Left suspended in mid air as street fighting and uprisings engulf Britain.

My memory is not so good these days. I am not sure who said it, I think it was Engels. I am referring to where it says that the movement when it comes always looks different than what was expected to those who were waiting for it or helped prepare it. The recent events in Britain have proven this point conclusively.

They have been extremely varied in form. The main essence has been that they have been against property and the state. This is a good start. Against this background I want to ask one or two questions of the left here. Where were the left? Where were the slogans from the left that could have taken the movement further forward and the guidance that could have taken the movement further forward? I will leave out the labor and trade union leaders for the moment. Of course they are the main problem as far as leadership are concerned. But here I want instead to concentrate on the left. Where was the left?

I believe the left were inconsequential in these events for two reasons. One was ultra leftism and the was other sectarianism. Both of which are diseases of just about all of the left groups.

First ultra leftism. These developments did not offer the opportunity for long flyers on the need for the revolution and the need for the revolutionary party etc., etc. The consciousness was not at this level. To try and approach the movement with such ideas would have been ultra left. By this I mean this approach would have failed totally to connect with the people on the streets and helped them see a way forward. Such an approach would have further discredited the left and put another roadblock in the way of the movement. That is to the extent that it would even have been noticed. Instead what was called for was the movement to have been enriched by a couple of basic simple demands.

For example:

A guaranteed job for all.

A minimum wage. The actual level I would leave to the Comrades in Britain but a concrete figure would be essential.

Cops to be withdrawn from all neighborhoods.

United neighborhood committees to organize for the above demands.

Link these committees together on a country wide basis.

Make the rich pay.

End poverty for all.

I believe these demands would have got an echo. I believe they would have allowed the left to get influence in the areas. I believe they would have helped to build a united movement, weaken any tendency towards disunity and would have helped take the movement forward. Again I think it was Engels who said that a genuine step forward of the working class is worth a hundred correct programs. This was what was needed in Britain, a genuine step forward. But such a program which could have helped the movement take a genuine step forward was not presented because of the ultra leftism of the left.

Then to the other problem, that is the sectarianism of the left. My experience tells me that as soon as the upheavals started the left groups would have headed to their own centers and turned out their own programs and demands and flyers with the view of recruiting to their own organizations. This is classic sectarianism. That is putting the so called interests of their own organization above that of the movement. It is scandalous. A crime against the working class. What should have been done instead? The left should have immediately come together in a united front, drawn up the program suggested above and had tens and tens of thousands, possibly the resources would have been there for hundreds of thousands of, flyers with which to flood the streets within twelve to twenty four hours. This did not happen because of the sectarianism of the left. It is a crime and a scandal against the movement. The labor and trade union leaders cannot be blamed for this. This is the fault of the left.

I can hear the call. But you will never get the left to do this. This passivity in front of the ultra leftism and sectarianism of the left is extremely damaging. All these crimes, sectarianism, ultra leftism, passivity have to be openly confronted and struggled against. They must be openly discussed and brought out in front of the movement and condemned for what they are, obstacles to the movement. Whatever left group or groups or individuals gives leadership in such action will be doing the greatest service to the movement and will also be in a position to influence the best of the activists in all left groups, the potential activists not in left groups and the many many thousands who want to change their lives for the better.

Down with sectarianism, ultra leftism and passivity.

Sean.