Given the behaviour and corruption of the state in the face of real socialism, maybe the trots had the right idea. In the face of the undemocratic elite who will send the tanks to downing street before they see any challenge to their power, clearly the naive reformism of social democracy (aka 'nice' capitalism) is not enough.
Chris Mullin's 'A very british coup' (
original still on 4OD - better than the modern version) has a huge ring of truth to me as to what would have happened if Tony Benn or Michael Foot survived the media/establishment trashing and actually got into power. In the face of that undemocratic monolith (ie her majesty's government/police/civil service/etc) there's not much option apart from revolutionary-type tactics in the long run (unless you've got a few trillion spare to buy up some of your own media/mind control) - though what the most effective tactics are is debateable (i tend towards the brand-esque 'revolution of the mind', cos i'm a weedy weakling, but have a grim feeling that we'll need more ulitmately.
The SDP was the end of a fairly long process of 'atlanticisation' of labour into a more acceptable party to the american/british elite (dating back at least to the 'gaitskilites'), and wasn't just a reaction to militant (you could say vice versa even). Of course, as Tony Benn said 'labour isn't a socialist party, just a party that has some socialists in it' (and maybe not even that anymore - the left of the party now are 'just' social democrats if anything).
I'll dig back through my brain to find that article...
This link i just found may have some similar stuff about the British American Project (but i'll keep looking) (the BAP (ha) includes Jeremy Paxman, James Naughtie and various other cunts among its membes)
Edit: Here's another that's closer to what i was on about from
Lenin's Tomb - i'll keep on looking...
Nuva edit: I think
this might be it (or similar) - i remembered it was by Robin Ramsay anyway. It's not going to live up to the build up now (but skimming it and the seymour essay above, i think it bears out what i remembered.
more edit: oooh look, that talk was based on a much larger document which i think is
here. I've got some reading tonight...
last edit: No, i think it was actually
this one (or a short version of it) - but i can't find the article online now.
. Political theory is for the middle class and the intellectuals really - they(/we?!) need a billion words to find out about the injustice that's obvious and in your face to people without the same class/national privelige. (although often the obviousness is succesfully counteracted by the mix of consumerism, infomation control, and media brain washing (our update of bread/circuses).
