the commune

Barry Biddulph reviews, Beyond Capitalism by Luke Cooper and Simon Hardy (Zero Books 2012) ,£11.99.

Luke and Simon’s starting point is the observation that the “dramatic growth of the radical left after 1968 and the much more modest gains made after the mass movements of 2011 underlie the fact Marxism has lost its position as the natural ‘go to’ in politics” (1).  Speaking from experience of 1968 and 2011 this is certainly a correct assessment and also, a revealing conclusion. What does it say about the record of the Leninist left since 1968 ? They dodge this question. Instead, they side step any criticism of the Bolshevik heritage by simply declaring that the common perception of Leninism as top down organisational control and sectarian splitting “does not accord with the totality of the Russian experience” (2). Explicit Leninism is placed on one side for flexibility and popular appeal.

As Luke and Simon argue, young anti-capitalists value social struggle from below rather than relying on bureaucratic hierarchies.  Trade union officialdom is a good example of bureaucracy and hierarchy, yet for Simon and Luke, “this should be the time when the unions come forward to do their job as defensive organisations” (3).  But are the trade unions fit for purpose: can they defend their members pensions, jobs and conditions? Even before the onset of Thatcherism and the anti-union laws, trade unions accepted capitalist realism. Trade union leaders are not just mediators between the bosses and the workers in the factories, and offices, they often enforce the requirements of the state and capitalism. It was the rank and file workers who went outside the official trade union structures in the 1960′s, and 1970′s to force up living standards by unofficial action.  The recent successful wild cat strikes by the Sparks was a throw back to this tradition.

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