11.07.2013

An expanded paper seeking new supporters

Mark Fischer with the latest Summer Offensive update

As comrades will read in this issue of the paper, the central committee of the Socialist Worker Party has made moves to ensure that not only the crisis engulfing its ranks does not subside, but that it is actually given fresh impetus. Incredible. If these people were being subsidised to destroy the organisation they are supposed to be the custodians of, they could not do a better job. Of course, the frightening thing is that they are no doubt quite sincere in what they are doing - despite what reality keeps shoving in their faces.

Some of our own comrades have been busy this week preparing for the SWP’s showcase event, Marxism, which starts on July 11. This does mean a lot of time and effort - a bigger paper to produce this week, preparing rooms for fringe meetings, drawing up briefing sheets, then attending sessions themselves, staffing stalls and selling papers, etc. The usual sort of stuff most of the left does at Marxism, in fact.

Viewed narrowly, this might seem a waste of time for the Summer Offensive, our annual fund drive. Despite the fact that thousands attend every year, it has never been a money-spinner in that sense. True, the larger periphery that the SWP has normally mobilised to this generally impressive event would be willing to engage, buy papers, badges from our stalls and so on. But, apart from a few of the newer recruits, SWPers ‘proper’ would mostly regard it as a matter of revolutionary honour not to take our material, let alone buy papers or acknowledge that we even existed in the same universe. (Although it’s a fair bet that hard-nosed SWP droids will still account for a good percentage of our online readership - 10,339 last week, nudged in an upward direction by the appearance of new SWP material on our site, no doubt.)

Those party newbies who might shoot the breeze with comrades on our stall would soon be hauled off by a full-timer, ostensibly for some pressing organisational task. (Normally to be added to the already dense flocks of Socialist Worker sellers filling every square inch of space outside Marxism meetings - essential work. As readers who have attended will be aware, you are just never approached to buy a paper, to “join the party, comrade?” or to sign a petition against the Nazis, Tory cuts or bad things happening to good people generally).

If comrades look at the recent SWP crisis updates on the CPGB site, they will see that there have been reports that the numbers registered for Marxism are down by a half. The likelihood is that this softer, more amenable layer will not be attending this year, which may squeeze sales further (although perhaps I’ll be able to report next week that our lit flew off the tables, as seasoned SWPers developed a real thirst for serious ideas and answers - as I say, perhaps …).

The real way funds are generated by events like Marxism is via the support our work sparks for this paper from comrades who appreciate its honest and open coverage of this SWP crisis, the nature of the debates and sessions at Marxism itself, the dynamics of the faction fight as it unfolds in the organisation, and - crucially - the political principles involved. Comrades can be assured that next week, it is this paper and its website, not Socialist Worker, that will cover Marxism most comprehensively, most honestly and - strange as it may seen to some of the people we will no doubt be very critical of - in the most partisan way.

We have received an additional £2,180 this week, bringing our running total to £7,897. A large chunk of that new cash will be comrades paying their Communist University fees. In that regard, comrade PK deserves a mention for killing all his debts - CU and SO - in one dramatic £1,000 swoop. Also mentioned in despatches are EM (£55 to facilitate our Marxism intervention); DV for his regular £20; and overseas comrade EJ for his PayPal donation - an example to many more of you out there, Fischer said with some menace …

So encouraging, comrades - but still a long way to go to hit our collective target of £30,000 by August 18.