18.07.2013

Summer Offensive: Make or break

Money raised at a reduced Marxism was down, reports Mark Fischer, and the Summer Offensive deadline begins to loom...

We hope comrades appreciate the coverage in this week’s issue of the Socialist Workers Party’s annual school. The SWP’s recent travails meant that Marxism was a much smaller event than last year and this was reflected in the reduced income taken at our stall.

Despite torrential rain a year ago, we raised a useful £300 in 2012. But in 2013, despite brilliant sunshine, we only managed a rather more slender £100. However, I hope comrades get a sense from the reports that this year’s event carries far more significance for us in our day-to-day work - as well as for our annual fund drive - than any previous Marxisms, where we raised more cash. In fact, we mostly gave our papers away this year - hundreds of them. The politics of the time demanded it.

The central project of the Weekly Worker is nothing less than a cultural revolution on the Marxist left. The content of our paper is consistent with this campaign and - as best we can - we seek to accurately reflect the true state of affairs on the left as it currently exists. This will provide the most solid basis for affecting change: telling ourselves or our readers comforting lies would be worse than useless (by the way, there were 12,369 web readers last week).

We are bound to have made mistakes in our coverage of Marxism. It is inevitable that we misreported this or that comrade’s words or misinterpreted the meaning of some intervention. Our pages are open to correction, criticism and comment. The opposition in the SWP is entering a make-or-break time for it and we will offer critical support and report its fight as accurately as we possibly can.

Now, doesn’t that deserve some financial backing?

We added a useful £1,883 to our running total this week, taking us to just a shade under £10k at £9,780. Not bad, but still only a third of the way towards our £30,000 target by August 18 - halfway through and still two thirds of our total to find, comrades! Can you help us pick up the pace?

Many thanks this week to comrades MM (£75), BP (£200), AS (£400), PM (£250), AN (£60) and LR (£50), the proud father of a new-born baby girl. More modest, but still greatly appreciated and important to the momentum of the campaign are comrades such as LA (£30), AG (£20) and FP (£15).

Pleasing also was the news that we had sold £42.66 of books via the print-on-demand page for November Publications. Visit www.lulu.com if you would like to order some of our titles.