvement of a new generation of activists.
The scale of the anti-war movement is well put. The shift in the trade unions with the rise of the 'awkward squad' emphaSSes He CeDale aboul tIC political fund.
The Socialist Alliance is presented in its best light, with our victory in Preston on the basis of an active commitment to the interests of working-class people, although the far greater successes of the Scottish Socialist Party do come across very clearly.
The need for realignment and unity is focused on the elections in 2004 for the European Parliament and Greater London Assembly and then the next general election.
The ambition of the Alliance to stand everywhere it can (except against obviously identifiable socialists) is spelt out. But that ambition is clearly a big jump for the pamphlet's optimistic take on the SA - and for it to be fulfilled requires that we build outwards and look for partners.
The extent to which we were not the main alternative to Labour in the Brent East by-election shows just how far we still have to go.
It's a worthy addition to our literature. And with the SA being Order now! The pamphlet is available at £2 plus postage from the Socialist Alliance, Creative House, 82-90 Queensland Rd London N7 or www.socialistalliance.net BUILDING A ALTERNATIVE
built on a shoestring selling this pamphlet is one way of raising some of the money we need.
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socialist. A supplement to Socialist Resistance www.socialistresistance.net 20p TONY BLAIR's warmongering chum George Bush is still trying to explain away the total lack of any weapons of mass destruction to excuse the US invasion of Iraq. But that won't stop him coming over here in November on an official visit - and no doubt to plan out the next military targets to be attacked. Don't let him think he is welcome here. Join the protests.
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