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The anti-cut movement needs be radicalised

Jean Mina | 09.12.2010 22:22 | Analysis | Education | Social Struggles | World

The movement is now stuck in visible violence but lacks ideology. It is worrying that student elitism and insufficient understanding of the capitalist system will bar the working class from joining the struggle and end the movement badly.On the other hand, the leftists fail in radicalising the movement by mistaken strategies.

The anti-cut movement needs radicalisation

The rise of tuition fee was passed, by a democratically-elected parliament. Of course the struggle must go on, but the strategy is the question – not only violent or non-violent. Now is the time to recognize the real enemy that faces us, and stop expecting any good from a capitalist “democracy”.

As we all know, no one can really represent the students and the working class – not to mention tories and liberal democrats, with their election manifesto, we have as well the labourites backing graduation tax. We have been putting so much hope on the democratic mechanism stopping the rise in fee. It’s the time for us to face the truth. Only by the united power of students and workers equipped with a well understanding of the system shall we win the war.

It is essential to ideologically radicalize the movement against the cut to win. Looking at the countries around us, France, Italy etc, the cut is not a special product of the coalition government but an inevitable result by the failing global capitalist system. Commonsense time. Who fund the politicians in elections? From which classes are the politicians coming from? And, it is not surprising, as a natural consequence, whom the government would fund, the people or the bankers that failed for their greed? If you are still obsessed with the fairyland where democratic politics is as pure as driven snow, see the recent wikileaks and the way the respectable democracies react. Target the capitalist dictatorship.

There has a notable trend of student elitism in the movement. It is not uncommon, when clashes emerge, to hear disturbing comments like ‘they are not students”, “it is only the extremists that causes troubles” etc. Come on, it’s not only a matter affecting students, but the whole working class and, of course, the universal value of justice and fairness. The struggle against the cut is not a lovely bourgeois extra-curricular pastime of the prestigious students but a matter of social justice and, specifically, I have to emphasise, a class struggle, a global revolt against capitalism.

Violence can be justified when of the purpose of self-defense and if preventing further violence. Malcolm X said, “I am for violence if non-violence means we continue postponing a solution to the American black man's problem just to avoid violence.” And, please don’t compare broken windows with the institutional violence posed by the ruling classes against the people. It is worrying that, however, we spent too much time on visible and formal violence (like smashing windows) but ignore whom we are against and how we shall win, in other words, the ideological tools we need.

No doubt the students alone cannot keep up so long. Occupation is only a mean to earn more time but never the solution. Therefore I’ve figured out the things that shall help the movement.

1. Closely cooperate with the workers and turn the student movement to a social movement – strikes of non-productive students merely won’t work. We should have got the strong tool of general strike.

2. Establish autonomous bodies democratically controlled by the students. Occupation is just not enough. Take over the school! And workers take over factories.

3. Ideologically radicalize the movement by propagandas. Analyse the current situation related to the macro-socio-economical system but not randomly throw out discrete sentences. Instead of aimlessly smashing windows, write black and red slogans that target our real enemies. Better utilize these occasions of clash!

I would be happy if you comment on this. Also please share. Thank you so much.

Jean Mina

Jean Mina

Comments

Hide the following 7 comments

Claptrap

09.12.2010 23:10

How many workers work in factories these days? Sure the working class needs to organise and support and be supported by the students and school kids but leftist cliche isn't going to make it happen. What is refreshing about the movement is it's dynamism, it's fast lesson learning and it's highly sussed political anger. Anyone who seeks to impose mere ideological bollocks on all that is missing the point of the struggles so far. It's early days. This is just the start of the resistance.

ee leamings


this is the movement..

09.12.2010 23:36

Please check out 'Zeitgeist Addendum' google video or youtube

google video -  http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7065205277695921912#

and our web site -  http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/

we are global social movement that identifies the core of our world's problems are in the roots of the current system itself and offer a solution in The Venus Project of which we are the activist arm of.

The documentary elaborates on all above mentioned in full detail.

Thank you for your time,

bells-tzm

bells-tzm
mail e-mail: spacebarflight@gmail.com


Ideology

10.12.2010 12:16

Critical theory - when we have ideas
Ideology - when ideas have us
As has been said, these are early days and we must not get stitched up or limit ourselves to the failed narratives of yesterday but be able to stay ahead of game now on.

Blip


anger itself is not enough

10.12.2010 16:43

Yes of course it is the people that employ thoughts not the thoughts controlling the people. The point I like to make is that purely physical combat without an organised critic of the entire system won't work.

See France. Their resistance is visually amazing I agree. Ideology is to deepen our resistance. We need more than discrete eruptions of emotion.

Learn the lessons from 1968 and various student movements in history.

Jean Mina


Semantics?

10.12.2010 18:43

Hi Jean, I understand ideology as a frozen construction left over from the (failed) past as opposed to critical theory (as a fluid engagement with contemporary reality). For sure there are the basics (ie the rejection of all forms of hierarchy and FOR horizontal self-organisation, localy and internationaly - the rejection of rascist, sexist, homophobic etc constructions). I am very much influenced by the lessons learned from 68' but also from my own life.

Blip
- Homepage: http://Semantics?


Homepage?

11.12.2010 12:27

I don't have a homepage. Who added this to my comment?!

Blip


No

11.12.2010 13:36

Ideology is dead.
It died in Hitlers Auschwitz, Stalins gulags and the SWP's boring as fuck meetings.
Theres no rules, theres no constraints and theres no old-leftist dogma.
Theres just anger, compassion and creativity, and thats all we need.

Cj


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