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Unemployment Blues

bunch of militants another argument about the alleged balance of power was that mr callaghan's social contract was maintained by the quid pro quo of pro-union legislation such as the employment protection act and the trade union and labour relations acts providing rights for workers against the excesses of their employers and obligations on hardpressed managements which they found increasingly impossibe to bear. the whole community as the people's march for jobs arrives in london and nalgo and the telecom unions continue their doughty campaigns against cuts and privatisation, the movement's eggs are stacked heavily in the basket of a labour victory.

Against The Current

Marxism today may 1988 focus panama: the military is loyal but how popular is noriega's stand? against the current by the time you read this, general manuel antonio noriega, the embattled panamanian military strongman known as el man may, or may not, have been forced from power by a combination of us intervention and domestic opposition. If the allegations against general noriega are true - and they have been made from many different sources - his involvement with colombia's medellin cartel, supplier of around 70% of the cocaine reaching the united states, can be seen as a logical (if illegal) extension of this role: panama is used as a drug transhipment post. the second point is the major us strategic interest in panama.

CLOSE UP on Winnie Mandela

She might have lived in the shadow of the great man during their brief time together, but she emerged to become not only totally responsible for their children but a powerful leader, outspoken and fearless. when mandela and the other accused were found not guilty in 1961, he returned home, triumphant: but it was the end of the little time together they had enjoyed. Nomzamo winifred mandela, wife of the south african leader nelson mandela, imprisoned for life for his work for the african national congress.

The role of the NUM in South Africa

Soundings issue 7 autumn 1997 the role of the num in south africa / introduction vic allen the num, with 150,000 members, is the largest trade union in south africa. In 1985 the union resigned from cusa and played a central role in organising cosatu 210  the num in south africa as, in effect, the trade union wing of the liberation struggle.

The Role of the NUM in South Africa: Introduction

Soundings issue 7 autumn 1997 the role of the num in south africa / introduction vic allen the num, with 150,000 members, is the largest trade union in south africa. In 1985 the union resigned from cusa and played a central role in organising cosatu 210  the num in south africa as, in effect, the trade union wing of the liberation struggle.

Reagan: is it as bad as it sounds ?

Three crucial questions immediately confront any such effort: —how to redefine a vision of democratic, public activity in the face of a strong critique of statism — without doing so, without posing a relatively open form of state and public activity as something really possible, it will be very hard to wage more than defensive sectional struggles; —how to propose a model of non-patriarchal familial and social order, in a way that uncompromisingly defends the gains made by women's movement (and the gay movement), and refuses to cooperate in the right's stigmatisation of these impulses as hyperindividualistic and anti-communal; —how to enter and reshape the debate over 'reindustrialisation', over the reallocation and restructuring of investment, with its vast consequences both for immediate living and working conditions, and for new elements of class and social structure. According to early polling data following the election, reagan won 46% of the vote from households with a union member, as opposed to carter's 47% — a dramatic sign of the erosion of the democratic coalition.5 welding this multiclass support into a new coalition is no easy matter, however, especially given the diverse and often antagonistic character of the groups within the new coalition.

Interview with Ken Livingstone

Now, how the labour party responds, i think, is by saying that we have to start to articulate the  18 november 1981 marxism today needs of the minorities and the dispossessed in a way that labour governments and the labour party never have in the past. in these conditions — tory voting trends, potential sdp support, a weak labour movement and a changed class profile — what strategy does the labour party have to regain its mass base and revive support for 'municipal socialism'? the problem is partly the one you've spelt out.

Age-Old Arguments

But at the end of the decade a new world vision has set in: the concept of the 'global village', with its concern for the global environment and, underpinned by new technology, the growth of truly global multinational companies geared to a world market. The key question of the 90s is: to whom? the car: tarnished image marxism today january 1990  dilemmas driving passion that symbol of the modern and the young — the car — is set for a rougher ride in the 90s.

The Two Camps

The new reasoner spring 1958 number 4 malcolm macewen the two camps the purpose of this article is to show that a major contribution to peace could be made, on the one hand, by some internal democratic reforms in the soviet union that would win immense support in the working-class movement in capitalist countries, and on the other, that the continued participation by the communist parties of the capitalist states in a monolithic communist bloc not only limits their independence, but thereby obstructs the unification of the workingclass movements, and weakens the movement for peace. The sad truth is that in france the communist party, despite its large membership and voting strength, is more isolated than at any time since the war; that in germany the communist party is not only illegal but uninfluential; that all over western europe the communist parties, except in italy, have been declining steadily  the new reasoner spring 1958 number 4 18 the new reasoner since 1947, and have lost ground even more heavily since the 20th congress; and that in britain the communist party has become split and isolated, has retreated within its sectarian shell, and is incapable under its present leadership of leading broad sections of the people.

NEWS ON CHANNEL FOUR

when one thinks of the 'bully-boy-saboteurmilitant-wrecker' image of effective trade unionism so common in the british media, we are entitled to claim this kind of approach as an advance, although the times tv correspondent thought otherwise: 'trade union affairs spend a long time being stupefyingly boring before they get interesting, and it is an inflexible fact of life that only a handful of unionists have the patience to stay through the boring bits'. It is not in any respect fundamentally different from the established broadcasting institutions, for the following reasons: it is a commercial public channel, subject to the ultimate control of a public authority while also being dependent on advertisers and thus on advertising; the dubious criteria of impartiality in broadcasting must be followed, as john pilger has discovered to his cost with the truth game, postponed because of the need for 'balance'; and many of the programmes shown on channel 4 are made by personnel applying the same journalistic and professional standards as have been frustratingly evident on the other three channels.

Smaller Worlds debate on the Manifesto For New Times

S debate smaller worlds in this month's manifesto for new times debate, giorgio napolitano welcomes the global challenge of new times, gordon brown draws out some economic-policy threads and cynthia cockbum questions the balance of power t he manifesto for new times represents an important effort to rethink the problems and prospects of socialism, an effort which is called for everywhere. recognising that the nation-state is an all-too-ineffective barrier against transitional capital, the manifesto for new times rightly calls for 'a new international settlement'.

The Congo Disaster

O f ‘unitarianism’ versus federalism, p. 64,5) which explain his lack o f attentive treatment of patrice lumemba’s colition government (déclaration g ou­ vernementale, july 23rd, 1960) and recognition that the m n c from the start was the only party to emphasise the very real need for participation by the people, literacy and political education drives, comprehensive and local agri­ cultural and industrial units o f production, education and mobilisation o f the growing proportion o f juveniles (the population burst now undergone by the congo has resulted in 1960 in a ratio o f 50% o f the total population being under 18!), equality o f rights for the sexes, etc. O f a schematic device borrowed from ruth slade’s “ the belgian congo” ; the machinery is set forth in chapter 5: the revolt o f the elite: “ the break-up o f the trinity, the establishment on which power rested in the congo; a change o f political direction in brussels; mounting international pressures, responding to develop­ ments in other parts o f africa.

Eric Hobsbawm interviews Tony Benn

Where do you situate yourself and the sort of people who think like you, compared to the older labour left traditions, for example, the bevan type of labour left, the keep left labour left, the michael foot type of labour left? what was beginning to happen during the period of the last labour government was that the left was increasingly seeing the importance of developing socialism within the labour party as a party, in parallel with support for the labour government as a government.

Modern Music Culture: On Shock, Pop And Synthesis

87 c. cutler, file under popular (london: november books, 1985), chs 5 to 7, and 'technology, politics and contemporary music: a theory and a project', in popular music, 4 (1984); m. paddison, 'the critique criticised: adorno and popular music' and p. wicke, 'rock music: a musical-aesthetic study', both in popular music, 2 (1982). two recent books which make use of these approaches to popular music in contrasting ways are iain chambers's urban rhythms: pop music and popular culture38 and dave laing's one chord wonders: power and meaning in punk rock.39 chambers weaves a flowing historical narrative around the major british pop culture and music phenomena from 1956 to the present; while laing takes one short, significant moment of pop history - punk rock '76 to '78 - and subjects it to comprehensive semiotic and aesthetic deconstruction.

Striking Back

Thus, in an attempt to 'take crime seriously', certain radical criminologists1 have put forward the thesis that it has been the alarming increase in black street crime, itself a product of cultural conflict along generational lines within  marxism today the black community and the attendant 'political marginalisation' of black youth, that has forced the adoption of 'military policing' methods, leading in turn to the alienation of the police from the wider community and a 'collapse of the basis for consensual policing'. To continue that same policing tradition in the black ghettos of our inner cities is not to win black people over to "the traditional english view" of the police but to confirm them in their traditional view of the english police — as a police against the people.

Who Dares Wins

i joined the labour party 42 years ago, i was elected to parliament 34 years ago, i was elected to the national executive of the labour party 25 years ago, i have served as a cabinet minister for 11 years in five governments and i'll be 60 in six months' time and my conclusion is very simple: that what britain needs now is a comprehensive, peaceful and democratic revolution. There is, too, a wider danger to democracy that comes from a tendency for parliamentary democracy which the chartists and the suffragettes fought to establish, to decline into a weak type of 'elected parliamentarianism' where members of parliament seem to be content to be excluded from real power by the executive working behind official secrecy that leaves labour backbenchers out of any knowledge of what is happening even when we are in power; and by an intense dislike of accountability which has expressed itself in recent debates within the labour party.

Novel Approaches A Tale for New Times

why aren't you in oxford?' and tom - who was becoming something of a dab hand at this - managed to imply that he was visiting the city for a limited time and unspecified purpose, and clara said she had some marxism today august 1989  visiting to do, and would he like to join her, and he said yes but what about her bicycle, and she said that if he felt up to it they'd ride together. And you're providing kids - again, especially round here - with alternatives to selling petrol to the rich and junk food to each other' and as though to answer tom's unspoken question, clara admitted that in exchange for state support for such endeavours, and the guarantee of jobs or student grants at youth wage rates, young people were required to take up at least one of the options offered. 'which as you can imagine caused some trouble with the class of '68,' said clara, 'the inalienable right not to work brigade, you know.'

What Kind of Fightback?

All that has happened in the past 15 months argues that to decisively shift political support in the country back to labour and the labour movement, will demand a political and ideological offensive by the labour movement based on policies to be decided at the september tuc and the october labour party conference so that millions of people are given a new confidence that there is a credible labour alternative to the tory government. a new stage if there was greater confidence amongst the rank and file of the labour movement and amongst millions of labour voters that the next general election manifesto would not be degutted by right wing labour leaders, as the last one was, and that labour mps and a labour government emerging from the election would carry out party policy, and not act in violation of it, as callaghan, healey and other mps did in the winter of 78/79, the whole anti-tory fight would take on a greater degree of enthusiasm and confidence.

The Growing Police Challenge

In other words the commission is echoing the police belief that people commonly admit their guilt in the police station and then deny doing so in court; whereas it is at least as likely that many people are 'verballed' in the police station and plead guilty because they don't think their denial has a chance of being believed. What still needs full recognised that juries frequently disbelieved debate is a mode of opposition which will not police evidence because police corruption simply polarise the labour movement and the was known to be widespread, and there is no police but will constrain and modify those doubt that he worked hard and effectively to deep-seated attitudes which at present put reduce the level of corruption in the policing and democracy in opposite camps.

Not Such Tolerant Times

The asylum and immigration bill introduced towards the end of 1995 is but one indication that the 'british' are far from overcoming their 'fear of being swamped by people with a different culture'.5 in addition, a closer examination of the current trend amongst political leaders of promoting asian values and customs' (once seen as incompatible with a british national identity) as desirable national traits reveals how britain's politicians have, as kenan malik has suggested, appropriated 'antiracist themes for chauvinist ends'.6 behind the lingo of multiculturalism and antiracism the current generation of south asian youth have grown up in a period where it is increasingly commonplace to hear of britain's good record on race relations, better than any other in europe. In addition, the image of the successful asian entrepreneur remains far removed from the everyday realities of the vast majority of south asian youth, in particular those of pakistani and bangladeshi background who (along with those of african caribbean descent) experience higher rates of unemployment than any other ethnic group.2 for many young south asians, perhaps as frustrating as john major's reductive construction of a british south asian experience topping the charts in education, employment and family values, is the absence of any effective alternative from the other two leading parties.

Not such tolerant times

The asylum and immigration bill introduced towards the end of 1995 is but one indication that the 'british' are far from overcoming their 'fear of being swamped by people with a different culture'.5 in addition, a closer examination of the current trend amongst political leaders of promoting asian values and customs' (once seen as incompatible with a british national identity) as desirable national traits reveals how britain's politicians have, as kenan malik has suggested, appropriated 'antiracist themes for chauvinist ends'.6 behind the lingo of multiculturalism and antiracism the current generation of south asian youth have grown up in a period where it is increasingly commonplace to hear of britain's good record on race relations, better than any other in europe. In addition, the image of the successful asian entrepreneur remains far removed from the everyday realities of the vast majority of south asian youth, in particular those of pakistani and bangladeshi background who (along with those of african caribbean descent) experience higher rates of unemployment than any other ethnic group.2 for many young south asians, perhaps as frustrating as john major's reductive construction of a british south asian experience topping the charts in education, employment and family values, is the absence of any effective alternative from the other two leading parties.

RIOT ACTS - The Politics of Despair

although as recent results in some inner city areas have shown, electoral support for labour by black voters can no longer be taken for granted, the party is attracting greater numbers of black activists, and there have been important increases in the number of black labour councillors. Brixton police claimed good relations with the mainly middle aged and middle class black people who sat on the consultative committee, but the youth have little respect for the people the police want to treat as their leaders, and since the riots will have even less.

WRITING ON THE WALL FOR THE GLC

In a struggle to preserve the democratic rights of londoners the glc is fighting the post-political age with the politics of the poster. from late february this year londoners have witnessed the most carefully planned and researched political advertising campaign since the selling of the tories in 1979. For two white colouring of the posters, which days at the end of may these sites had the unlike the majority of other glc adverts, simple black on white message imagine did not have the logo keep the glc what london would be like run from working for london.

The Role of the NUM in South Africa

The num in south africa soundings issue 7 autumn 1997 the role of the num in south africa ii james motlasi this is the presidential address by james motlasi, president of the south african national union of mineworkers, at their ninth national congress. when our last congress met in march 1994 the country was preparing for the first democratic general election in the history of south africa. moreover, in their campaigns to recruit whites from the developed countries to work in south african mines they do not offer third world terms of employment but salaries and conditions which are better than they 218  the num in south africa could get in their home countries.

THE END OF THE TEENAGE ERA Interview with Julien Temple

one of the main problems in translating the book into the film must have been that there are actually two books: there is the book about teenage and then, as the legend goes, maclnnes was in notting hill during the race riots of 1958 and that impelled him to write the latter part of the book very eloquently about race. but your film has not been trouble-free as a production? it's probably been one of the most difficult films in the history of the british cinema to make, largely because we were trying to do something that people didn't really want us to do, and all with a young producer, a cameraperson who had never done a major film, and unknown actors.