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Socialist Alliance: national conference discussion

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:47:23 PST

The written - and online -- pre-conference discussion for the 8th National Conference of the Socialist Alliance's finishes today two days before the actual conference begins in Sydney.

The conference will be held at the new Activist Centre there which is big enough and flexible enough to house a large mob.

Discussion has been vigorous in the pages of Alliance Voices and there have been close to 100 documents, proposals and amendments contributed.

The key focus has been the draft resolution -- Towards a Socialist Australia -- which has already gone through a few re-writes as part of an ongoing collaborative process.

The idea to put together a document which starts to encapsulate the answers to the questions “Why Socialism?” and “What Does the Socialist Alliance Stand For?” in a popular style came about late last year.... This process has been the result of positive collaboration within the Alliance and reflects our current practice with policy development and discussion on our campaigning e-lists.Assuming that the draft is approved at the conference, the next step will be to commence a process of continuing discussion about the document within the Alliance, as well as public consultation with our allies, collaborators and individual supporters, with a view to formally adopting it as a document of the Alliance at our 2013 National Conference. How branches choose to go about this consultation will be up to them, and dependent upon the particular circumstances in each city and state, but branches should start a discussion about this soon after the conference -- Susan Price : Rationale for the Towards a Socialist Australia document

Since I've been under the weather I haven't been actively engaged in party debates to the extent I was two years ago. But ever a meddler I contributed two discussion items on what I called 'Atlargeness' -- Article I and Article II.

The advantage of being at-large as I am is that you get to meditate on the condition.

A theme in some of the exchanges has been identity which I think is a political trap. I'm dedicated to judging an outfit on what it does and how it does it -- not on what it thinks it is. On the socialists left there is far too much boutique identity politics. After 40 years of it I've had my fill of shibboleth making and program posturing.

Ironically Towards a Socialist Australia not only tries to define what the Socialist Alliance is and strives for but in its genesis it also suggests what the Alliance does.

The Socialist Alliance: ten years on

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:51:59 PST

While I've been waylaid by a bout of ill health for the past 2 years and consequently disengaged from the political coal face, I'm still a Socialist Alliance groupie.

I mean that because I'm very supportive of the project since I was dragged into its factional furore in 2003. when the various far left affiliates were determined to prevent the 'alliance' moving forward and developing into a 'multi tendency socialist party'.

When I say factional furore I do mean it was heated stuff, the worst of it unbeknown to the bulk of observers on the left and SA members. Then in dribs and drabs these affiliates who failed to win over the vast majority of the Alliance membership to their position , despite an open and extensive democratic debate, quietly licked their wounds and withdrew.

So in the period between its formation in 2001 and the split in the Democratic Socialist Perspective in 2008, the SA has been cause for much discord on the far left.

Not bad for a purported 'unity' project.

But then when you consider the history of similar unity projects elsewhere with the same international partners -- such as in England and Scotland -- a similar factional and divisive story emerges in the experience of Respect, the English Socialist Alliance and the Scottish Socialist Party.

The Socialist Alliance success is that it has survived all this and still remains a viable enterprise.

I'll get back to that point later : how viable is the SA?

The SA can still argue for a left unity when the various tendencies on the far left have proven and stated often enough that are not the least bit interested in organisational unity for the foreseeable future. Consequently, these same elements have dismissed the Alliance as a failed exercise.

So how viable is the Alliance as a unity project when the far left orgs won't have a bar of it?

What these naysayers don't recognise is that the SA continues to unite socialists around a program of shared political activity. It continues its quest for left regroupment. It is open and accessible in a way that other far left orgs are not.

It is a step out of the far left ghetto because it has tried to develop an organisation that does not make a fetish over a boutique program or one that is ruled by its own 'circle spirit'. What unites the SA membership is a unity of shared activity not a coming together premised on a specific world view laid out in chapter and verse or shibboleth specific...

This means that in matters of platform and party program the SA develops slowly, even cautiously, as it tries to advance by dint of as much consensual agreement as possible.

It isn't line ruled.

This may, does and should have its handicaps but the Alliance nonetheless has survived a few sharp divisions within its ranks without the membership falling out among themselves. If you are trying to create 'a multi tendency socialist party' you are going to have divisions and differences. It will be par for the course.

At stake is how you resolve those disputes without alienating layers within the party while sustaining their commitment and allegiance.

At the same time you cannot simply ignore contemporary politics by allowing yourself the cop out the Greens employ and simply default to no position (and 'no' position so often means the relapsing to inaction).

Ultimately, this has to come down to a democratic challenge: how much real democracy there is.

Perhaps you could have a truly rooly democratic party but what's the point of it if it doesn't prosper?

And it's true that the Alliance has neither grown sharply over the last few years nor prospered at the ballot box. It has won one local government position -- Sam Wainwright in Fremantle -- but while the Greens may be seen as the main left alternative more general support for the Alliance at election time will have to wait.

Nonetheless, the Alliance is increasingly recognized as the socialists on offer come each polling day.

This handicap has not undermined what the SA gets up to the other 364 days of each year. This activity -- of being seen to always come out fighting in many and various campaigns while also standing in elections -- has drawn a mixture of people to its ranks: indigenous activists, people leaving the ALP, those disenchanted with the Greens, various ethnic community activists...and people who are located 'at large' where no significant socialist history exists, such as in rural and regional Australia.

This makes the Alliance a mixed bag of adherents -- a membership that is not readily summarized nor characterised -- of a nature that is not easily organised especially in the way far left Leninist type outfits tend to be. It is of no special type. While the SA continues to explore various organisational forms and norms it still is a party in waiting, for now more on a promise than at this moment on delivering the broad socialist party it set out to become.

It has occupied the green left niche in Australian politics and keenly advocated a sharp anti-capitalist agenda in response to Climate Change. In that way it is a major ideological challenge to the pragmatism and pro capitalism of The Greens and its platform is consistently judged the most radical but environmentally sustainable on offer at election time.

Similarly, its trade union perspectives both day-to-day on the job and its campaigning advocacy, are absolutely pro worker. While the SA has the broadest trade union implantation on the Australian far left , some unions will donate to the Alliance, but none, thus far, will formally and publicly support it.

That's in part due to its shallow electoral success (esp in comparison to The Greens) and the still strong rule Laborism has over the trade union movement here.

But I think where the Alliance has born the best results has been where it has forged broad alliances in a series of important campaigns and strived to sustain and build on those links.

The Alliance therefore exists on two levels: within itself in the form of a party associating and bringing different socialists together; and more broadly as an exercise in forging and consolidating broader campaigning alliances.

With its 7th National Conference coming up in January 2012, the world is still the SA's oyster.

Baiada: Portrait of a strike

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:16:12 PST

Community rally during the Baiada picket.

These interviews conducted during the recent Baiada Poultry Factory strike are POV gems that remind us that unions and struggle still matter.

Stick Together Show :Today’s show focuses on the ongoing strike by migrant workers at the Baiada poultry factory in Laverton, Melbourne. We discuss the Herald Sun’s negative coverage of the strike, followed by interviews with a Baiada worker, and a farmer who grows chickens for Baiada
Download audio file

Baiada workers celebrate victory

Graphics and politics : Bring back the red star

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:18:49 PST

Source: Venezuela Translating the Revolution

Iconic symbols play a role in politics. Shapes and colours resonate and stand for ideologies and movements in ways that are historical rich and seeming substantial.

Red suggests socialism. Green, the environment movement. Pink -- gay and lesbian rights. Purple: Womens Liberation. The rainbow of colours -- a congregation and community of different peoples. Black: Anarchism.... Aboriginal Australia has its own three colours.

This colouring in of political allegiance has also been associated with shapes -- a shape to go with the colour. So Pink went with a triangle, and the Greens here snaffled the triangle shape to patent a Greens symbol by coloring it to preference. Further left, flags predominated and maybe clenched fists: Red flags. Graphics of black fists. But flags and fists have been the norm for the new left.

Aside: I've never been much of a fister. Only if pushed by immense peer pressure will I raise my fist aloft. It may be a traditional choreographed moment within the chorus of The Internationale , but usually hands -- my hands anyway -- are put to other uses.

For us socialists while there have been an array of symbolic shapes to draw upon historically -- the hammer and sickle, the red wedge or the red flag -- often the star has been neglected although in some countries it is banned!. Stars were a potent theme in the iconography of the old communist parties. Unlike the Southern Cross on the Australian flag which denotes geography, stars on the flags of countries like Cuba can refer in the popular imagination to that country's politics.

So let's hear it for the star -- the neglected red star of socialism.

But while we are celebrating the star -- dusting off the cob webs and polishing it up -- in Venezuela it is getting a make over and the images above suggest how creative that make over can be.

Personally I'm so over red flags and outside a few bods on Mayday marches the red flag rarely gets an outing today.

But a red star to match the Greens triangle patent....I like the idea. That it is here presented as a kite (and elsewhere as a flower to be nurtured and cared for) is a creative renovation of a theme.

Unfortunately, the five-pointed red star, a pentagram, doesn't make for good kite flying aerodynamics if one wanted to make it air born. as the boy above is represented. So cutouts, stencils, profiles and totems are the only way to go. Lettering inside the boundaries of the star is also problematical. But as a once-upon-a-time street theatre type and puppeteer, I think the red star has a lot of street promise.

One complication: on a red star, which way is up?

The recent death of Shelagh Delaney

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:57:29 PST

The recent death of Shelagh Delaney warrants some attention.

Delaney isn't a household name. Maybe, at most, she is known because she is some how associated with British alt rock group, The Smiths.

But she had little to do with music being primarily a playwright and screen writer.

The Smiths adopted her sort of like an icon.

But in way of consequence, Delaney wrote her first play -- A Taste of Honey -- when she was 18 and if you aint seen it -- at least in the form of Tony Richardson's excellent film version -- you are missing something from your existence.

Why? Because -- to put it simply: "the play's the thing".

A Taste of Honey back at its premier in 1958 -- that's way back in stodgy 1958! -- challenged accepted mores of class, race, gender and sexual orientation. A poignant often frank play, it's kitchen sink realism captures a yearning and a protest that still reverberates today.

I was involved with a production of A Taste of Honey in 1967 at a Melbourne mental hospital. Fresh out of school,and only 18 myself, my university campus -- La Trobe -- abutted a swathe of psychiatric institutions. Being dedicated thespians a gang of us partnered a few projects in the neighborhood. Among these was a production of the play by patients.

We helped out.

Imagine a one off performance in a large sitting room -- the ward's day room -- for 30 residents by folk who's issues with existence paralleled those addressed in the play.

It was a special experience. One of the best in my theatrical life.

Thanks to YouTubery you can watch the film version online and maybe get a feel for why the Smiths were infatuated with the play and its author, and why The Beatles deferred to Delaney and recorded a cover version of the film's theme song.

I guess A Taste of Honey has cult status among those who are in the know. Delaney wasn't fashionable and in a sense she missed out on a ready Feminist imprimatur as her initial output predated the Third Wave.

But her achievement -- in creative isolation as it was -- is remarkable.

Good discussion about Delaney: Shelagh Delaney: extraordinary, unique, bloody marvellous and the documentary below is renowned for its insightful portraiture of a working class life. One of Ken Russel's better works....

SHELAGH DELANEY
A genuine poet has passed through the world. Shelagh Delaney exercised a wide influence with the shock of plain language, and shafts of satiric wit, into a severe and donnish 1950s world where working-class people had thus far been assumed to be simplistic, flag-waving cannon-fodder. Her writing was a magnificent confession of life as it was commonly lived in her hometown of Salford, with all of its carefully preserved monotony. She was attacked for immorality, which, then as now, is proof that you have hit on something.
'A Taste of Honey' was a sentiment that had not been expressed before its time - far more real than life.
It was the Salford of sagging roofs, rag and bone men, walk-up flats, derelict sites, rear-entrance buses, and life in tight circumstances.
Shelagh Delaney did not become fat with success, or become a celebrity, because she was of richer intellect.
She has always been a part of my life as a perfect example of how to get up and get out and do it. If you worry about respect you don't get it. Shelagh Delaney had it and didn't seem to notice it.
MORRISSEY (lyricist for The Smiths)
Los Angeles, November 2011

Two useful documentaries on noir fiction

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:34:13 PST

Useful? Maybe they are essential viewing if you want to get a feel for the scope of what's out there especially in the Nordic countries.

Dave Riley on Kurt Vonnegut

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 05:31:06 PST

This is now...

Here's a rule of life: never go more than 10 years at a spell without re-reading Vonnegut. I mean ALL of Vonnegut you can get your hands on. So I'm back there on rewind, reading Kurt Vonnegut.

And starting back with Breakfast of Champions seemed like as good a place to start as any.

But then there is no beginning and no end to Vonnegut -- it's all one big story written in parenthesis. It's stuff that ambles through the universe and into our social and political lives like the musings of a indulgent Alien, who ,after so long on earth, has learnt to appreciate the locals.

Pity them too.

Always there is pity coming from Vonnegut.

***

This is 1993...The view from Tralfamadore

Fates Worse Than Death — An Autobiographical Collage of the 1980sBy Kurt Vonnegut
Vintage, 1992. 240 pp. $12.95
Reviewed by Dave Riley

Once upon a time artists were people; that is, they were for the people, by the people and of the people.

But all that changed. They began to fall back on themselves in search of a private vision, which in their lonely quest for profound expression made them incomprehensible to the rest of us. They tried very hard to tell us of our plight, but they had read so many books and thought so many thoughts that they forgot our language.

Then came Kurt Vonnegut. He wrote weird stories. People seemed to like him. His popular acceptance as a paperback writer rested on his literary prominence in the 1960s. He was a hero of youthful radicals, and his books sold in their millions.

Now 70 years of age, Kurt Vonnegut is still pumping it out.

Fates Worse Than Death is a freewheeling memoir of the '80s done as only he can. Recollections and anecdotes range through time, written with the wry wit and the sardonic good humour of an affable tolerance.

Vonnegut's idiosyncratic views are so profoundly human that he has not recovered from the fire-bombing of Dresden — which he witnessed as a POW in World War II — nor has he forgiven the United States government for the Vietnam War.

But he is not bitter enough to be satirical. "Listless playthings of enormous forces", is how he once described his fictional characters. In this most recent book, that listlessness seems to include himself. His attempted suicide and his mental breakdown are all part of the universal narrative. As many a Vonnegut devotee will tell you: so it goes.

Vonnegut really doesn't live in anyone's street directory. Formally a resident of the United States he seems to have his abode elsewhere, perhaps on his beloved planet of Tralfamadore.

Written from that perch his books have a quirky long view about them, where earthly time and place have little significance. In Galapagos — which he wrote in the mid-'80s — the human species is wiped out and replaced by a gene pool generated at the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

In the books of Kurt Vonnegut the future comes uncomfortably close. The fates that are worse than death are really with us now, if only we could recognise them. Fortunately, surveying from a distance, Kurt Vonnegut is there to chart them for us.

***

This is 2007...

If you haven't read Vonnegut, you don't know what you're missing. More than any other writer, I think he embraced the political promise of the sixties. It's almost impossible to consider that he could have had a career as a writer without a marriage with that broad insurgency. His initial success basically had to wait until that radicalisation began to kick in.

The period saw many novelists being taken up and embraced as radical chic: Albert Camus, Norman Mailer, Hunter S.Thompson, Herman Hess, Jean Genet, Allan Sillitoe, Gunther Grass, Yukio Mishima, Joseph Heller... (yes, primarily a list of males)but I doubt few were as generous as Vonnegut was in offering substance to mull over.

I think I've read Slaughterhouse Fivefive times over the past thirty years and I have tried to read ALL he wrote because there was so much there that was worth the reading, even though like a massive serial, the novels tend to merge with one another as often as the distant planet, Trafalmadore , becomes part of all these seemingly separate narratives. It's like this long line of montages:Cat's Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, The Sirens of Titan...

"and so it goes...."

Of course, Vonnegut -- he died this week at the age of 84 -- was no optimistic idealist. He was dogged by a very bleak vision indeed, affirmed in Dresden, that nonetheless was played out with such tension in his novels that you had to get caught up in the struggles this guy was having with himself. Vonnegut wasn't about insularity and angst or about giving up(despite his unsuccesful attempt at suicide ).

In Slaughterhouse Five, Billy Pilgrim witnessed the fire bombing of Dresden not because fate or some god willed it, but because other men with morals and interests beyond Billy's comprehension, put him there. It wasn't his fault.

And Vonnegut thereafter kept on asking: why?

And Billy, like all of Vonnegut's protagonists,were victims of this nameless barbarity which for some unknown reason they had the capacity to survive as though survival -- humanely and desperately -- was all you could hope for.

In his way, Vonnegut was a bookend to Harold Pinter because they kept addressing the savagery that stalks us from without and, I guess in the case of Vonnegut, the only way he saw you could protect yourself from it was to ignore it and adopt an alienated & sterile existence that was such a shallow shell that to go looking for anything else was to court madness or a stint on a planet far far away.

I'm having trouble here trying to describe the way Vonnegut pitches all this. He is/was unique as a writer. A science fiction novelist -- who wasn't. That's because his stories were about the here and now rather than fictional futures. These were not hypotheses, at all, but exercises in lives lived in alienation under capitalism.

KV:" …I have wanted to give Iraq a lesson in democracy—because we’re experienced with it, you know. And, in democracy, after a hundred years, you have to let your slaves go. And, after a hundred and fifty years, you have to let your women vote. And, at the beginning of democracy, is that quite a bit of genocide and ethnic cleansing is quite okay. And that’s what’s going on now."
-- Appearance on The Daily Show (September 2005)

***

This is about Kurt Vonnegut dying...

Vonnegut: This stuff-that-he-wrote.

The very best thing about someone dying is, as the late Kurt Vonnegut is sure to agree, that you have an excuse to think about them.

"Oh," you say, "Kurt Vonnegut is dead? He wrote stuff."

And so it goes that you wonder about this stuff-that-he-wrote.

I did that. I went to Wikipedia and vetted the bio. I then thought I had a very little bit of Vonnegut to catch up with before I could put him to rest.

So I tracked down and read his last book, A Man Without A Country.

Darn good book. In his eighties Vonnegut is still very much Vonnegut. It was so poignant that it almost moved me to tears for its celebration of living even if that in turn is dogged by a massive desperation.

The thing was almost wise and wise isn't a term so much allowed today.

Headline:Wise old Vonnegut dead at 84.

Stiff bickies , Kurt. I guess it had to come some day.

As for me, I get to exploit the opportune excuse offered by Vonnegut's dying to go read what I missed and re-read what I hadn't.

So after I put down Timequake everything else is a going to be e-read.

That's what I call a fortunate death.

You should try to do that more often, Kurt.

Line Dance Me

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:15:19 PST

By definition, a line dance is a choreographed dance with a repeated sequence of steps in which a group of people dance in one or more lines or rows without regard for the gender of the individuals, all facing the same direction, and executing the steps at the same time.

I guess as far as we all know or care, line dancing is presumed to be boot scooting type dances where folk wear leather boots and Stetson hats while dancing to tunes like "Achy Breaky Heart". But a 'line dance' can be any dance done in unison by a group of people.

What Country and Western has given us is the social and cultural phenomenon that is now so common that there is likely to be a line dancing group in cooee of your doorstep.

Often line dancing sessions are aimed at retirees and the aged because while exercising bodies they are not strenuous activities.

So there's a lot of bias engineered in what we may perceive to be line dancing: it's country and western music; it's for the aged; mainly for women (because they don't have to wait to be asked to dance) and it's ever so hokey.

I admit I shared some of that view. I used to organise local community festivals and the local line dancers who always performed fitted the stereotype to a T. The line dancers and I did many a gig with me working as emcee. We put on a very jeans, belt buckle and boot scoot show.

But something happened -- to me anyway. I have an unbridled passion for Zydeco Music -- the bluesy dance music of Southern Louisiana Creoles -- and in my desire to dance the Zydeco dance I discovered that there has been a major change in line dancing form: the boot scooters don't have it all to themselves.

Amen and Hallelujah! While I am a dedicated aficionado of American Old Time Roots music and used to play the clawhammer banjo in sync with the traditional music of North Carolina and West Virginia, a lot of modern 'country' music turns me right off.

It seems to live out its own caricature. But a year ago we moved to the Caboolture district here in South East Queensland and this neighborhood boasts its own Urban Country Music Festival -- and besides, Keith Urban comes from here. With its annual calendar of rodeos and gymkhanas, acre upon acre of horse farms and the national headquarters of the Australian Professional Rodeo Association in the main street -- our 'suburb' is consciously countrified.

So in this context, and with some trepidation that I was letting my music snobbery down, I went to a local line dancing class.

To my delight, line dancing ain't all boot scooting. The country and western tradition has imbued line dancing with moves, forms and techniques that are easily adapted outside the ten gallon hat template. ... and adaption has proceeded a pace. Line dance here and you are as likely to be doing the Zorba The Greek dance as the schmaltzy beginners dance to the C and W kitschy tune, Elvira.

As well as this eclectic mix of tune and footwork, the sheer massive scale of the phenomenon -- as it now is a truly international obsession -- means that this huge community world wide gets to share its dance choreography through medium such as YouTube.

This is where engineering and consensus rules because line dances are known by their set choreographies rather than their tunes. That means, for instance, while Elvira may be a single song -- it is also a dance that can be performed to other tunes.

This makes 'line dancing' very eclectic and potentially extremely adaptable. Flash mobs are line dances, aren't they, if choro is involved? But beyond that what seems to be happening in the United States , emanating from the Southern States like Texas and Louisiana is a very conscious attempt to adapt soul, zydeco, rhythm and blues, to the line dance format.

Here's an example: T.K Soul's Zydeco Bounce is a very conscious attempt to package Southern Soul with a Zydeco line dance delivery.

In fact when you do your homework,what used to be the on stage dance antics of performers like James Brown is now being replicated in various line dance moves by Afro American choreographers working in the community. So the permutations are endless.

This phenomenon is democratising dancing in a way that seems quite novel. After the various waves of dance fashion which have washed over us we seem to be have on offer a dance form that any one can do: whether geriatric or junior. And there's no strictly ballroom about it nor any need to compete.

Tt may be 'exercise' but it transcends the sterile focus of aerobics.

It's also gender neutral.

My family spent years ferrying our daughter to Irish Step Dancing events, competition and classes, and while the activity was always culturally significant -- my name's 'Riley' after all -- it was always exertion for the young and nimble. After a certain age, most Irish dancers retire.

Step dancing a la Riverdance may indeed be a line dance but it isn't something Grandma would be getting up for.

So in an odd way, we have to dip our lid to the many aged line dancers and the c and w aficionados who have preserved an engagement that is now being offered to the rest of us despite our seeming preference for ignorance and two left feet assumptions.

We also get to learn that group dance fun doesn't have to end with the Macarena. nor do we have to be sentenced to the rank commercialism and fitness obsession of Zumba.

“Dance first. Think later. It's the natural order.”
- Samuel Beckett

Want more line dancing? Check out the politically emergent comrades-- VIDEO Nepalese Maoists do Saturday Night Fever. As for the ethnic and cultural mix, consider the Bollywood influenced Hare Ram line dance as choreographed by Malaysian Jennifer Choo Sue Chin. So when it comes to 'Screwing the light bulb and patting the dog' (lingo for Bollywood dance moves -- you can attend Bollywood line dance classes too) -- the world is your collective oyster: Below we have a Indonesian line dance, taught in English by an Indonesian to a class of young people in Norway....

CRIME FICTION : There is no mourning with dignity: Karin Fossum

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:03:54 PST

The Water's Edge by Karin Fossum

Karin Fossum

I think Karin Fossum is the most emotionally interesting of crime writers. She moves you and makes you think about our relationships to one another in our communities. Regional Norway becomes a crucible of the rest of our existence and what assumptions may rule our perceptions. Her stories aren't so much about Inspectors Konrad Sejer and Jakob Skarre but about us. These coppers are mere conduits to confronting underlying conundrums. This story has a lot to say about the relationships mothers have with their young sons and sons have with their carers; about the yearning to have children and the struggle of child rearing.

The criticism levied at this novel -- that it indulges pedophilia is bunkum. In Fossum's universe there is no strict separation between good and evil. The medley of humans existing, of growing up and ageing in cohabitation with one another -- in the communities bequeathed to us -- is far more complex and engaging that the simple rule of law. Law, after all won't explain brutality -- it serves at best only as a means to assuage it.

In that sense Fossum isn't a very noir novelist. Darkness isn't as pervasive as the over bearing complexity that we have to deal with every day especially among the other humans with whom we co-exist.

But then Fossum is always open to lightness (and being! if you want to be truly empathetic) , to hope and the pleasures that we can obtain through knowing others -- including, it needs to be said, faithful dogs! We need to celebrate these pleasures because when we lose them -- such as through murder -- the loss is the more difficult to bear.

Pain is given absolute respect by Fossum. It is never a plot device. Pain and anguish, rather than murder and sin, are the most human of our collective existence. It is what enriches our humanity. It's not the dirty deeds --- dirty and brutal as they may be -- but that we must all learn to live with the weight of their dead hand.

So for Fossum the prospect of loss -- of having loved ones brutally taken from us -- is the most painful of what we may have to bear.

The funeral described in the novel captures that anguish so very well. After a ritualised, highly theatrical ceremony, seemingly beautifully engineered, the facade falls apart:

"Then something happened. No one was prepared for it. The vicar was shocked, everyone could see that. Some people clasped a hand over their mouth in fear, and Sejer felt an icy chill shoot down his back. Elfrid Løwe started to scream. The service had helped her maintain her composure, she had clung to the vicar's voice, but now she was screaming uncontrollably heartbreakingly, a protest which made people jump in their pews. The screams came from deep within her and pushed their way out with a force no one would have believed such a tiny woman possessed. For the best part of an hour the vicar had built a fragile construction of comfort and resignation. Now she tore it down. She screamed and she demolished it and people could no longer mourn with dignity."

Mourning with dignity? Evil doers will be punished (if not by us then by some god)? Law and coppers can make it all better again?...that's what society asks of us, or at least, asks us to believe in.

That's not how Karin Fossum tells it.

Climate Change: Social Change Conference LIVE STREAM Sept 30/Oct 3

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:09:54 PDT

Some sessions at the Climate Change Social Change conference are livestreamed.
Welcome to Green Left TV1
These are trial broadcasts but between September 30 and October 3 we will be broadcasting live from the Climate Change Social Change Conference in Melbourne, Australia
For more information about this conference go to here. There will be 80 speakers, six major sessions and 40 workshops

Watch live streaming video from greenlefttv1 at livestream.com

Go to live stream page.

Roberto Perez Rivero: Permaculture's Use of Water in Time of Climate Change - the Cuban Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:59:16 PDT

This is a very useful over view of Cuba's Permaculture strategy. The presenter, Roberto Perez toured here in 2008. See resources.

This presentation was delivered to the Tenth International Permaculture Conference (IPC10).

Image at left:London Permaculture.

Presentation Files:

Slideshow (115mb)
PDF (29mb)

Tip: Permaculture Research Institute of Australia

(film noir) Force of Evil: "money has no moral opinions".

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 19:37:19 PDT

Trailing through film noir archives is always a source for fascination as you never know what will jump out of the celluloid.

If you do some homework you'll be guided to alight upon particular films among the several hundred deemed to qualify for the label.

Among these gems is Force of Evil.

At its 1948 release it was misunderstood and dismissed, but Abraham Polonsky's beautiful movie is one of the starkest of the noirs I've come across.

Here there are no good guys but the inevitable tragic ending generates a much broader ruling on the world from which this noir came.

John Garfield plays a lawyer working for a gangster and in his effort to enrich himself destroys the life of his own brother -- a role played by the always excellent Thomas Gomez ( a person who I think is one of the great film actors).

Standard noir melodrama perhaps. Throw in a love interest, some guns and street scenery -- and you get a formula film, right?

Wrong.

For one thing, Force of Evil boasts one of the most lyrical scripts you'll come upon.

Polonsky -- the writer/director -- into a brutal and relentless storyline, wove dialogue that is stand out gorgeous chat which almost attains a sort of Shakespearean relevance to the lot of these humans on screen. Caught up in conditions that rule their lives, everyone is forced to make the best of what may be to hand: who they work for, what they do...as they have precious little choice in the matter. That's what you have to do in order to survive.

Sylvia Morse: [referring to Joe] Don't have anything to do with him, Leo. You're a businessman.
Leo Morse: Yes. I've been a businessman all my life. And honest - I don't know what a business is.
Sylvia Morse: Well, you had a garage... you had a real estate business.
Leo Morse: A lot you know. Real estate business... living from mortgage to mortgage... stealing credit like a thief. And the garage - that was a business! Three cents overcharge on every gallon of gas: two cents for the chauffeur and a penny for me. Penny for one thief, two cents for the other. Well, Joe's here now - I won't have to steal pennies anymore. I'll have big crooks to steal dollars for me!

That's Force of Evil's core moral presence: we are all shadowed by the evil the permeates the society in which we live. We may learn to coexist -- we have no choice -- but at its infective core the relentless force of this evil can only destroy all it touches as it is a resident evil driven by singular greed.

Leo Morse: The money I made in this rotten business is no good for me, Joe. I don't want it back. And Tucker's money is no good either.
Joe Morse: The money has no moral opinions.
Leo Morse: I find I have, Joe. I find I have.

And that's the problem: money does indeed have no moral opinions. It rules over us by its promise of opportunity such that it warps our morality.

Joe Morse: To go to great expense for something you want – that’s natural. To reach out and take it – that’s human, that’s natural. But to get pleasure from not taking, by cheating yourself deliberately, like my brother did today, from not getting, not taking – don’t you see what a black thing that is for a man to do?

Force of Evil is a very thinly disguised metaphor for capitalism, and Polonsky, the dedicated soon-to-be-blacklisted Marxist that he was, pulls no punches in directing his first and the only movie he was allowed. This is stark stuff formatted by an overriding menace that those who object or protest, or try to drop out, will only suffer consequence.

Just like its writer/director did.

But then, Force of Evil -- despite its rank cynicism, brutal tragedies and its measure of the corruptive power of fear -- reminds us that hope rests in one option: if you don't fight, you lose.

[last lines - voice over]
Joe Morse: I found my brother's body at the bottom there, where they had thrown it away on the rocks... by the river... like an old dirty rag nobody wants. He was dead - and I felt I had killed him. I turned back to give myself up to Hall; because if a man's life can be lived so long and come out this way - like rubbish - then something was horrible and had to be ended one way or another... and I decided to help.

Derek Wall and Muckaty women to participate in CCSC conference

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 01:00:56 PDT

Leading British ecosocialist Derek Wall (pictured left) has confirmed that he will prepare a video presentation especially for the World At A Crossroads: Climate Change Social Change conference in Melbourne September 30-October 3. It will be on the topic "Organising for ecosocialism" and we will probably show it in the plenary session on the evening of Sunday October 2. He will do a Skype audio connect to that session so he can join in the discussion as well.

We also have confirmation that two women traditional landowners from Muckaty (the site of the planned nuclear waste dump opposed by the local Aboriginal community and many others), Dianne Stokes (pictured below left) and Kylie Sambo(who is also a hip hop artist-- pictured below right), will be travelling all the way from Central Australia to the conference.

Wall is running for chair of the Green Party in Britain and will know if he wins on September 8.
In the current issue of GLW, there are interviews with keynote guest speakers John Bellamy Foster and Ian Angus and also a profile article about the three young Cambodian women activists who are coming to the conference.

The longstanding and globally respected Monthly Review magazine, which Foster edits, has become the latest co-sponsor of the conference, joining Melbourne University Office for Environmental Programs, Friends of the Earth (Melbourne), climateandcapitalism.com, Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal, Labour Party Pakistan (LPP), Sydney University Political Economy Society, Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM), Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM – Philippines), Australia-Asia Worker Links, Left Unity Adelaide, Adelaide Climate Emergency Action Network (CLEAN), Community Radio 3CR, Transform Asia and Action Aid International.

Individual sessions are being sponsored by the Victorian Trades Hall Council, Earthworker and the Society on Social Implications of Technology (Australia).

Left publishing at an impasse

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 23:14:06 PDT

When I began to move leftward my journey was trail marked by a succession of left bookshops. I came from the Baby Boomer perspective that you could read your way into a new identity. And left books -- by registered socialist types -- were seen as an extension of the avaunt garde and Bohemia.

In fact they were. For a time there Modernism's offspring was having a passionate but illicit affair with stranger danger gang of Marxism.

So the template that the New Left worked from was a written one: left bookshops, left publishing, left newspapers and left journals.

But over time that easy positioning of the printed word -- of advancing your agenda in hard copy -- has receded somewhat as newspaper and book publishers -- the boss cocky millionaire types like Rupert et al -- know so well.

The locus of interaction has shifted and, let's say, it no longer is only positioned over the counter in a lefty bookshop or across a card table at a protest gathering.

We can regret this -- but them's the facts.

But in my coal face experience there are many on the left who won't accept that these changes are occurring and adhere to the view that the only real political text worth the sharing is one on paper. Part of this preference is sustained by the complication that online text after one thousand words or so is hard to read in a single sitting. So hard copy looks good as an option.

I have no argument with that.

What then happens is that because there is such a strong publishing culture on the left some accommodation is engineered and layout skills are given their deference enough for folk to share their written work as pdf.

If you don't know, pdf is primarily a printer's format -- the best way to get exactly what you laid out, where you laid it out (pictures, headlines, graphics, etc), printed on paper.

The problem is that it isn't very good as a reader's format as it presumes a hard copy stage and the pdf page is presented on your computer , in effect, as a slide show of photographs of pages.

I should point out that the left isn't alone in their use of pdf. Publishers still use it and you'll find millions of pdf books packaged as 'ebooks' for online sale and download. For large format books such as coffee table works, comics and manuals with many illustrations it is still rules the market place and illustration preference.

The complication is that the most useful way of getting the pdf text off the desktop computer screen at the other end is still to print it.

Now with the burgeoning growth of ebook apps, ereader software and portable devices -- even mobile phones can read some ebook formats -- pdf is an extremely cumbersome sentence for all the text the left offers.

The irony is that the left's library is overwhelmingly made up of dense text. Just go visit the Marxist Internet Archive to see what the catalogue offers. It's all words.

There's no pretty pictures at all.

That Archive is now beginning to offer its books in epub, mobi and odt formats -- as well as pdf -- but I fear it is almost alone in doing that.

So what to do about this?

I think there is a case -- indeed a potential niche -- for an online left bookshop that offers left texts in formats other than pdf. My experience with platforms like Smashwords is that the potential to create an online independent publishing house is opportune. You can charge whatever you want or offer freebies and build up a catalogue that will be much broader choice than any stall at any protest rally or any wall of dog eared pamphlets in a bookshop. You can link various texts for study purposes to a syllabus and, if required, append learning to presentations (aka powerpoints).

On top of that you 'may' get some items in your catalogue taken up by the big online bookstores.

And when you charge you make money. You have a bona fide retailing outlet in the same way that the once upon a time well patronised left bookshop was. Here's a sample from a single author/publisher -- Lenny Flank -- which carries a few radical texts in the (rather eclectic) catalogue.

For the rest of us -- the lefty consumers -- what we get is going to be so much cheaper (or free), easily accessible, and in the formats of our choosing. And it's always going to be there downloadable any time as a ready reference.

The result will definitely be that more of this stuff will move ('off the shelf')and more of this stuff will be read because the audience is going to be so much larger than those who visit a hidden away bookstore or singular card table.

I personally think that there is also a case that left journals could also be offered in a range of ebook formats as well as in hard copy. That may seem anathema -- but let's just say it's early days. But look at it this way: a journal offered in a range of ebook formats (other than pdf) can be sold and subscribed to in the way an online web page cannot. Example option -- one of many. In fact the left press would have an ebook format advantage over the bourgeois media in that it is not advertisement driven and any reader of online newspapers will tell you that ads kill the experience of news monitoring. (eg: individual newspaper apps on iPad for instance are brutal in-your-face advertising trolls).

Them's are apple's worth liking.

If you have not been exposed to ebook mode click here -- -- and see if your desktop has an ereader. For a great free one, Download Calibre. You can also run Calibre on a USB stick!

Lucky you! Another (free!) eBook : Life of Riley (a satire selection)

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 00:58:07 PDT

The very generous author

I am a generous kind of guy. My mother's son. Here I am putting in all this work wearing my few available typing fingers down to their phalanges and I then offer you -- my reading public -- free stuff.

I aim to serve.

And serving up don't come much cheaper than this.

Free.

At least while I chase a book deal.

Life of Riley is a retrospective selection of satires I wrote in the 1990s with some dating from the following decade BB (Before Blogging).

They are a topic mix mainly published in the ‘Life of Riley’ column in Green Left Weekly which I wrote on a weekly basis for a few years.

Some were recycled as dialogue for performance as I was also writing for street theatre troupes at the time. Some I recorded and published as part of a podcast I produced -- The Blather. Some were aired on radio both here in Australia and in the United States.

They even had a fan base.

I think that their satiric quotient still exists.

Free eBook Download: Life of Riley
Gain entertainment from politics. Source your bitterness in the real world... and laugh at it.
Life of Riley is a collection of political satires written by Dave Riley.

DOWNLOAD Now

Satire: And the nominations are...

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 23:17:58 PDT

You'll have to keep coming back to this post as I add to it as impulse dictates. It is set to be one of those off-the-top-of-my-head lists generated over time.

I'm not going to be formal about my rulings and offer strict criteria for my judgments. Nor is the list formatted by structure.

It's just note taking of what issues forth.

With these provisos, here is the shifting list of preferred and favorite satires.

Dave Riley's Preferred and Favorite Satires (because I know what I like to like)

The Loved One (Evelyn Waugh) is to my mind so well realised as satire and dark comedy that you have to wallow and roll about in its darkly humorous depths.If the novel is not enough for you, Tony Richardson's film of the work -- written by Evelyn Waugh (novel) Terry Southern and Christopher Isherwood is a naughty piece of business enriched by some delighted comic performances -- especially Rod Steiger's Mr Joyboy.
Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb takes satire to the horrors and laughs all the way. Stanley Kubricks' film is one off magic and its like has not been attained. Another writing input from Terry Southern ( with Kubrick) and the improvisational genius of Peter Sellers.
The South African novels of Tom Sharpe. While Sharpe may be better known for his Wilt and Blott series, he began his writing career with two novels pitched at South African Apartheid. Crude, rude, grotesque and bitter, Riotous Assembly (1971) and Indecent Exposure (1973) are like Malotov cocktails thrown at the South African police establishment.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov may be notorious for its pedophilic theme but the story also works (preferably for me) as a wonderful satire of suburban life. That rich telling is captured in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 film .
Pickwick Papers may be Charles Dicken's first novel but its sentimental charms carry with them a wry satire of morals, manners and greed. The book is out of step with his other works with their intense grotesques and dramas but Pickwick suggests another Dickens was possible if the melodrama (and great melodrama that) had not ruled.
Bertolt Brecht's plays are usually thought to be parables for the theatre but my favoriting alights on his satires, especially Man Equals Man and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui . To this list you could add The Threepenny Opera but Brecht's most famous play unfairly overshadows the 1728 original by John Gay and all its satiric charms.
The original idea for The Beggar's Opera came from Jonathan Swift and John Gay's ballad opera is still a boisterous attack on the ready criminality of society and its self serving pollies.
Gulliver's Travels is a sort of satirist's DIY manual. Each journey, each country, ups the anti for Swift's agenda. He wrote chapter and verse that still lasts centuries on.
The Good Soldier Švejk may be the best known literary output by a member of the Bolshevik Party but the fun keeps on coming. Jaroslav Hašek managed to package a lot in the one story that bounces all over the place. Hardly a bitter storyline but if you go to war, it will be fools (and greedy fools at that) that will rule your life.
Lenny Bruce deserves his reputation as America's pre-eminent stand up satirist. The recorded albums are useful resources if you want to access what he achieved, but since you may not get the guy's full measure, try reading the transcripts available in The Essential Lenny Bruce .
Kinflicks has a cult following among a few generations -- like mine -- as it sends up the business of transiting the sixties gleaming with fun, verve and a sharp eye to gender politics. Lisa Alther's book is a much more unsettling counter ruling to the often asinine chick lit that has followed.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a fire cracker of song and dance that presents as musical comedy. But for all its wit, romantic storyline...the work takes aim at corporate culture and undermines its self serving logic by burlesquing it.
How I Won the War is a 1967 film by Richard Lester which takes the original satirical novel by Patrick Ryan and turns it into a very bitter anti war parable to confront the gung ho demands of the Vietnam slaughter. Since the book and the film diverge so much, it is worth partaking of both media. The film is a neglected gem.
Joe Orton's plays are fiendish black comedies which go a long way in turning social mores up side down.More farce than is decent without taking prisoners.Of the filmed versions the 1970 adaptation of Entertaining Mr Sloan is worth the look at.
The Ruling Class may be known as a film with a wonderful performance by Peter O'Toole but the play by Peter Barnes is much better. The rule of one class over we others is brutally attacked for its systematic brutality and inherent conservatism. A play superbly written.
Early Morning has been called a 'savage satirical dream play' and I guess that is an apt description. In Edward Bond's play Queen Victoria has a lesbian affair with Florence Nightingale, and the princes Arthur and George are locked together as conjoined twins. A final act set in heaven sees the characters consuming each other as they descend into cannibalism. Bond doesn't usually write satire as he is more tragic in mode. But Early Morning is special.
Vladimir Mayakovsky is usually known as a Futurist Soviet poet but his playwrighting suggests a different engineering. Mystery Bouffe, a mock medieval mystery play written in 1918 to celebrate the first anniversary of the Revolution; The Bathhouse, a sharp attack on Soviet bureaucracy subtitled "a drama of circus and fireworks"; and The Bedbug, in which a worker with bourgeois pretensions is frozen and resurrected fifty years later, when the world has been transformed into a material paradise.
Marat/Sade has been called satire but I think the overwhelming theatrics obscures that underlying theme. It is a satire about the French Revolution but at its heart is an eager political discourse and the playwright, Peter Weiss, deploys satirical means to relieve some of the intensity. But as satire it works very well indeed.
Myra Breckinridge is, for my money, Gore Vidal's most neglected work. There is always plenty to like about Vidal anyway -- but Myra sits alone as a superbly realised satire about sex and gender politics -- perhaps like no other work Myra breaks all the sex and gender rules.
As puppet plays go Ubu Roi is a crude, rude burlesque that takes on power and greed with such abandon that despite the century since its premier, it's hard to note its like. Alfred Jarry may have written it but the play almost stands alone as a statement that helps to define a whole movement that arises every now and then as rambunctious satire.
The New Adventures of Jesus is as underground as you can comix get . In fact it is reputed to be the first underground comic. I think Frank Stack (who drew Jesus) is neglected -- but in saying that I don't want to detract from the contemporaries: The Fabulous Fury Freak Brothers and Wonder Wart-Hog. But for me, Jesus rules because its sharper and less indulgent. Highlights include jesus going for a swim with the apostles (he bounces off the water); raising lazarus from dead by first turning him into a loaf of bread; the hollywood version of the crucifixion with a buff jesus beating up the romans with the cross and getting the girl...
America Hurrah is a lot of things: three plays coming at you from very different performance modes.Absurd theatre; grotesquery; satire; angst and audience abuse... Jean-Claude van Itallie’s trilogy of short plays is such a tinder box of stuff that they can be exhausting to experience (you should be so lucky!)
Thomas Love Peacock is long dead. A friend of Shelly, the Romantic poet, Peacock's mockery of his peers may be an arcane taste and his novels overly dramatic but I love them for their seeming simple form. That only serves to make the setups easier to engineer.
Dario Fo may have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature but let not such acceptance detract from the strengths nor the political alignment of of his many satirical plays. Accidental Death of an Anarchist (1970) may be well known outside Italy but my favorite is Mistero Buffo -- ("Comic Mystery"), a play of monologues based on a mix of medieval plays and topical issues.
Kurt Vonnegut -- no matter where you start reading I don't think there is anyone like Vonnegut. In his penchant to pursue his POV he kept remaking it in a succession of unique novels.
Doonesbury may seem all a bit insular and de rigeur today but Garry Trudeau's comic strip had an earlier life that was cutting edge naturalistic satire and totally addictive panel by panel.
The Great Dictator (1940) by Charlie Chaplin is stand out among his films as a partisan take on the then conjuncture of world politics. Modern Times' take on our collective industrial sentence is similarly astute and both films are sharp satires,quite consciously created with that perspective in mind, of the capitalist system.
Carl Hiaasen's novels may be a tad kinder than you'd expect from his subject matter. -- relentless corruption and development spin in contemporary Florida. His is creative fiction for investigative reporters and if you are like me, you'd want him to publish more often.
James Gillray is for me the epitome of satiric caricature. There's not a subtle line in any of his work.(Sample above). Caricature and satire is a perfect marriage and Gillray is a master of the fusion. That he comes from the 18th century suggests his provenance. (I'd like a Gillray print for Christmas).
Norman Lindsay's politics are a long way from my own but as a caricaturist and cartoonist you won't find a better draftsman who re-moulded the human form with a enough situational perversity to lampoon politician and common folk alike.
To Be Or Not To Be -- the Ernst Lubitsch film with Jack Benny in the lead role -- is a near perfect comic gem that Mel Brook's couldn't improve on 40 years later. I like both versions but with either you have to defer to the superb plotting and relentless farce that belittles the arrogance of Fascism at a time (in 1942) when it looked like things were crook.
Blackadder Goes Forth may be the last of the Blackadder series but it is the most successfully realized of the four. Some episodes in earlier series are funnier, but with Goes Forth, the perspective is clearer and -- unfortunately by the finale -- relentless; and Edmund Blackadder, despite his scheming, had to 'go over the top'.
There aren't many laughs to be had from Nathaniel West but his four very short novels are brutal satires of America. They are a strange mix perhaps -- especially The Dream Life of Balso Snell (1931) -- with a ready nihilism, and a strong Apocalyptic vision that would fit in very well today. A Cool Million is his sharpest satire.
Honoré Daumier (February 26, 1808 – February 10, 1879) was a French printmaker, caricaturist, painter, and sculptor, whose many works offer commentary on social and political life in France in the 19th century.It's hard not to like Daumier's simple lines and the subte mix of sharply offensive caricaturing on the one hand and sentimental engagement with other subjects on the other. His caricature sculptures are superb and better any plasticity that has been attempted since.
Mike Judge. Who you say? Whose Mike Judge? Judge is the brains be hind King of the Hill and if you cant relate to the propane universe of Hank Hill you don't know suburbia up close and personal.
The Weimar Satirists:While it may be de rigeur to talk about the sixties 'satire explosion' for my money a much better period for 20th century satire was the Weimar Republic's cabaret scene and print media. Among the writers who drove the exciting satirical culture of the period were Kurt Tucholsky (1890–1935) and Karl Kraus (1874–1936). For me Tucholsky is major influence. 'Tis a pity he wrote in GErman and is so little translated in ready access. Some of Tucholsky's satires in translation.
Brian O'Nolan (1911–1966) (Pen Name: Flann O'Brien) is also known as Myles na gCopaleen. His novels are satires about Irishry but his newspaper columns -- Cruiskeen Lawn -- are staggeringly inventive. He has to be my favorite satirist.
Chris Lilley is some one many Australians know because of Summer Heights High and other series on local television.Lilly takes up where Barry Humphrey's left off I think as they both caricature Australians by replicating them as identities. Humphreys characters always had a bitter edge, but Lilley is more celebratory, more indulgent...of us.
The Larry Sanders Show may not be on everyone's list (as they may not have seen it) but Garry Sandling's take on network television is relentless stuff.
Mr Fish. There may be many Fishes on the planet in any number of guises but for my money, Mister Fish is the most brutal of the lot. His cartoons are often devastatingly observant and cut through so much political crap. Mr Fish cartoons. Theres' no one like him. Except...
Ron Cobb. Cobb may no longer be a political cartoonist but in the seventies he drew the measure of the times especially during his residency here in Australia. Ron Cobb Cartoons.

Since I've exhausted my brain's recall batteries I'll sign off. If you have suggestions as to further works that 'belong' please append them below ... so we can be online satire friendlies.

Of course I've left out stuff that I'm sure you think belongs. But mine is a list of material that is important to me since I like what I like to like.

List of satirists and satires: Wikipedia offers a very useful list of satires and satirists from ancient to modern times. I doubt that you find a better list from which to draw sustenance.

The would be satirists need buckets of gall

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 02:33:31 PDT

As it happens I was mentally composing an introduction to a retrospective of satires I had written 'over the turn of the century' when I was referred to a piece in today's Australian Not easy to be jester in court gone mad.

In the article, historian and novelist Ross Fitzgerald laments that while "satirists exaggerate personal characteristics and situations in much the same way as caricaturists do," they do so in order ,"to get people thinking about the way we are and where we are heading.This is why writing satire is so difficult, and so necessary, never more so than now. Even so, any self-respecting satirist has his or her work cut out playing catch-up with the absurdities of real life."

Way back when I was writing these satires -- primarily theatre pieces and a weekly newspaper column BB (before blogging) -- my engagement was serious stuff. I ran a thing called The Satire Workshop and would now and then be called upon to rule on the contemporary state of satire.

I ruled in interview mode enough to be a registered expert.

Without over writing this post instead of composing my introduction ahead of time, I need to point out that there is no subject as old penny relentless as 'the death of satire'.

Despite its imperative -- as Fitzgerald insists -- why should satire die off every now and then so that it seemingly appears to be in a permanent state of funerary?

I think the answer is a strange but simple one: satire requires satirists. With the construction of satire there is always a shortage of trades people.

It has to be a chosen career path. And once chosen, the artisan must willingly accept its vocational limitations.

Unless you are Michael Moore it won't make you rich. In fact the more savage your attack the less likely you are of winning a wider audience.

That's the rub, you see. For satire "to get people thinking about the way we are and where we are heading" requires frank honesty about where we are at. No punches pulled.

Often to do that requires the would-be satirist to step outside the accepted bounds of regular humour-making into a world of such mordancy and bitterness that you are going to make your audience very uncomfortable.

My objection to much satire that is written or performed is that it loses its political nerve precisely when that challenge is approached. It deflects, and drops its sights to target an easier quarry: an individual rather than 'the way we are' or 'language' rather than the consequences of what is being said.

In a sense, this penchant to diversion panders to a ready obsession with the Absurd. Instead of 'satire' you'll get an exploration of madness but a disjointed madness that loses conscious satirical interest. Madness that has no political meaning: it just is. This is why I think so much of what we accept as satire masquerades as parody.

I may say that satire requires satirists but the complication is that there is no international fellowship which has peer reviewed membership. To "get people thinking about the way we are " is going to require a bit more than a few political jokes in front of a pub crowd.

That begs the question of whose satire is better than most's?

If you do your homework you can have a fun time: Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, etc in classic mode will raise the bar; but for me, the master of 20th century satire (and there was a 18th Century vogue of course) is the German (Austrian actually) Karl Krauss -- some one you have probably never heard of.

Like Jonathan Swift, Krauss (portrait above by Oskar Kokoschka) is a total satirical package.

Without having to reference the rather limited samplings of Krauss in translation, my respect for his work rests on his courage never to drop the ball -- to chase a political contradiction all the way way home.

A Krauss Sampler
I and my public understand each other very well: it does not hear what I say, and I don't say what it wants to hear.
When someone behaves like a beast, he says: 'After all, one is only human.' But when he is treated like a beast, he says, 'After all, one is human.'
The real truths are those that can be invented.
You don't even live once.
The world has become uglier since it began to look into a mirror every day; so let us settle for the mirror image and do without an inspection of the original.
How is the world ruled and how do wars start? Diplomats tell lies to journalists and then believe what they read.
Sentimental irony is a dog that bays at the moon while pissing on graves.
A child learns to discard his ideals, whereas a grown-up never wears out his short pants.

That's what I aspire to in my fashion as after blogging ab hoc these last few years I'm moving back into satirical mode.

Thus the introduction to the retrospective collection -- an exercise designed to give me confidence. .. and gall (as the would be satirist needs buckets of gall).

After thought: Since I have gone on about a favorite topic maybe I should offer some in situ suggestions? Maybe I should post a list of works by the selected few which I think make for ~~good~~ great political satire -- my favs? Why not? So soon enough I will post here an annotated list from atop-of-my-head stuff that I like and respect such that you can imagine me before them laid out in a state of groveling obsequiousness.

And since I always want more...if you have a preference for some one or some work, please share it with me so I can partake of it too.

Community Voice gears up for elections in two weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 06:32:03 PDT

The Wollongong council election campaign is in its final two weeks now, and the Community Voice campaign is ramping up.

The CV campaign has letter boxed nearly 60,000 houses across the three local wards, and candidates have addressed numerous meet-the-candidates forums, while receiving sustained media coverage, with campaigning on the streets with stalls, door-knocking and more!

If you are in NSW and want to experience campaigning at the grass roots, help CV out for the last two weeks, and email Tim Dobson to volunteer.

The weekend edition of the Illawarra Mercury featured a half page photo of the CV meeting to decide its preferences.

Click here for TV coverage of CV launch of CV's youth unemployment policy.

The campaign to stop coal seam gas mining continues to gain strength too, and it's having an impact on the election campaign.

Stop CSG Illawarra's 200-strong meeting on Sunday is pictured above left.

Nearly every candidate (excluding Labor and Liberal) has pledged to back Stop CSG's demands if elected.

Check out WIN TV news, ABC TV news and Illawarra Mercury coverage, all of which feature Jess Moore!

Click here for CV latest media release on the BlueScope sackings.

The Riot Gene

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 03:53:09 PDT

Everyone knows -- or I hope they know -- that a penchant to riot is suggestive of an underlying pathology.

Rioting -- by which I mean full-on vigorous civil disorder by disorganized rabble lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property and other persons -- is not an every day occurrence.

Leastways it isn't in my family.

I can safely say that within my pedigree we have gone several generations without some family black sheep (and I grant you that we have had our share of those) taking up rock throwing as a lifestyle.

We write letters. We vote in elections. We take home our pay and make the best of it.

We grin and bear what life throws at us.

We do not riot.

Maybe we get a little testy now and then -- and think we've been hard done by. Who doesn't? But in my family, one and all share an ingrained respect for authority and the goods and chattels of others.

The seeming ready ease with which those of darker skin complexion or shallower income become obstreperous, suggests to me that they must have something volatile within them, something that may cause hot blood and obstropolousness (as the Greeks say).

All I can say is that we do not carry that gene.

We're accepting of our lot.

...unfortunately.

Vegetarianism and I

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:04:32 PDT

In a spate of past writing zeal I pontificated on the question on human diet and the consumption of meat. I had written a series on' the politics of eating' and came up with a POV (circa 1993) thus:

Does meat make the meal?

But how time, like poultry, flies. In the intervening years the debate about what you should put in your mouth has shifted and the locus is now very much about environment, meat eating and climate change.

Nonetheless, back then that attribute was not absent from the polemic and in works such as Jeremy Rivkin's Beyond Beef: The Rise and Fall of the Cattle Culture the ecological consequences of beef production was dissected.

I reviewed that book at the time:

Chasing a bum steer

However, in an accompanying exchange, I think I missed out on some cogent detail that in the light of the time since has become the pre-eminent challenge advanced by the vegetarian -- esp vegan -- message.

'Industrial cuisine' and the 'traditional diet'

Can we afford to eat meat if it is environmentally hazardous to do so?

Well is it? That brings me to my present interest which I'll address here soon enough.

For those who think I had sidestepped the ethical challenge posed by not killing animals, in that past life I did address that topic -- albeit sharply. For example:

But as I say, a review is warranted -- one while focused on the question of sustainable agriculture and global warming -- also, in the light of the recent live beef export scandal has to scrutinize not simply what we put in our mouths but how 'ethically' that food is produced.

Enhedslistens principle program | Unity

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 19:10:49 PDT

This is a automatic and very rough translation of the basic program of the Danish Red Green Alliance. In the face of those who argue that you need to pull your punches and soften your edge when you go to the polls the RGA's perspective, and success, is a tactical challenge. Similarly the party's determination to maintain its independence from capitalist governments is very relevant to the some of the coalitionist roles adopted by the Greens here.
It is remarkable how much 'dumbing down' is promoted on the left for the sake of a shot at parliament.Such pragmatism is ruling the Greens for instance and can dominate the mindset of those who argue that the platform we take to the electorate has to be a lot different from our true radical socialist leanings. The RGA calls for the replacement of capitalism and markets with a demand-driven planned economy controlled by workplace democracy in cooperation with the rest of society, including direct democracy. The RGA began life as a coalition, then a fusion, between a few far left political parties.

Enhedslistens principle program | Unity

1st Introduction

Enhedslistens goal is that everyone gets the opportunity to express themselves freely interact with their surroundings. Unity works for a society where freedom, solidarity, equal conditions for all and respect for nature is set in the center - a socialist society.

Blind growth

Capitalism has created a tremendous economic growth. And many ordinary people in the rich world are now living under economic and social conditions that no one could have imagined in the last century.This is not just economic growth and the rich part of the world's exploitation of the rest of the world, but primarily political and economic struggle by unions, workers' parties and other social and democratic movements have led.

Yet people die worldwide of hunger , poor social and health conditions or are killed in wars or ethnic cleansing. Earth's ecological balance is threatened by the increasing environmental mess and the continued erosion of the environment. All of this is due to indirect or direct the capitalist world system.

Blind growth is a precondition for capitalism's survival. Capitalism leads to increased exploitation of the people who are in work. The pressure to produce more and more, while the increased demand for workforce skills and efficiency leads to more and more squeezed out of the labor market. Blind capitalist growth leads to a natural basis smashed. The increased unequal economic development and the recurrent economic crises lead to wars and ethnic cleansings.

policy decisions that could solve these problems, blocked by the economic powers that immediately react against countries that have policies that are contrary to their interests . In this way undermines capitalism also democracy.

Therefore we need a fundamental break with capitalism.

An inclusive society

Enhedslistens goal is a world based on solidarity, equal conditions for all and where the individual's free development is the condition for free development of all. Society in the interest of mankind and nature is set in center, and where poverty, wars and oppression of the past.

The bourgeois politicians and social theorists do not believe in the possibility of such a "paradise on earth". They say like, for example. wars, selfishness and other abuses in the present capitalist world community is ultimately attributable to 'human nature'. They try to delude ourselves that capitalism is all other forms of society superior.

We totally disagree. It is capitalism that is directly or indirectly creates wars, aggression and selfishness, and it is anyhow in the way of their disappearance. We do not believe that the so-called human nature is an obstacle to creating a just and inclusive society. We believe instead that our actions are primarily shaped by the way society is organized and operates.

Match of interests

, but different groups or classes in society have different interests. Depending on how society is arranged, some classes more advantages than others. Therefore, there has historically always been a class struggle of the social system we have.

Under capitalism, the contradiction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie the basic class contradiction. While class differences have changed, so they also cut across traditional class instance.social, education and housing.

The class struggle takes political, economic and ideological forms and covers all aspects of a capitalist society. Through our participation in the class struggle develops our consciousness, and it gives the opportunity to develop supportive attitudes.

A break with capitalism presupposes a conscious political strategy, as both are based on an analysis of capitalist society, experience of class struggle and a vision for how we will organize society. This document is an attempt to develop such a strategy. But it is clear that this is not the last word in the strategy discussion. It must continue constantly in interaction with our active participation in class struggle in everyday life.

Under capitalism, the pursuit of profit the main driver. This also implies that the growth of capitalism is the basic purpose and content in the organization of states under capitalism. But the concrete realization of this depends on the relative strengths of the various classes and strata. That is the strength of the working class, working class movement, the socialist parties, environmental movements, democratic movements and other progressive movements have been able to mobilize.

Securing capital long term interest in growth and the middle position as the ruling class makes it necessary that States sometimes put out by various factions within the bourgeoisie. This means that it is necessary that the state can act as an independent actor in the class struggle. Sometimes you will also see that different parts of the State apparatus acts in contradiction to each other. Over the past 20 years we have seen a tendency for the independent role of the state is weakened in many countries.Neo-liberalism has replaced government control with market forces rampage.

Under capitalism it is a small minority of people who have the crucial property and possession of the means of production and the result of the production. The consequence is a society where power is concentrated in big business in cooperation with topbureaukrater, politicians and leaders of the major interest groups. In this sense one can say that capitalism has developed into monopoly capitalism.

That big business has been absolutely dominant in the world economy does not mean that competition between the capitalists themselves have been abolished. Competition remains the cornerstone of the relations between capitalists and capital groups - including the so-called transnational corporations.

The hunt for profits throughout history have driven capitalism to subjugate the entire earth. This quest for capitalist growth and profit come today expressed through an increasing economic globalization, which has important implications for both social and environmental.

2nd Global capitalism,

imperialism through globalization

Since the beginning of the capitalist mode of production has the answer to capitalism's crises has been the spread of capitalism. Old forms of production has gone under and new territory is conquered by capitalism's expansion. In the latter half of the 1800s was the answer to a crisis big expansion in Africa, Latin America and Asia. It was the classic imperialist heyday.

Colonialism was one of several forms, this expansion was reflected on. The tendency for expansion is often called "capital internationalization" and displays include by increasing international trade and investment.

Also the 1970 economic crisis was met by strategies for global expansion. After a period since the Second World War when the nation state was the crucial framework for the pursuit of profit (capital accumulation), put the big companies and major industrial powers' governments in motion a process toward greater economic integration at global level.

This strategy is implemented in stages. Reagan and Thatcher's neoliberal offensive of the early '80s led to major changes, like the fall partly opened for expansion in the former East bloc and elsewhere moved relative strengths for the benefit of global capital.

The goal of capital is not just expansion over new territory. The target is completely or partially dismantle existing national borders in order to pave the way for an economy that is globally organized.There is not much talk about greater economic interaction between nations - ie. Internationalization - but an economy that is not inhibited or controlled by national government regulations. It already has great significance for the composition of capital and the nation state.

Instead of national industries producing for the domestic market is the great harvest profit (capital accumulation) is now in transnational companies that produce in large parts of the world to the world market. National states are less frame for production and sales and loses significance for capital expansion strategy, which goes a long way across borders, without national ties. Customs tariffs are brought down, and product standards harmonized rules for investment harmonized or removed all together for the benefit of especially the transnational capital.

Globalisation is seen so clearly in the settlement of state intervention in order to encourage capital mobility across borders. In many areas, a massive transfer of power from state to market, for example. in the financial sector has been liberalized to such an extent that very few international speculators can earn rushing to undermine national currencies.

In other areas, building institutions (eg. WTO, NAFTA and EU) to harmonize rules in favor for goods and capital movement. Decisions taken previously at the state level after a political process, de-politicized by being subject to the jurisdiction of international institutions. This process leads to a considerable afdemokratisering.

In both cases it is the major industrial powers as a political one paves the way for more room for the largest capital groups that are seen as engines of capital accumulation. They grow and strengthen political and could impose additional concessions. In this way, globalization is self-strong end.

Globalization project is long and full of contradictions, but it already steer societies on many levels.Globalization is seen in the showdown with the interventionist state, which was crucial for capital deployment in the period from WWII to the '70s. It existed in several versions: in the south was crucial to building a local citizenship and in the north led the Western European welfare state to profit harvest was boosted by a large domestic market.

This global project means that the contradictions between the major industrial powers solved without the great battle sword: They are in complete agreement about the broad outlines of the new economic world order.

Globalization stated today by the U.S.. Faced with this leadership uses transnational corporations in the EU internal market as an economic platform and union project as a political platform to gain greater influence on globalization. It is backed by the political elite in Europe and is a key feature of the EU.Therefore we can not yet talk about a completely globalized capital. Even the biggest companies need states and supranational bodies to promote their interests.

An important political outcome of globalization is thus declining role of nation states for capital.Protected domestic markets, subsidies and many other forms of state intervention is no longer the same value for capital accumulation.

But nation states are not about to wither away. For one's vision of the global economy without a national government regulation. Something else is reality. For capitalist globalization has already led to profound societal tremors in many parts of the world.

The consequences of globalization is that social divisions within and between countries dug deeper into a breakneck pace, the social exclusion reaches new heights, and environmental problems are growing. Among other things, Therefore, globalization creates instability. An instability that can lead to radical changes in society.

Globalisation provides imperialism - as the major industrial powers' struggle for global dominance - another term. As capitalism as a whole is also imperialism into a second phase. Not only integrated countries in the periphery to a greater extent in the world market. The increased investment does in most cases the local bourgeoisie to junior partners of the transnational capital. Citizen creator who previously built their power on the use of state apparatus and of the domestic market is now the local guarantors for rapid integration into the global economy.

Globalization leads not to ho-mo - genisering but to increased polarization. Despite all the rhetoric about equal opportunities in the global market, increasing the differences between countries. The capital is also a piece from being a true transnational. In crisis situations, it often turns out that capital quickly find their way "home" to the major industrial powers. Especially in the periphery, globalization is leading to deep social divisions.

Therefore, it is also far from anywhere that attempts to achieve globalization project domination succeed. With globalization decomposed in many ways the nation states' ability to ensure social stability. In many cases, especially in the periphery of capitalism, the state collapses completely. Civil wars and rebel movements of widely varying persuasions are therefore remains a particular threat to the global elite.

Globalisation override national interests in favor of a trans-national project. Therefore, meeting the individual sites also resistance from all states. These states are rejected by the so-called international community to such an extent that it often leads to imposing sanctions and armed conflict. World in the era of globalization is not a stable world. For example. be the showdown with national elites who do not want a quick integration into the global economy because it goes against their interests.

Globalisation leads often to authoritarian regimes fall. Authoritarian regimes in the periphery, which previously enjoyed the support of the major capitalist powers, must in many cases find themselves removed from the old supports and replaced by formally democratic regimes (Chile, Philippines, Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia). Instead, insertion of new regimens, whose job it is to ensure a transnational elite social dominance and act as bulwark against radical social change. Democratic re - forms to ensure their legitimacy, and an army of technocrats in the state apparatus to ensure the reforms were implemented.

The new economic world order is not a stable world order. Therefore, the collapse of not followed by widespread disarmament or for settlement of NATO. By contrast, NATO, claiming itself as the global policeman, who no longer have to defend a territory but defend the capitalist great powers' interests in the wider globe.

Hence the shift to a higher level of military mobility, which is to put NATO in a position to to respond to all emergencies that threaten the dominance of industrial power in general. This new "strategic concept" for NATO should be seen as a kind of military superstructure of globalization.

Globalisation and power centers will degrade

the growing inequality worldwide, as well as in individual countries and the threat of ecological disaster: the necessity of socialism seems increasingly obvious. The countries that emerged as parodies of socialism has collapsed, should not blur the picture. It is Enhedslistens central task of rebuilding a credible socialist alternative in Denmark and to support the development of this world.

Globalisation is not an inevitable natural phenomenon but a political and economic strategy from the part of capital. And that strategy may well fail, fought and defeated.

With globalization, removed many of the barriers to capital power and movement that has characterized capitalism in many parts of the world in the time since WWII. The new face of capitalism is even less human. It increases the gap between rich and poor, and since much of the world's poor are women, they are especially vulnerable.

Therefore it is essential for the socialist left to avoid any medløberi, apathy or powerlessness to globalization. There need to be built and developed a socialist alternative.

Unity is a revolutionary socialist and internationalist organization, and as such we deal with globalization. Our internationalism lead us not into nation-state to declare death, and certainly not to renounce the importance of the match at the national level. Nation-state is still an important factor in the economic sense and is still the place where the political power balance leaves its mark.Developments at national level often makes its mark internationally, for example. in European populations rejection of GM products and crops. This resistance has long been an important brake on the biotech industry's attempt to win greater international foothold, and it's been so many developing countries small farmers for good. The latest example is the conclusion of an international agreement on genetically engineered crops, "Biosafety Protocol".

Rejection of the match at the national level in favor of nebulous desire for new international agreements or abstract visions of another world order, is therefore a defeat strategy risks giving the neo-liberal globalization, greater legitimacy and scope. The national struggle is often the first step. Taking it, all progressive measures at international level will be hampered.

Building international class alliances

, the neoliberal globalization has made possible new international and national alliances. Positive is that the general populace has begun to rally around the struggle against neoliberalism, not only in Denmark, but throughout the world.

The ideological core of the alliance policy is for that reason alone be the struggle against neoliberalism.

For a long time to come, the alliance not be of such nature that it can make comprehensive alternatives to the current development. But the forces that are begun, it will slowly be able to put a different agenda, first in individual areas, since compared to the overall development.

Within this alliance are circles with roots in both the labor movement, women's movement, a stretch-ke excluded or marginalized groups, and many from between the layers.

For Unity is important both to help build alliances at home and that forge alliances between groups in Denmark and the international movement against neoliberal globalization.

Globalization is making a number of issues to international issues and makes international cooperation to something vital. Therefore, increased political cooperation across borders is very important for the Alliance. Joint campaigns and discussions with socialists and progressive forces in other countries has become an important component of any organization's socialist development.

A trend can be seen in EU battle, MAI campaign and many other places. One way of working that could be seen as the building of "progressive forces of international civil society '. A particularly important task is building an international labor movement. In this way, the capitalist globalization matched by a "globalization from below."

The fundamental task is the construction of class alliances. And in a sense, globalization has contributed to the alliances will have similar class composition in all parts of the world. Past speculation about alliances in developing countries with the 'national bourgeoisie' in the anti-imperialist struggle is now futile for two reasons:

First, connect the key sections of the bourgeoisie are now up on globalization. In the developing countries' cases, the bourgeoisie integrated as junior partners. Second, the national bourgeoisie - in cases where they pursue a nationally focused strategy - quite reluctant to engage in projects with a spirit of solidarity, social welfare content.

Also for the working class, globalization has brought big changes with it. The labor movement has generally been weak for two reasons: First, does the domestic market's declining role of capital that it is harder to win concessions. The second is freedom of capital and goods suitable instruments to play workers off against workers.

Just split the women, with higher unemployment and increased workload within the four walls are isolated and thus lose the ability to organize. Just as it is important to fight for an international organization of the working class, it is also important to build women's movements that can counteract the effects of globalization on women.

Systemudfordrende partial struggles

struggle against neo-liberalism is central to the reconstruction of an international socialist movement.Among other things, This makes it necessary for the socialist left to develop systemudfordrende partial struggles. These partial struggles must start with the following requirements:

• Anti-WTO, IMF and World Bank power. Their power should be rolled back and replaced by another international system. Structural adjustment programs should be abolished. IMF and World Bank replaced by an international loan mechanism ii UN auspices, giving the right to develop their own development strategies with a focus on increased social equity.

• The developing countries' debt to be erased. The result of poorly developing countries' own policies and is primarily caused by imbalances in the international economy.

• The WTO must be replaced with another type of trade organization. Built on the principle of global justice, social equity, sustainability and democracy. For this purpose, "tilbagerulningsstrategien" the strategy that best combines the many forces that are begun against the WTO.

• The right to protect its own production of food must be guaranteed. It should be possible to define a national strategy for food security. Guaranteed minimum prices for raw materials.

• The EU's trade policy must change. Most acute is the struggle against export subsidies, which threaten the livelihood of many small farmers in developing countries.

• For the environment, the national discretion assured. If the 'right to go ahead "is undermined by the WTO, it will paralyze the struggle for example. higher food standards worldwide.

• Stop for increased exploitation, degradation and exclusion, and child labor and increasing poverty.

• Defence of welfare - fighting private privatizations

• Patent rights must be abolished. TRIPS agreement on intellectual property rights in the WTO could be - and is reportedly - written by multinational corporations lobbying organizations.

• ILO opportunities to strengthen trade union rights at the international level must be strengthened.Basically, we consider, however, the daily struggle and direct international solidarity among workers as the most effective way to promote labor rights.

• Every action to give multinational companies greater power through international agreements must be stopped. Multinational corporations should be subject to a number of international agreements, primarily in the UN system, which can prevent the environmental degradation and abuse of social rights, which often follow in their wake.

• Implementation of targeted campaigns against individual companies, at home and elsewhere, aimed at to deal with everything from action to public health (as in Novo-Lundbeck case), in support of dictatorships (as with companies with investments in Burma)

• Tobin tax should be introduced and the Alliance will work to the Danish government promotes-Tobin taxes in all relevant international forums.

• The right and the possibility of including national action against speculators must be defended.

• Establish systems to ensure that capital investment provided locally

3rd A European superstate

The EU has been created to adapt Europe to the European big business needs and as such is a part of the bourgeoisie global liberalization project. There has been a steady intensification of EU integration with the establishment of a framework for a true European polity, and the continued liberalization of society.

The EU is still formally an intergovernmental cooperation, but in practice we have come very far in building a supranational superstate . Most important decisions are taken centrally in the EU system and in the new millennium, emphasis is preparing to force the decisive step in state building through - virtually without popular approval, let alone acceptance.

EU project is about creating a new capitalist superpower who can assert themselves on the world stage - both economically and militarily. This new superpower will exercise his power in cooperation with the world's second superpower, the United States. A partnership which will not least toward the poor and poorer countries in the world and serve the multinationals' interests. At the same time, however, predict an - over time - dangerous rivalry between these two powers - perhaps with Japan or China as a third party.

The economic integration and capital concentration in Europe has constantly been increased, as trade and capital flows between European countries.

Building of a new European super-state is primarily due to the desire to create a single market that may foster economic growth and boost profits. Then the desire to strengthen the major European capital in competition with American and Japanese.

Therefore the EU is working to reduce or eliminate the gains which the labor movement and popular movements have gained in terms of welfare, democratic rights, environmental protection, etc.

The economic development as result of deregulation, privatization and adjustment to EMU requirements have strengthened the private sector and curtailed the public sector. This happens in the competition's holy name, especially at the expense of women, which partly affected by unemployment, and forced to perform tasks such as child care in homes.

Growth and profit maximization is the goal. The consequences are environmental degradation, increased unemployment, social exclusion and social impairments.

integration of Eastern European countries in the EU is linked with efforts to strengthen the European capital. EU enlargement is designed to ensure these areas as investment targets for the West European capital, also in the long term. Moreover, the part of the expansion of the western sphere of influence eastward. As such, NATO and EU enlargement two sides of same coin. The accession of eastern countries that economic and social cost these countries' inhabitants expensive, happens all the NATO and EU-peak conditions.

The structure of EU law means that power is centralized in the EU at the expense of individual member countries. EU will increasingly have a supranational character. At the same time the large EU countries, an increasingly dominant role at the expense of smaller countries. Power is centralized in the EU's closed system where the power of money through lobbying their influence. The EU is utterly undemocratic.

As the power transferred to the central EU level is an equivalent afdemokratisering of communities in individual EU countries. The distance is increasing between populations and decision makers. It becomes difficult for grassroots movements and organizations to gain influence. Increased power to the EU Parliament is not synonymous with increased democracy, but entails, first and foremost an undermining of the national parliaments' power.

EU's neoliberal policies have in the course of a few years led to major social degradation and a major redistribution from wages to profits. The European bourgeoisie has strengthened its position against the working class and popular forces. The EU is therefore an obstacle to democracy, social justice and socialism.

The social democratic / socialist parties come to power and manages the EU's neoliberal policies - possibly. with the desire to realize it in a less antisocial and environmentally unfriendly version - nothing has changed this situation.

neoliberalism is part of the EU's treaty base and will therefore require treaty change fundamentally to change this policy. There does not seem to be any fundamental disagreement between the bourgeois parties and the leading share of the social democratic / socialist parties of the neo-liberal project. There is no realism in these parties' notions that a stronger EU state can be used as a tool to regulate the trans-and multinational capital and reduce its social and environmental devastation.

EU represents no break with nationalism. On the contrary, represents the construction of this new EU state just a geographically larger nationalism, which in many respects a repetition of the structure of the various European nation states which took place in the 1800s. There is an elitist top-down project undertaken by the economic elite and the elite of officials and academics because it serves this class economic and political interests. There is a process where people indoctrinated into a 'nationality' of state power including through the education system, for example peddle various "historical myth" invented for the occasion. As a special supplement launched euro nationalist movements, sponsored by both the capital as state power. The most prominent examples in Denmark today is organizations like the European Movement and the New Europe.

These movements will typically operate in a nicer language, sometimes even with more "progressive slogans" than, say Danish nationalist organizations like the Danish People's Party and the Danish Association. Strictly speaking, represent the euro nationalist organizations, however, a much larger nationalist threat because of their nationalist project is identical to big business, and because the project is to create an expansive capitalist superpower. With the EU being done either cabbage on nationalism or nation.

Opposition to EU

Unity List Resistance against the EU is a continuation of our resistance against the capitalist globalization. The Green Alliance aims to achieve an abandonment of the EU. This can be done through a back-rolling of the Union, including stopping the expansion of EU powers and deny the EU the powers it already has.

Enhedslisten advocates Danish withdrawal from the EU and will work to realistic alternatives to EU membership. But Danish withdrawal from the EU is only a sub-goal in the creation of a different Europe, where solidarity, equality, democracy and ecology are the pillars and with a fundamentally different international cooperation in a world without aggressive superpowers. Green Alliance would therefore welcome that a Danish withdrawal from the EU sets in motion a snowball effect, leading to the Union's dissolution.

Enhedslisten advocates self-determination of peoples. History has shown all too many examples of the unfortunate in that it is the victors that draw borders, or to one or more major powers imposes a smaller people to his will. European Union development is equally a threat to the European peoples self-determination.

The question of autonomy is important to emphasize that it is the people's sovereignty, we support. It is thus a crucial point for us that independence is established on a democratic basis that the protection of minorities and human rights are respected. Likewise, it is crucial that the fundamental right to autonomy is accompanied by an obligation - if necessary with the assistance of international mediators - to implement a fair allocation of resources that were previously common.

We have a vision of another society, based on solidarity and democracy - our vision of socialism beyond the historically specific boundaries.

Enhedslisten want greater democracy in all spheres of society. We want to destroy the economic power, which today is concentrated in very few hands and spread out decisions, so each person has a real opportunity to influence his own life.

In many cases there is more sense to create global and international or regional agreements than agreements at EU or European level.

We will seek to limit the influence of politicians and bureaucracy from the major European industry and its lobbyists. We will demand transparency in all decision times. We will demand guarantees that allow individual countries to pursue environmental improvements. We will work for all EU and EEA countries for exceptions to general rules. We will as well as extra-parliamentary parliamentary oppose any initiative towards more outsourcing and demolition of the public sector, whether they come from Denmark, the EU or other sources. We

will make every tackle EU and Schengen union supporters - Contract terror package, etc., which severely restricts the democratic rights and potentially criminalize everything jointly, professional and democratic work. All farm subsidies should be phased out, and it must again be allowed to introduce veterinary borders. We run not on autopilot. Alliance will fight for the smallest improvements and at the smallest degradation in terms of democratization and the content of the concrete EU policies within the different resort areas, but like in parliament, the slightest improvement and prevention of deterioration never be an end in itself. Alliance have no illusions that fundamental problems can be solved within the framework of the capitalist EU. Obviously it is a degradation, if a proposal to strengthen EU's power since our goal is a fundamental clash.

EU's development into an ever closer economic and political union, moving towards an actual polity means that also fight for a red and green politics are increasingly to be conducted at European level.

Also for realizing a tilbagerulningsstrategi compared to the EU it is crucial that the relative strengths change by developing a strong pressure from below at national and European level. Cooperation must be strengthened between the EU-critical popular movements, trade unions and democratic and socialist forces in the areas where the effects of the neoliberal policies are most extensive. Must be developed games that challenge neoliberalism and the EU system - eg. in the social and environmental fields, and against the increasing militarization and the real popular democracy.

A broad sample of people in EU countries - the vast majority of workers as well as the marginalized groups and sections of the middle class, also in the Eastern European candidate countries - affected increasingly by the environmental and especially the social impact of the EU's neoliberal policies, and respond with apathy or frustration against rising afdemokratisering of communities.

It is crucial to develop a strong EU-critical left, who can help to create a credible socialist alternative to neo-liberalism and thus also to the EU for this population that may otherwise be tempted by the populist and extreme right wing facile EU criticism of its undemocratic and nationalchauvinistiske sight.

Therefore it is important to avoid this pitfall, as it may be to support or be involved in a political government cooperation that ends up managing a milder version of the neo-liberal EU policies. It must be avoided at all costs to legitimize the EU and this policy. It does not preclude that there may be a policy of reform and struggle that can be used to defend or improve living conditions for the general population - at national and European level.

A key element in Enhedslistens strategy is about strengthening international cooperation from below on the basis of concrete struggles against the consequences of the EU's neoliberal policies and undemocratic nature. Pre-sentence for political achievements are massive extra-parliamentary mobilization. Since the common interests of the transnational cooperation between workers, women, environment student movement and others also have it. While it is crucial to develop and strengthen cooperation on the Left in Europe, both in relation to concrete political struggles, not least about the unfolding of the visions for a better world.

The strong resistance against Denmark joined the EC in 1972 and resistance to union development has created a unique political situation with relatively strong independent movement. Movements play a positive role in public debate about the EU and has been an indispensable tool for the referenda on the EU. Green Alliance members participate actively in the movements aimed to strengthen the EU-resistance and resistance to the neoliberal offensive.

4th Capitalism in Denmark

As a highly developed capitalist country, Denmark is a fully integrated part of the Western capitalist system. Through its membership of NATO and the EU, Denmark is in essence - politically, economically and militarily - subordinate to the American and Western European big business interests.

NATO membership has meant the abandonment of an independent defense and security policy.Denmark is even one of those European countries that are most follow the style of U.S. foreign policy.

EU membership means that Denmark has given up trying to lead an independent trade policy, and that the possibility of control and restrictions on capital movements have been abolished. Despite the population's no in the Euro referendum, Denmark has through its membership of the EU through the course a development leading to the elimination of the opportunity to pursue an independent policy in a number of areas - including economic policy, foreign policy and justice policy.

Monopoly Capitalism

Denmark has been going through the same development as the other Western European countries from predominantly agricultural country småkapitalistisk to a highly developed industrial society with monopoly capital as the dominant force within the bourgeoisie. Developments in Denmark came later than in many other Western European countries and independent farmers and other groups of petty bourgeoisie had as much of the 1960s economic and political significance.

Today, wage labor more dominant than in most other western European countries. Which primarily because the number of public employees is higher than in most other Western European countries and a number forsorgsopgaver, as in other countries are left to family or other forms of private activity in Denmark solved by the public.

Centralizing capital and industrialization of the production process also affects the field of service trade and new industries like information technology. The big growth in information technology have led to a contradiction in citizenship between the part of big capital, which is concentrated in traditional industries and the part which is concentrated in new areas. This contrast is embodied by different requirements of the policy, the different capital groups want the state to keep. The petty bourgeoisie have traditionally its strength in agriculture, fisheries, transport and retailing. Within these areas, the petty bourgeoisie in decline and on track to be purged. By contrast, in recent years grown a new petty bourgeoisie forward in areas such IT, consulting and public relations field. This has allowed the bourgeois life of a renaissance. But even in these areas, we see the concentration and centralization succeed, so that the petty-bourgeois way of life comes into conflict with big business.

The last decade has been the major wage earner funds (ATP, LD, pension funds and by labor pension funds) have become society's biggest formueansamlinger. But despite that they are provided through workers' savings, and employee representatives are to manage them so, these funds into one and depending on market economy principles.

The real citizenship in Denmark represents a tiny minority of the population of 2-3 percent. It concerns a group of people who have ownership or possession of the capital in its various forms through which they acquire the profit that comes out of production. In addition a large number of top executives in private industry, senior officials within the public administration, and judges and senior managers within the police and military.

petty bourgeoisie owns the means of production, but they have to keep working in order to exist.Historically, the petty bourgeoisie and its organizations played a major political role in Denmark. This position has however been severely weakened over the past 40 years, which the petty bourgeoisie also numerically is reduced.

Between The layers consist of a number of very different groups in the private and public service. Like the exploited working class by doing extra work, which is appropriated by the bourgeoisie. But they are even with the more or less senior positions to manage various aspects of bourgeois politics, economics and ideology. Between the layers form a motley group, some of which are close to the bourgeoisie and others close to the working class.

On the whole it is hardly possible to make a clear dividing line between working class and middle strata, but on the other hand, obvious that there is a large group of, among other intellectuals who neither belong to the working class or bourgeoisie. In some areas, blurring the differences in these years, groups that previously belonged unambiguously between the layers, receive wages and working conditions more and more like the conditions as part of the working class. Parts of the working class is employed on terms and experiencing greater opportunities to control the daily production process, since the layer of middle managers in some places greatly reduced.

The working class formed by the large majority in Denmark, who works as a subordinate wage earners in the private and public sectors and exploited economically by performing extra work in terms of production and reproduction of capital and labor. These are skilled and unskilled workers, lower white collar, etc.

In addition, a group that more or less permanently kept out of the labor market. Much of this has on the one way or another connected with the working class, but there is also a not inconsiderable group who feel they do not have a true class affiliations.

The working class as samfundsforandrende force?

The Danish working class has undergone great changes over the last 100 years. It has grown steadily, but has also become more diverse in its composition and displays today a large spread in terms of wages, employment and living conditions. Nevertheless hear the Danish working class to one of the most homogenous in the world.

The main trends are that most of the women in the working class entered the labor market, more than 1 / 3 of the working class have gained status as "salaried employee" and to approx. 1 / 3 of the working class are employed in the public sector. Similarly, the proportion of "traditional" workers (skilled and unskilled) decline.

This is also the proportion of industrial workers, who constitute almost 20% of the working class.Altogether we have for the last 20 years seen how much of the traditional industries, where unions and left wing stood strong has been reduced dramatically both in terms of number of tracts, economic turnover and value added.

From a situation where industry, transport and construction workers constituted a clear majority of the working class, we are now in a situation where the majority consists of employees in the public sector, retail, hotel and catering and other service areas. In addition, an increased use of management practices that give employees a greater say in organizing their own work. At the ideological level, a more individualistic oriented mindset also gained increased acceptance in the working class. This is because both the changing forms of production, a successful middle-class offensive in the 80s and early 90s, and an education system that has focused much on the individual and personal accomplishment.

It is characterized by the focus on individual needs and interests than on the community and the collective. Nothing suggests, however, that these new flexible production and management styles are on track to become dominant or even dominates in Denmark. Lots of people still working in old-fashioned hierarchical organized enterprises while it has been shown that the new flexible forms of organization also leads to increasing exploitation and degradation of labor.

In addition there are many other contradictions in the working class. Today is the contradiction between those related to labor and those who are 'left out' - long-term unemployed, social assistance recipients, disability pensioners - one of the crucial contradictions that skillfully exploited by the bourgeoisie to divide the working class. The same is true in terms of antagonism between Danes and immigrants.

There is nothing new in the working class is characterized by contradictions and social and political divisions. It changes as does not change the fact that the Danish working class objectively, are well placed to become the leading force in a socialist revolution:

It represents a clear majority of the population.

It is well organized, well-educated, both academically and in terms of general knowledge and is well informed on what's happening in the world.

It contains a substantial core of industrial workers with strong professional organization and experience from the economic and political struggle.

Most 'new' working groups have quickly mastered elementary experience of trade union struggle and organization .

But the subjective conditions for the working class can take up the struggle for socialism is far from absent. The vast majority accept the market economy and class collaboration and is also agreed in the reformist and bourgeois ideology. It turns out, among other things by people and municipal elections, where the vast majority of working class support for Social democracy and the bourgeois parties.

This problem also reflect in that in capitalist society is created an illusion of the individual actualized freedom. Capitalism is apparently able to give individuals the opportunity to express themselves through work and consumption. Collective solutions and community are perceived by many as a limitation on individual freedom of expression.

Bureaucracy and lack of democracy in both the unions and the public sector has helped to reinforce this view and has spread the perception that the Left stands for 'systems thinking' in Unlike the liberal emphasis on individual freedom.

The struggle for a democratic public sector is therefore crucial. There exists the possibility of developing a sector where it is self-management, human needs and rights - not for profit, at the center.This requires the development of the public sector takes place in close cooperation between the employees in this and the users. Only in this way can be done with client empowerment and public sector paternalistic elements.

Compared to the private sector have identified the specific contrast between the individual's ability for self-expression - and that production is only able to exist on the market and capital requirements.Monopolization and capital concentration provides a good opportunity to point out how capitalism restricts freedom.

On the whole, there are several contradictions between the desire to have a 'good life' with space to work, family and other social relationships.

the working class most important organization - trade unions - also suffers from some serious weaknesses. It is true that unions played and plays an important role in defending working class living standards and education levels. But it is the combat options were weakened through participation in the administration of capitalism and through the acceptance of a fagretsligt system that enshrines the employers' right to manage and distribute work and restricts the right to strike.

The unions have failed to aggressively making demands on the organization of work and to what produced by whom and where. This has isolated the trade unions in relation to the new generations of workers, which requires participation and democracy - even at work.

The establishment of a democracy that creates good opportunities to organize and be active in the network and based on the individual interests and needs is also a necessary element in ensuring a future for trade unions.

The working class has created its own bureaucracy that has got a vested interest in maintaining the 'status quo'. The conductive layer in this work bureaucracy - Federal managements, Social Democratic leaders at state, county and municipal level - in many ways is deeply embedded in the administration of capitalism. It does not make them a part of the bourgeoisie in economic terms. They are either elected or employed by the working class and its organizations, and their status and value of citizenship as collaborators depends ultimately on the working class to accept their leadership.

The welfare state

in Denmark - as in the rest of Western Europe - the state has played a crucial role in the development of capitalism. The state has undertaken a major intervention in and regulation of the economy. The governmental policy specific content has reflected the political and economic power relationships, but the goal has always been to create the best opportunities for the development of capitalism. Therefore, government's role largely been to ensure the dominant capital groups (big business) interests.

In Denmark, the state has not - compared to other West European countries - significantly appeared as a direct owner / part owner of the means of production, apart from ownership, investment and operation of the traditional areas such as roads, railways, bridges and other infrastructure.

In return, the state engaged in almost all aspects of working-class reproduction through a rich social, health and education matters. It is also largely succeeded in getting the state to defend working class support in terms of unemployment, sickness and old age. The tasks, as in most other highly developed capitalist countries is mainly carried out through funded schemes or individual insurance.

The public sector's size and functions has meant that in Denmark there exists a large sector that do not have profit maximization as its main function, but in principle exists in order to meet certain human needs.

This positive result is achieved through political and trade union struggle in which trade unions and the working party's efforts have been decisive, while it has been possible to build alliances with sections of the petty bourgeoisie and middle strata in the fight the welfare state. On the whole, the movements and alliances that have gone across existing class, played a crucial role in many areas in Denmark. Within the past 30 years include:

Peace Movement, which for a period in the 80s had a great influence on the Danish defense policy.

The environmental movement, where the most visible achievement was the successful fight against nuclear power.

The women's movement, which moved a decisive factor in a number of established prejudices and helped with trade unions to implement equal pay formally. In reality it is not yet implemented, the same unions have a responsibility for ..

But these victories are not meant to imply that the state has changed its class character. With the special Danish conditions have 'welfare state', on the contrary been - and remains - an essential prerequisite for capital accumulation. An economic condition because it has ensured the availability of a skilled workforce. A political condition, because the "welfare state" has arranged concessions to the working class, which should ensure its acceptance of exploitation.

At the start of the new millennium is the 'welfare state' - and thus the basic class compromise - under tremendous pressure. The state is rapidly moving to dismantle significant parts of its commitment to working-class reproduction. Past equal (universal) services to all be replaced by individual savings schemes, and one core public area after another outsourced and privatized.

The driving force of capital is needed to find ever new exploitation objects and its need for keeping labor costs as low as possible. Additionally, a growing pressure from the EU's 'single market' and the EU's efforts to correct economic policies in a broad sense in after EMU liberal principles.

The struggle to defend and extend the collective welfare based on solidarity principles are at the millennium an equally important task, as it was centuries ago.

Class Collaboration

The political basis for capitalism's specific development in Denmark is class collaboration, as has been arranged by the Social Democrats and the majority of trade unions.

Class collaboration has even assumed an institutional nature in the form of the so-called tripartite cooperation. "Social partners" and state / counties / municipalities are working closely together at all levels of management of capitalism.

An important precondition for this has been a labor market where employers and working class have been well organized and pretty much have regulated their relationships through collective agreements.

When the bourgeoisie in the extent accepted labor's influence is the fact that the Social Democratic politicians and union leaders never have been fundamentally questioned the capitalist order. However, they helped ensure that the working class struggle did not go beyond the framework of bourgeois society.

The condition of being able to play this role has been that class collaboration gave visible results in terms of improvements in working class living conditions.

5th Environmental Fight

The Left and environmental movements have gained many partial victories over the past decades.Almost all sewage is now treated before being discharged into the sea. The lead is removed from gasoline, and the organic solvent is largely removed from the working environment. We won the battle against nuclear power in Denmark and was instead to make Denmark a frontrunner in wind power. In recent years there has also been carried out major restoration projects around the country. And you can also mention other positive outcomes, such as many rivers today is far cleaner than they were 10-20 years ago.

But while we have won some small victories, then destroy the environment around us continues.Emissions of C02 are admittedly slowed slightly in Denmark, but certainly not globally. The greenhouse effect is still increasing. The same global warming. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from agriculture is also increasing. Problems with the estrogen-like substances appear to grow dramatically. A number of the goods we buy in Denmark, will be produced at great cost to the environment. One can say that we have exported our pollution to other countries, especially in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe.

Organic conversion

Advances of the future

Through our policy work, we press the community to develop and introduce production methods that implement a sustainable resource utilization manufactures products either during the manufacturing process, the use of any product or disposal contribute to environmental problems. It is a definition of what we refer to organic production. This work has a dual purpose by helping the development process will help ensure that people get an acknowledgment that it is in the field of activity among many different people's efforts to achieve results that are not dictated by short term financial gain, but against the common future goals that the real breakthroughs are achieved. People will increasingly find that the market economic mechanisms fail to develop the necessary technology and clean production.Without concrete proposals for sustainable ways to produce and organize themselves, the market economy come to appear as the least bad model.

The organic concept as leverage

by identifying products and processes as organic, we also have a tool which can function while still subject to EU. EU strategy forbids nations to go ahead and the EU even use decisions are driven by a minority of large countries, but organics have not yet tried to ban. It can also be a viable option to let the public prefer the purchase of organic products and initiate organic production or activity, although necessary for public tenders.

The transformation of agriculture to organic farming should now be promoted with 3 instruments: 1) specific duties on contamination including pesticides and the overuse of nutrients after the "polluter pays" principle - the principle. It will make organic production economically competitive. 2) Agriculture subsidies are removed. First, they are decidedly favors the conventional farming. 3) Public institutions are required to use organic products. It will kick-start production and give it a volume including make distribution more efficient. There are many resources that eventually can be released to invest in the ecological transformation of society: Today the state a fortune to make it economically advantageous within a market economy to behave more gentle to the environment than would otherwise have done.Society also uses funds to develop eco-efficient technologies in the longer term will only sustain an unsustainable system example. biogas slurry separation, pig pens with a little more space and pesticides that pollute less. This has greatly distorted the logical connections would otherwise plan production for, both in food production and other production.

New forms of property promotes the conversion

of the private property makes it very expensive for society when you want to change the law or have introduced new ways to utilize resources. Gains from society's positive development accrue largely those who have private property, thereby losing the state the opportunity to re-invest resources saved.

The concentration of capital and monopolies in agriculture and food industry must be combated by offering to farmers that they can pass to being clean soil use and thereby obtain debt relief and conversion to organic farming. Disposal over the farm will remain roughly unchanged, but the Credit will be replaced with the state. This gives the state the opportunity through regulation of land rents to provide economic relief to both good times and bad times will always be reasonable times for the farmer and his family.

Organic transformation of society

in a future in an organically converted society, we can achieve an increase in tire-tion of human needs while gross domestic product declines and economic growth is negative.

It requires the consistent introduction of renewable energies, and use local renewable resources

- lifespan of products must multiply

- the need to clean up after contaminants must be removed by not

- to use such

- unpolluted cures to be explored

- fair-trade will reduce the need for foreign aid.

This society will basically be organized by the waste products are quickly converted to resources. The state must take care to develop long term plans for all sectors gradually be converted to organic production. Organic production in publicly owned enterprises is the only way to genuinely and without artificial subsidies can manage to produce for the public good. To achieve this, the research, development and innovation be about to explore how natural resources rational use and gentle. Within textiles, household products, energy production, local wastewater solutions, foodstuffs, detergents, cosmetics and construction, is the foundation for a production based on organically grown produce and with non-toxic excipients already finished and just need to be developed. Within suchtransportation and logistics and cure of diseases, the development has not come this far.

Ecology is a prerequisite for democracy

, it is just as much organization - as the concrete methods of production - will be crucial that the whole is ecologically acceptable. The units will be smaller than today and matter flows shorter. It will not only happen for the sake of sustainable production, but also because a genuine democracy requires a clarity for the individual, and some close relation to its surroundings, to the vast majority of people feel the urge to participate in making decisions . When the people increasingly see through the premises for their own lives, people will also be better able to cope with being in solidarity with people on the other side of the globe.

Allocation of resources

We are facing a big - and growing - challenge: to stop pollution and destruction of the environment - while maintaining the inequality between rich and poor in the world should be compensated. It will not happen without an attack on consumer culture, created in the rich capitalist countries. Today, global consumption of resources very unequally distributed: 1 / 5 of Earth's population uses 4 / 5 of Earth's resources.

The consumption of natural resources and loads of natural light, as the world's rich countries have and are still seeking to grow, representing a serious threat to our common future. Widespread to the world's population as a whole would lead to a collapse of the natural basis. It exceeds the natural carrying capacity.

Instead of illusions that any one time will reach a consumption level that only the wealthy today can afford to require Alliance to the rich ends. In the short term, we believe in quotas and "overuse green taxes" to polluting forms of consumption such as gasoline. A truly ecologically sustainable and socially equitable development will only be possible in a socialist society.

By applying the concept of the ecological space we put numbers on how many resources we have maximum use when everyone in the world should be entitled to the same raw material consumption and there must be respect for the environment. This room sets in other words, some specific goals in kg m2 and m3 of where we're going. The big challenge for the next 20-30 years will be to show how we can lower the total raw material consumption, while the quality of life increases.

CO2 emissions from burning of fossil fuels must cease within the current generation's lifetime. Energy consumption should be reduced both as part of ensuring a gradual end to the use of coal and oil, but also as part of the transition to a less stressful production transport and consumption behavior.Material consumption will be reduced and not just the materials, which are visible as raw materials in final product, but perceived as the total mass of materials 'moved around' during production, it is called the product's overall 'ecological rucksack'. We seize really huge areas in other parts of the world to cover our spending. This should be restricted and these areas should instead be used locally to alleviate hunger and need, and provide a basis for increased welfare.

To bring the consumption down is just as important as the more traditional ways to smooth out inequalities in society. The way this is a broad cultural, economic, social and technological efforts combined with an overall planning of community land use.

Social is about to redeploy from private to collective consumption in areas where collective consumption to ensure more equitable access to necessary compliance and where the load on natural resources also can be made smaller, also in several parts of using a product such as. a car, a washing machine, a computer.

Economics is about to redistribute from rich to poor, so that luxury consumption is limited.

Psychology is about to do away with the market creates artificial needs and material dreams, and to gain understanding of that real human needs can not be satisfied with material excesses.

Culturally, these are to reduce the amount of funds for advertising and marketing, sponsorship and other ways in which all parts of society become 'appendage' to the profit machine, and instead increase the amount of funds for real information and debate on consumer issues, nature and environmental issues.

Simultaneously, the technological potential to reduce resource consumption could be fully utilized by society. The materials used in production as far as possible be local and renewable. Products must be manufactured with as little resources as possible. Products must be produced with longer life and better opportunities for repair instead of complete replacement. They must be disassembled in the ingredients they are made of, so the components can be reused and a larger share of production must be based on recycling of resources. Today it is unfortunately the case that it often pays to repair such electronic and electrical appliances. We therefore propose that the government - possibly. related to the municipal recycling centers - establish repair shops to non-profit basis.

Not only the size of resource consumption is central. The composition of the consumption is equally important. The enormous consumption of undesired, environmentally harmful substances away. There must also be paid to avoid leakage of such substances from production where they often occur as by-products. A shift of production and other activities so that these and other risk avoided is an important work. At the same time, new substances and methods can not be used until the effects have been assessed.

Joint and environmental policies

are crucial to the ecological setting that everyone gets the opportunity to participate. Ecology must be for everyone. This means that organic foods and other organic products must be available and cheap.Therefore, work Unity for: that all procurements are converted to organic for VAT exemptions on organic products, and price and profit control, so as to ensure good and cheap goods while organic producers are protected.

Enhedslisten only support green taxes, assuming that it's over consumption is taxed, to ensure a basic level of consumption that are inexpensive or free. Alternatively, a given social compensation for anyone with low income.

Sustainable urban

consumption of resources in dwellings in Denmark are very large. First, use large resources for the construction of homes and the energy consumption in homes big. Therefore, residential reorganized so that only built homes with the lowest possible energy consumption, with a choice of materials based on durability and local materials. Residential construction should also be planned so it is part of environmentally, socially and economically sustainable communities. Parking area in cities must be reduced, especially in city centers. This released land, either built on or turn into green areas.

Establishment of large shopping centers and office locations in the suburbs and urban periphery creates a lot of car travel and to be avoided. Such jobs should instead be located close to city centers with optimal accessibility by public transport. The various shopping centers the size of the re-stricted so they do not outperform the local grocery stores in residential areas.

Transport Policy

Transport has a huge waste of resources and characterized by a spatial planning that takes better account of profit and prestige than a sustainable society. The cost in terms of climate stress, pollution, accidents, land use and fragmentation of the landscape and the restriction of opportunities for walking and cycling, are far greater than the societal and individual value.

We will invest in better and cheaper public transport, so this may pick up most of the automobile and air travel. This requires however that there is a massive expansion of rail, complemented by a flexible, dense network of buses and light rail.

Many decades of deterioration of public transport and one-sided emphasis on private car use has created a situation where a reduction of working time or a drastic expansion of public transport is a prerequisite for many, for example. families with children can manage without a car.

In a sustainable transport policy should be targeted toward the most environmentally damaging means of transport: cars, fast ferries and planes. Driving the reorganization and restructuring are necessary conditions for that society does not leave a heavy environmental heritage for future generations and these problems are related not only to the residential site traffic, but equally to the chaotic and rapidly growing leisure and errand traffic. Alliance opposes the construction of more or wider highways in Denmark. In the cities must grapple car space is reduced, including by introducing more bus lanes and cycle paths.

Freight is today almost exclusively with energy heavy container ships and trucks, while freight and småskibstrafik lose ground. This trend must be reversed and to be constructed tech decentral freight terminals so that it again becomes easy and cheap to ship goods, even over short distances. Introduced maximum limits on how far trucks may run, toll, reducing the mileage deduction, of importing truck tolls, etc..

The nucleus of all transportation is walking and cycling, therefore, housing, shopping, work and leisure are integrated in a geographically de-limited and attractive space. Also for reasons of public health it is important to make the conditions for pedestrians and cyclists better so that more people choose these modes. This is the basis for a sustainable transport policy, supplemented by the operation of other transport must be based on renewable energy (hydrogen and wind).

Energy

Certainly CO2 emissions in isolation, decreased slightly in Denmark, but in fact the Danish emissions increased. This is because an increasing proportion of the goods we buy are manufactured in countries where it has not yet begun to do something to reduce energy consumption and thus CO2 emissions.The Danes have so overall, one of the world's biggest CO2 emissions per kilometer. capita and the trend must be reversed. A shift of energy production must be based on energy conservation and renewable energy sources like wind, solar, wave power and transport will be operated with alternatives to fossil fuels such as hydrogen and electricity from renewable energy. This is especially important in a global context, where CO2 emissions through the greenhouse effect plays the main role in climate change. Electricity supply must be decentralized and again subjected to social ownership and democratic control.

It is important that there is a fusion of urban transport policy. energy and location of homes and businesses. A production based on local needs will reduce transport needs, energy consumption and traffic pollution.

But energy is not just about pollution reduction, it is also about oil reserves expected to run out over 15-30 years. This means that it is also for this reason is very important to reduce our dependence on oil. There is therefore a need for continued development of renewable energy sources, including developing a transport system is not based on oil.

Nature Management and Ecological

Sustainable use of nature implies that we must "deliver" a natural for the next generation, at least not inferior to the present. In the case of Denmark is the diversity of animals and plants deteriorated sharply over the last 100 years. Therefore there must be a restoration of missing natural and living conditions for animals and plants must be improved overall. Society has, through its decisive influence on the landscape is responsible for ensuring a diverse landscape with a rich flora and fauna. Pollution from agriculture, traffic and energy production must be reduced to levels that do not damage natural resources.

There is so much nitrogen and phosphorus in the manure as the Danish agriculture brings out on the ground that it corresponds to the untreated sewage from 80 million people. The livestock population in Denmark can be as unnaturally large due to one quarter of the food is grown abroad.

To avoid contamination of natural water, groundwater, soil and growing food, agricultural production is done without the use of pesticides and fertilizers. Unity requires that all farm converted to organic growing, so we are assuring wholesome food, proper animal welfare, GMO-free crop and prevent further pollution with pesticides in ground water and nature. By shifting agriculture to predominantly local supply, increase food security locally while Danish agriculture imports of protein feed from developing countries may cease.

The transformation of agriculture and less land to produce pig feed, agricultural land is reduced significantly, while with that it will provide great opportunities to land can be used to grow crops for example. building materials and textiles. Cultivation of hemp for textile can replace the import of cotton.Hemp and flax can be used for insulation, straw can also be used for building materials.Simultaneously, the optimum organic farming Extensive farming methods produce better natural values with several hedgerows and much more patches of scrub and woods. There will be much more grazing land is not plowed up, but lies across as permanent pastures. Minor drainage will cause moist meadows along streams and many more ponds. There will even be more land left that can turn into large continuous areas, where animals and plants can flourish relatively undisturbed.

Danish fisheries must be sustainable. Therefore, among other things, the use of heavy equipment which disturbs the seabed is prohibited and industrial fisheries reduced. Instead, using gentler methods and energy consumption must be reduced.

The struggle to secure our natural basis and the struggle to ensure decent conditions of existence for us humans are one and the same struggle. It is about increasing our influence on the production, we are participants in the same time as we reduce exploitation: of ourselves and the natural basis in which the production rests.

Both red and green

, the fact that capitalist society based on private ownership and market economy have serious repercussions for society and the individual but also for nature and the environment.

The private ownership means that important public resources are used based on private interests, where the owners need not take into account the public interest. Utilization is controlled instead of the owners' desire to maximize their profits, often without regard for the environment and future generations.

In the capitalist market economy, prices are fixed solely on the basis of the costs are directly included as a cost in production. All external costs appear to be irrelevant. This means that the manufacturer does not need to take account of later consequences of the work environment for employees, depletion of natural resources, destruction of biological diversity, or effects of pollution on the surroundings, whether it is for humans or for nature.

In the short term, the State try to mitigate some of the most unfortunate consequences of market economy and private ownership of means of production and through bans, taxes and subsidies to try to regulate the exploitation of nature and reduce the adverse consequences of the production. Basically you can not price the benefits of nature and health. We can discuss them and prioritize them through democratic processes and the market can not replace. Therefore it is necessary to break with capitalism and the capitalist market economy.

Enhedslisten call themselves the Red-Green in a recognition that the need for both a red and a green critique of capitalism, and that these critiques are linked. The capitalist growth economy is not ecologically sustainable and continued growth in resource consumption will lead to a deterioration of living conditions for future generations. Simultaneously, the consequences socially skewed. The rich can buy their freedom, while the poor must live with the degradation of the environment. The environmental devastation that growth causes, turns the heavy end down both internationally and in Denmark.

Environmental battle is about to secure natural resource base and thus the existence of future generations. In this struggle it is important to make concrete proposals for sustainable ways to produce and organize themselves and fight through them politically. It is also a struggle for some exploitation of the environment should not endanger others' health or undermining the environment in which others live by. Environment struggle is a struggle for justice and equity between generations and globally within each generation the opportunity to use nature as our common basis of life.

6th Release: Women and Gender battle

Enhedslistens goal is liberation of both sexes from the oppressive patriarchal structures. Gender equality - in the sense of equality and opportunities - is an important means to achieve such liberation.The goal is not that all men must be alike. On the contrary, is a prerequisite for both men and women can express themselves freely and equally, that we do away with the bourgeois capitalist society norms about what women and men can and should.

Women's struggle in Denmark

With 70s women's movement achieved some progress for women in Denmark, including formal equality and equal pay, abortion rights, development of good child care, etc.. which gave women easier access to a paid job and economic independence. This was supported by a development in which it was plain that women received training and work.

However, there has been no concrete progress on equal pay since the late 70s and 90s is the gap between women's and men's wages have been increasing. This development should be seen against the background that there is insufficient public awareness and political pressure for equality, and economic and social development, giving the market is still more latitude. That is a neo-liberal politics, as in Europe for example. forced through by the EU and EMU. It has meant spending cuts and privatization with a progressive undermining of the welfare state, more precarious jobs, new payroll systems with individual wage setting, etc.. Where women often draw the short straw. Neoliberalism hinder women's equality and emancipation.

Many women get the first shock, when the kids. The upbringing, the education system and enter the job market gets girls and women to know that equality is achieved, but when the kids, it turns out to be a lie. So lead the disappointed expectations of the division of labor at home and double the work that individual solutions as divorce or part-time, the solution to poverty or worse career opportunity and lower wages as a result.

The economic independence gives Danish women not yield. Therefore, labor organized so that it meets the needs of women - and progressive men - is how their work and life, moreover, may be related. A flexible labor market must be flexible in relation to children, family and participation in democracy.

The attacks on the public sector in recent years has escalated and the EU-coordinated with the economic adjustment policies to EMU affects women three-fold: They earn their money in and users of the public sector, and it further women who take over when they won welfare benefits such as childcare and eldercare are inferior or too expensive.

Oppression of women is a global problem. Everywhere in the world it is women who first hit by poverty, marginalization and violence. Sexual abuse in the family and in third-world sex industry has a large number of children and women as victims. In some countries, women have not even the most elementary rights by authoritarian regimes or fundamentalist religions. Persecution based on gender are not due asylum in countries whose men are largely users of the sex industry.

What is it we want?

Socialism is a necessary but not sufficient condition for eliminating the oppression of women. So besides fighting to get socialism, it is necessary to do away with women's oppression wherever we see it. The battle must be fought in the labor market, at home, in education - and in Unity, as it also is part of the road to socialism.

No class struggle without women's liberation - no woman struggle without class struggle.

Revolutionary socialist queer perspectives

likeness between homosexual and heterosexual have long been the mantra of the gender agenda. For both gay activists as well-intentioned and supportive straight people were the second since World War is often important to create a legal equality - gay couple and lesbian couples should have the right to be just as bourgeois, as a couple consisting of a man and a woman.

Only a few movement attempted a break with this policy. Gay Liberation Front from 1970 to derivative activities (Gay House, Miss World, etc.) was a bid to not only demand equality, but liberation - the right to be themselves through a break with traditional gender roles and identities.

The emergence of AIDS in 1980 's meant a setback for the release.

The disease in the Western world primarily affected - and hits - gay, also meant a focus on the solid relationships and a search for the "safe". The adoption in Denmark by the "registered partnership" can also be seen in this context - conservatives could suddenly see the sense in letting gays tie themselves and not continue the 1970 "excesses", which made it possible to achieve a majority in parliament for a tributary to legal equality.

Unity is working actively for the breakdown of any gender discrimination. This implies that the Alliance work for asylum access to all who have been victims of oppression based on gender or sexuality.

Throughout history, there are many examples of the oppression of sexual minorities on the basis of traditions, cultures and religions. But today religion plays a special role in the oppression of sexual minorities and that makes it difficult for adolescents to practice sexualities or gender identities are not in conformity with the norm in society.

Unity will work for a showdown with religion normativisering of heterosexuality, so that eg the Danish education system open and unbiased information about the diversity of gender identities and sexualities, and any choice of the same.

As revolutionary socialists we fight to change the historical structures that act arbitrarily and oppressive. Instead, create a more flexible framework for human coexistence and expression: a break with past cultural systems and production conditions. An example would be to remove the distinction between registered partnership and marriage, another will be the succession, which takes account of contemporary and non-traditional forms of cohabitation and family relationships.

For Unity, the challenge is to consider the gap homo / hetero and historically conditioned and the heterosexual norm imposed. We will not accept minority status, but to question the normality, just as also the lesbian feminism did in the 1970s. It is not the minority are the problem, but its too cramped defined norm.

The gender-political work and the queer perspective in Unity will be based on it, and fellowship with women's political showdown with such patriarchal norms and mechanisms of oppression is thus clear.

7th The socialism we fight for

the future music can and should not be composed in advance - the people who are fighting against capitalism and its consequences must be composers. It is they who will decide the shape of socialism.

It does not however mean that it is necessary to set some goals for the socialist alternative, we are fighting for. A socialism that points toward a classless / communist society. That is a society where the individual's free development is the condition for the free development and a society where everyone contributes according to ability and consume according to need.

consciousness developed in the struggle against the oppression that the capitalist system is causing.But one of the conditions in which this struggle can develop into more than demands for reform within the pass complemented frames, is an idea of another and better system of society - a socialist alternative.

These ideas are partly based on some of the elements in the capitalist Denmark, which points toward socialism. For example. existence of a public sector which in principle is a demand-driven manufacturing - although the needs of course influenced by the fact that we live in a capitalist society.This is also the fact that a wide range of services funded jointly and made available to the citizens who need them - and we have a highly educated workforce, which immediately able to take full control of their workplace .

Moreover, liberalism has spread the illusion that capitalism can give the individual the opportunity to express themselves freely as both producer and consumer. Contradictions between these illusions and reality also provides good opportunities to develop socialist visions.

Socialist economics

Socialism is a system of society where production to meet human needs and not to gain a profit. The private property and dispose of the means of production is abolished and replaced by various forms of collective ownership forms, characterized by a full implementation of democracy in relation to both content production and export. Under socialism stops democracy not by the door to work or shopping instead.

The management of society's economic resources are no longer left to a small powerful class of capitalists and forces, but are an essential part of what all people helps determine. The capitalist class ownership of the means of production must be abolished because it creates a fundamental inequality, exploitation and oppression of the non-propertied. Market forces must be stopped because they lead to a blind growth solely driven by the quest for maximum profit. It should be no more profit hunt because the catastrophic breach of human needs, wearing down and injure the workforce and threaten the natural basis of humanity.

The socialist revolution will replace capitalism with a democratically planned and controlled demand-controlled economy. The means of production will be taken over by workers at different companies and will be operated and further developed on the basis of a workplace democracy in interaction with the political bodies that determine the economic goals and frames. Workers', residents and user, along with community organizations and grassroots movements important parts of the socialist democracy, where participation in decisions can be made with different starting points. Openness and transparency in political decisions and economic conditions are hand in hand with direct democracy important means to ensure that all are active participants in the governance of society and not just spectators on the sidelines.

Under socialism various collective production and business forms could be developed, ranging from state and municipally owned companies over production collectives and cooperatives to companies owned by neighborhood associations or other local organizations and institutions. The basis for the establishment must be that they work to meet the real needs of the most scrupulous regard for people and environment. Therefore, the production as a starting point be as close as possible to both suppliers and buyers, but obviously adapted in relation to the type of production. A comprehensive planning and prioritization of production must therefore interact with a participatory democracy that gives workers at individual businesses and the local democratic organs greatest latitude to organize a production that meet both local needs as they need to be handled for the entire society.

Socialism will be a variety of initiatives, not restricts, but opens up new possibilities, so long as it is happening, taking into account the whole and with the overall goal to create a better life for all and not just the few. Socialism thus becomes the basis for a more equal distribution, even at international level.The foundation for a just and ecologically sustainable society will be created.

Democratic rights,

abolition of private ownership of means of production is thus an important prerequisite for socialism, but it is far from sufficient. It shows not least the experience of the alleged socialist societies, where a small, privileged minority exercised a dictatorship at the expense of the majority population. The monstrous crimes against humanity that were committed here, illustrates what happens when power corrupts in a small elite, and when the socialist elements in the economic and social policy is not underpinned by a strengthened political consciousness and implemented democratic rights. When the party from being a forum for political inspiration and guidance is an independent power agency outside popular control.

Democracy means to us the people's power. Socialism will expand democratic rights and the personal and collective freedoms and make them real - not restrict them, as we've seen it done in the name of socialism.

Sat at the tip, one can say that capitalism gives everyone the same 'freedom' to to choose between homeless housing or luxury villa - and the same "democratic right" to buy a newspaper or a television station as a political mouthpiece. Freedom, as well as democratic rights are immensely skewed even the "perfect" bourgeois democracy.

Thus the removal of the enormous economic and social inequality a prerequisite and an important means to make the democratic rights and freedoms are real in the socialist society. Conversely, only freedom and democracy, ensure that power does not fall into the hands of a new social strata, who usurped the economic power and social privileges at public expense. Freedom and equity condition as each other.

The socialist society must therefore not only preserve but also enhance the true meaning of the individual and collective democratic rights and freedoms that are formally valid in eg Denmark: Assembly and freedom and right to strike, freedom of expression - and the press, freedom of religion, freedom of association (including equal rights for all political parties), protection of minorities, equal rights regardless of gender, ethnic background or sexual orientation, etc., etc.,

Socialist democracy is so much more than a cross around. every four years. First and foremost, build socialism on the people's takeover of power through self-management in the community - in the form of works, housing, etc. Consumer - To ensure that those involved have the opportunity to participate directly in decision making.

This basic democracy should be coordinated and completed on the general societal level, to facilitate a conscious planning of community resources to benefit people and the environment. There will then also be regional, national and even international bodies composed of representatives of the people who are directly elected in such a way that even minorities have the opportunity to be heard and help make decisions.

Important elements in the choice of Representatives will be transparency in decision making processes, minority protection, a kind of back and rotation principles as well as a remuneration of elected at the same level as those they represent.

The democratic foundations of the socialist society is crucial to socialism can be achieved. Revolution, the abolition of capital power, but rather the beginning than the end point of the process that will liberate humanity.

Contradictions in socialist society

in a number of years after a socialist revolution will continue to exist remnants of the previous capitalist system of society, for example. in the form of private business, income differences and the use of market mechanisms. Therefore, a real class struggle in a long time remain a major driving force in evolution.

Exploitation of others' labor to be brought finally to an end and to encourage a collective organization of work. There will still be a political struggle for production result

how much should be used to secure the old and sick, to education, innovation and development of production facilities, to public goods, etc.. There may be conflicts between local and central levels, or between consumption needs and ecological necessity.

There will be a need for continued struggle for emancipation of women, fight against discrimination of ethnic minorities and sexual minorities, cultural struggle against the reactionary prejudices of many kinds, etc. The socialist society is not a static idyll, but a continuing revolutionary process.

In all these conflicts and struggles are freedom and democracy of the socialist community key tool to combat stagnation, regression and new forms of oppression - and to ensure a dynamic and positive social development.

Nothing given endpoints

, there is nothing given endpoints. A democratic socialism will always be drawn up by the population at the time. Nevertheless it is important to establish utopias, which breaks with the possibility of capitalism dictated horizon we daily limit of. Based on the communist vision of a classless society we dream about the liberation of humanity. An emancipation within the framework of a genuine democracy frees man's natural prerequisites for care and respect for people, animals and all the beautiful planet.

8th Towards a socialist revolution

The socialism that we work for, must first of all replace the current capital of power with all its people democratic, active management of social change. This ambitious goal has of course consequences for the funds and the strategy we use.

Because socialism will eliminate the economic and political power power and privileges, it can only be imposed in connection with a revolutionary break with capitalism and the ruling class under capitalism - the bourgeoisie.

Socialist revolutions can perhaps be implemented in individual countries and shifted over time. But an actual launching of the giant transition that socialism represents, implies that the revolution quickly spread to the central capitalist nations, or else the revolution will be defeated ideologically, economically, and ultimately even military war from the surrounding capitalist world page .

The socialist revolution does not come by itself. It grows out of everyday popular struggles against the capitalist society assaults on the environment, living conditions, democracy and human rights and the right to manage the added value of working themselves created. Therefore, the goal for the Unity List's policy to create a popular organization and mobilization of a red and green politics. Enhedslistens representation in Parliament is a means to bring about this mobilization.

Class struggle

working class, the vast majority of the population exposed to exploitation, plays a crucial role in these everyday struggles. Under capitalism is working in a strict opposition to the bourgeoisie. The battle for what should be produced which will be produced, how to be produced, who should produce and how the result of production must be distributed is a fundamental source of class conflict in a capitalist society.

The working class has also a strength because of its location relative to production. The working class can put society to a standstill, but can also directly and immediately take control of the means of production and continue production as part of a showdown with a single capitalist or the whole bourgeoisie.

Time after time, when 'new thinking' (civic) philosophers have stated working for nonexistent and the class struggle of death, is precisely the same fundamental class struggle between workers and capital owners flared up again a few years later.

But class struggle is not only a battle in the workplace between workers and employers. The struggle for a better life is also a fight for a welfare society in the broadest sense. Against the exhaust of the weakest. For full coverage of lost earnings for all those who can not work or can not get a job. For free, good hospitals, schools and institutions, etc.

And it is the struggle for an ecological society that does not threaten public health in the short term and natural riches, yes, the whole existence of mankind in the long term.

The struggle for democracy and people's influence on society . Against oppression and discrimination of any kind. And for a peaceful and just world, there must constantly live in fear of devastating wars.

Solidarity, Action unity and alliances

foundation of the socialist struggle is solidarity. Individually we can do nothing against capital power.Divisions between workers and the unemployed, old and young, women and men, immigrants and natives - are married, not just socialism, but also to fight for an ever so slight improvement here and now. "Divide and rule 'has been the rulers parole since slave communities' time.

"Pie Theories' that parts of the working class can get more if others get less, dangerous. On the contrary: the worse conditions, for example. manages to give the unemployed, the worse conditions you can get away with to offer those who are in work. The balance of forces between the classes is crucial - and disunity and lack of solidarity weakens the working class is crucial.

It is therefore a vital task for socialists to fight and overcome these divisions. To build a common, joint struggle across the A, B and C teams and across race, gender and boundaries.

Also on a different part of the goal is to overcome fragmentation. When it comes to movement and activity for a - very modestly - common goals, we stand shoulder to shoulder with all who would join.Above sectarian write off those who do not have the same socialist perspective as us, we urge the contrary everyone - including the reformist parties, top, if the paper has the same goal - to join with us to go a very small step in the right direction.

Finally, we work consistently to build alliances with the middle and lower self, which in many ways also are powerless victims of the capitalist system. Partly by getting them in matches where they just have the same interests as working class (environmental, peace, welfare, etc.). But also that we develop a policy that provides anti-capitalist response to these particular groups problems. For example. be a requirement that university researchers must have a high degree of autonomy and not be in the pocket of private capitalist sponsors. Or demand that a government credit institution must offer small independent more human terms than banks do.

History has shown that young people often play an important role in radical social change.Adolescence is obviously torn between different classes and strata, yet educational institutions can provide a good base for activities in the fight against neoliberalism and various reactionary governments in specific policy. This applies both to young people from upper secondary schools and universities and the youngsters who are about to take a training.

Socialism only natural enemy is the bourgeoisie, which represents a microscopic part of the population.A socialist strategy must therefore have as its natural aim to gather people's overwhelming majority in a united front against capitalism.

Reform struggle and movements

of the grassroots organizations and movements that are active, and the fighting that takes place here and now, the beginnings of the transformation of society we want. Therefore it goes without saying that we should not sneer at the nose of the 'reforms'. Rather, we are the first people to reform demands - whether it's a holiday requirements in the union or a claim in Parliament about statutory ban pesticides.

When Unity rejects 'reformism' of social democracy and SF, it's not that we take distance from "small step forward." But if we do not believe in class collaboration as a way to actually get implemented some lasting reforms. Neither the shareholders nor the successive governments, who dances after capital pipe, will sacrifice a penny of capital profits on a reform if they are not being pressured into it.Therefore, good arguments and good lunches behind closed doors generally not the way forward - either by negotiation or agreement at Christiansborg.

Reforms have been carried out from a position of strength. And a position of strength is achieved only through popular mobilization, organization and action, strikes, demonstrations, ideological and cultural struggle, civil disobedience, etc.

Enhedslistens important work therefore lies in the movements in the trade union movement, the trainees organizations, environmental organizations, international solidarity organizations, peace movements, etc. . We are committed to these being active, fighting and democratic movements.Genuine democracy is the best guarantee against pamperi and passivity. Conversely, active members of the best starting point for creating a vibrant democracy.

Break with the capitalist system,

our rejection of "reformism" also concerns that we not let our struggle for reforms limit of the capitalist society's narrow confines. When we eg. fighting for the obvious and basically modest reforms required to eliminate unemployment, we are not afraid to also use the means necessary to make the claim implement realistic: to let the state make production companies intruding on employers' right to mass layoffs, to implement a radical reduction of working and more of the same - although much of this break with the capitalist system's fundamental laws.

If shareholders want to block reforms with threats of capital flight, we will not neatly up and apologize, but on the contrary, any claim for further action on capital that can impede capital flight: Closing of the Stock Exchange and the nationalization of banks such.!

Revolution necessity

Unity has no illusion that socialism will be realized as the sum of a number of reforms implemented over a longer period.

Centrale reform requirements, such as. a definitive abolition of unemployment, can only be achieved precisely by breaking with the capitalist system framework. And it is a hard-historical experience, the social class that sit on the capital power, not willingly allow such breaches. Even if a majority of the population is behind the desire for social change. The ruling class will use all instruments of economic sabotage to violent oppression, to prevent such a development.

Therefore it is necessary to carry out a revolution - in the sense of a radical system change, where a mobilized and organized working class and its allies deprive the ruling class the enormous power resources, it actually manages today.

Specifically, these are obviously the takeover of the economic nerve centers (worker takeover of the larger companies, democratically controlled social ownership of the banking and credit services), but also to replace key parts of the state apparatus with new people power bodies . Above all, the disintegration of the police and military, who once again has emerged as the capital of power last, all too effective allies. A socialist society can not just 'take over' the current state, which basically is designed to organize and defend just a capitalist society. This is the Danish state, and even more all-embracing the EU state which is under construction.

It is necessary to prepare such a revolution. Along with that win popular support for revolutionary break with capitalism, must build democratic people's power organs that have the organized strength to win the confrontation with capital power, which at one time or another will break out. Just as strong as Unity rejects terrorism and elitist coup, just as strong, we reject to bend your neck and turn the other cheek in a situation where the bourgeoisie resorts to anti-democratic force.

Enhedslistens main tasks

Popular mobilization and popular movements are the core both in the struggle for socialism and daily defensive struggle, but socialism does not grow spontaneously out of the various movements' struggles. Revolutionary parties play an important and necessary role.

In the daily struggle to Device list function as an inspirer and organizer of the popular movements.Unity must conduct a comprehensive analysis of the concrete economic and political forces in society on this basis to develop a strategy both for the current day's struggle and the struggle for socialism.Alliance will help build and develop the fighting, democratic movements and grassroots organizations.Unity must work to unify and strengthen the movements and forces through alliances can promote the common struggle. Alliance to develop into a party that is able to actively participate in and influence the class struggle. Enhedslistens parliamentary work is an important tool for achieving these goals.

Red-Green Alliance (Enhedlisten) triples votes and seats in Danish elections

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:27:48 PST

The Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten, lit. Unity List) is a socialist political party in Denmark.

The party was formed in 1989 as an electoral alliance by three left-wing parties, Left Socialists (VS), Communist Party of Denmark (DKP) and Socialist Workers Party (SAP). Originally the plan was to unite these parties alongside the Green Party (De Grønne), Common Course and Humanist to form a broad-based progressive movement, but this did not materialize. A fourth party, the Communist Workers Party (KAP), joined Enhedslisten in 1991. One year earlier the entrance of KAP was vetoed by DKP. KAP was dissolved in 1994.

Enhedslisten has since developed into an independent party based on individual membership. The founding parties have no official say within Enhedslisten. A majority of its currents members do not have a previous association with any of the founding parties. The party cooperates closely with the Socialist Youth Front.

The party entered parliament for the first time in 1994, and is generally considered the left-most party in parliament. The party has never won more than six out of the 179 seats in parliament, and has never sought to become part of any government coalition.

The government will for sure also include the Socialist Peoples Party (SPP). The latter party have had a very close alliance with the Social Democrats during the recent years and have gone through a process to prove they are a “responsible” party ready to govern.
The success of the RGA is to a large extent explained by this turn of the SPP. The other side of the story is a very dynamic campaign by the RGA. The RGA has focused on the defence and improvement of public welfare and this is affordable through the taxation of the rich, multinational companies and speculation. Also the RGA has put forward a plan for the immediate creation of 56.000 climate jobs Source.

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Danish progressives win election to usher in first female PM

Friday 16 September 2011

by Our Foreign Desk

Social Democratic Party chairwoman Helle Thorning-Schmidt began talks on forming a progressive new government today after defeating a right-wing coalition that had been in power for over a decade.

She is set to become the first female PM in the country’s history after voters handed 92 of the Danish parliament’s 179 seats to the “red bloc” coalition she leads.

The red in Ms Thorning-Schmidt’s electoral group has been provided by the Red-Green Alliance - a merger of communist, socialist and environmentalist parties.

The alliance won 6.7 per cent of the vote, up from 2.2 per cent in 2007.

It is resolutely opposed to Denmark’s membership of Nato and the EU and is committed to improving the country’s welfare system.

Incumbent Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen’s centre-right “blue bloc” coalition won 87 seats.

He had insisted that deep cuts to welfare services and unemployment benefit were needed to sort out the government’s budget deficit.

He also said that there was no option but to raise the retirement age by two years to 67 by 2020.

Ms Thorning-Schmidt and her allies promised a progressive alternative, pledging to stimulate the economy through government spending, to be financed by increased taxes on banks and the super-rich - and a one-hour increase to the 37-hour working week.

The “red bloc” also vowed to spend more on health and education.

Ms Thorning-Schmidt, the daughter-in-law of British Labour politician Neil Kinnock, said on Thursday: “We can say farewell to 10 years of bourgeois rule that has stalled and get a new government and a new majority in Denmark.”

The populist anti-immigrant Danish People’s Party (DPP), which provided vital support for the outgoing right-wing coalition, saw its share of the vote drop by 1.5 points to 12.3 per cent.

Political analyst Henrik Qvortrup said: “The DPP had the liberal-conservative government in a firm grip. This is over.”

Girt By Sea: free ebook to read and download

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 22:11:05 PDT

Since I was keen to step up my ebook creating skills, I researched my options and then quickly moved into publishing mode.

I used an old street theatre-come-audio play of mine as the text and generated the approximation of the correct file to publish it on Smashwords.

Girt by Sea is an amalgam of several street theatre performances reworked as a play for voices (or for radio broadcast). There is nothing especially ambitious about the play as it merely tries to touch on a few notions about the mandatory detention of refugees and package them in a short, sharp piece that quickly gets down to satirical business.

While I've always liked the play and wanted to get it 'out there' I guess the main point is that it is easy -- once you master the drill-- to use a platform like Smashwords to publish your text.

The process didn't cost me a cent. All (!) I needed was Microsoft Word. You, the potential reader, can obtain your free copy of the book(although I could charge you if I wanted to by setting my own price) by going here and downloading the book in the format of your choice (including in pdf if you are still paper dependent). You can also read it online.

Easy it was. I'm hooked and am looking forward to converting my writing archive into very shareable, eminently readable, ebookery.

I wanted an initial exercise to test out my procedural skills. This time around I'm very unlikely to be listed in the catalogue of the big online distributors (I'm serious).

Maybe I'll get my own Amazon page some day...

Get your copy: Girt By Sea

Free eBook to DOWNLOAD : Life of Riley (satire in beta release)

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 21:58:53 PDT

Since I am enamoured with ebookery at the moment I wanted to see what creating my own ebook was like.

It is much easier than I expected. Ninety minutes work from ignorance to end product.

Next time: a production line routine. My own publishing house on a desk.

So here it 'tis -- [imagine fanfare] :

The Life of Riley
(satire in beta release).
Being a short sharp anything goes collection of recent and refurbished satires...
So DOWNLOAD it so you can start reading. Format: epub (free open ebook standard)

If you don't have an ereader on your desktop or your device you can read the 'book' online here.

I'll play around with the 'book' online for a bit -- deal with bugs -- then start working on something bigger, better, bolder... more the real deal, rather than a play thing. A book less about the medium and more about the message.

Let's lose an eye for the economy

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:01:04 PDT

(LeftClick) We negotiate THE RECOVERY only to face the DOWNTURN.

Whoops!

According to some we're going Greek.

“To compare Australia's situation to that of Greece is irresponsible and is absolutely unacceptable for anyone laying claim to high office in this country.”

Hear. Hear.

It's insidious talk. ( The Dolmade Effect. One Souvlaki at a time.)

Just don't think about it. Oh my God: the very thought! The very thought of it! Going Greek! (And I hate Ouzo.)

(Melbourne is the second largest Greek town on the planet, so we cannot be immune [can we?]... from the contamination.)

It's economic botulism. Poisonous talk.

Just be aware -- be very aware -- of Greeks bearing bonds.

Think: Trojan horse.

Imagine: Julia Gillard as Helen of Troy. Tony Abbott as Achilles.

Under siege.

Our economy.

Our credit rating. Our AAA.Our financial good name.

Note to collective self--Wayne Swann
Commitment: Surplus budget by 2012-13.
Quest: This we gotta do...it would be "irresponsible" and "absolutely unacceptable" to not do it.
Means: Shoulders to the wheel. Noses to the grindstone. (And other available body bits deployed as hardware.)

Other available body bits....

Now there's a thought! (Thinks Wayne)

Those same Greeks remind us:

Κάλλιο να σου βγει το μάτι παρά το όνομα.
It's better to lose an eye than to get a bad name.

Except of course, it will be our eyes...

Anything for the economy. Keep an eye out. Wayne says:

Give it a couple of weeks and it will probably turn into a mere inconvenience that you won't even think about ... And besides-- as Oedipus reminds us (and Oedi, as a keen Greek, and one who claimed high office -- being a king-- gouged out both his eyes for dramatic effect) -- what good are your eyes to you if what you can see on the spread sheet doesn't give you financial joy.

One eyed for Australia.

AAAussie! AAAussie! AAAussie! Oi!Oi!Oi!

(Wink. Wink.)

Lost eye: good name.

(Say no more.)