Where Is Britain Going?

A new edition of Leon Trotsky’s classic book ‘Where Is Britain Going?’ is now available from Wellred Books Online. First published in 1925 this important work analyses the crisis facing British society and outlines the basis and role of reformism in the Labour and trade union movement. As such it has maintain its relevance for modern readers. Available now for just £3 plus postage and packing charges.

ISBN: 9781898231206 (Union Books)

Xmas orders

Hey folks, time is nearly up on getting your orders to you by Xmas. If you want to have your stuff before the 25th, you need to place your order NOW. Orders placed by this Friday should make it – but the earlier the better.

System Down :(

Not only is the world financial system in chaos but the online bookshop site is currently down due to technical problems relating to the server update of a few days ago. The tech guys are working on it – and no I have no idea what is involved – and have promised that normal service will be resumed shortly once things are fixed.

I will post an item once this is done

Sorry about all this!

Steve

Thursday Oct 9th

Here is the flyer for this Weds picket outside the US Embassy  in London – there is a meeting in the evening at the NUJ HQ

OIL!

A Review of

‘There Will Be Blood’, the film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

And

‘Oil!’, the novel by Upton Sinclair

The poster for this film says that it is based on Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel. Socialists, and lovers of American literature should be grateful to Anderson for being responsible for Sinclair’s novel being back in print and in the shops. But not for much else. Indeed, I would advise anyone who has read and enjoyed ‘Oil!’ to steer well clear of the much lauded film.

Sinclair, made a socialist by being exposed to extremes of wealth and poverty during his youth, was one of a clutch of socialist ‘artists’; writers and journalists like Max Eastman and John Reid to make powerful artistic works driven by a passionate anti capitalism and commitment to socialist ideas.

In 1927 he wrote ‘Oil!’, ostensibly about the close relationship between a rapacious independent oilman, J Arnold Ross, and his son, Bunny. The novel is rich in it’s portrayal of family tensions and emotions, with a depth that ensures the main characters are never less than believable. They are far more than symbols or ciphers for the class conflict which plays out around them. But the main narrative drive of the novel is the conflict between the capitalist class, as exemplified by the oil companies, and the workers, in unions and socialist parties.

Bunny, born into a world of privilege, mixing with the bourgeois and Hollywood stars of Southern California , finds himself impressed with the poor and intellectually superior Paul, who first tips the Ross’s that there may be oil on his family’s land. Paul fights for his own education after running away from his religiously overbearing father, and through a mixture of study and experience becomes a socialist. Paul returns to work for J Arnold Ross on the oil fields at his family ranch, but inevitably becomes a trade union agitator and leads a strike, gets arrested and imprisoned. J Arnold indulges his son and repeatedly bribes and bails Bunny’s ever widening circle of working class socialist activists out of jail. As J Arnold’s oil empire grows he inevitably becomes more embroiled with the oil employers association, led by the major players, and his natural sympathy for the ‘working stiff’ is severely put to the test. He also becomes involved with the oil companies covert campaign to ‘buy’ the Presidential elections. Bunny’s socialist ideals do not sit well with the playboy lifestyle he leads and increasingly he leads a dual life, part time socialist journalist (his dad gives him the money to set up a socialist newspaper!) and part time famous playboy.

Paul (like Upton Sinclair himself, who after initially opposing US entry into WWI on internationalist grounds; for a while reversed his position) becomes politically disorientated by the First World War and enlists, only to find himself used as one of the international forces sent to support the forces of reaction in Russia following the 1917 revolution. Following his harrowing experiences Paul becomes a committed Bolshevik agitator. Bunny is sympathetic but would he be able to completely break with his bourgeois background and reformist friends to join him?

There is a preference in American novels for an episodic structure and Sinclair’s epic uses this stylistic approach . In American literature there is also a convention that the story is told by a ‘picaresque’ character, from the bottom, for instance Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, so you may expect Sinclair to use Paul, the working class urchin come Bolshevik , as the eyes and ears of the author and reader. But actually, Sinclair’s hero is Paul, viewed through the weaker, indulged rich boy Bunny, in the same way as Scott Fitzgerald tells the tragic story of Gatsby through the eyes of another, less interesting character. Sinclair uses the familiar forms of the popular American novel to lay bare US class makeup, the brutal nature of a capitalist class when it’s profits are threatened, the corruption at the heart of this ‘democracy’ and the truth about the Bolshevik revolution.

But if you think you’ll rush down the video store and get out a socialist film classic when you rent There Will Be Blood, forget it. Imagine if Mario Puzo’s ‘The Godfather’ had been made into a film about an ordinary middle class American Italian family, who lead normal law abiding lives. That’s how similar this ‘adaptation’is to Oil! To turn a socialist epic into a frankly ridiculous two dimensional story, which even fails to demonstrate any psychological cohesiveness is an abuse of the original novel. Asked why he bought and read ‘Oil!’ Anderson admits that he was feeling homesick and the book had a painting of Southern California on the cover!

In the novel, J Arnold Ross (called Plainview in the film) is a kindly speculator, hard but fair, who loves his son and is prepared to support him even when he personally stands to lose out. The novel explains the processes and tendencies that place pressures on even well meaning capitalists and his respect for Bolshevik Paul can not prevent him from falling in with the strategies dictated by his class interests. In the film the character is simply a greedy misanthrope, a murderer in fact. Wheras the evangelical revival and religion is exposed and satirised in the novel, Ely, the preacher of ‘The Third Revelation’ is actually a sympathetic character in the film. There is no politics, no mention of unions, no Paul, except for a very brief appearance in the beginning. Whilst Day Lewis creates a character somewhat like the one in the novel, and the scenes at the beginning are similar to the book, none of the main themes appear and what is left is a shallow film with an increasingly over the top, personifaction of evil by Day Lewis.

Do yourself a favour – if you are in the mood to speculate, the film is a dry well, but read the book and you will strike a rich vein.

Mark Turner

BOTH ‘OIL!’ AND ‘THE JUNGLE’ BY UPTON SINCLAIR ARE AVAILABLE FROM WELLRED BOOKS

August service

During August (AKA Summer) the online bookshop will continue to be open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. So if you want to place an order at 4.00 in the morning you can still do so. However on some days I will not be in to process your order so do not be surprised if there is sometimes a delay before you get an e-mail confirming dispatch.  Even if I am away from the office, I will still be checking in to see what orders are pending so you may get an e-mail letting you know that all is in hand.

If you are looking for some summer reading, place your orders now. recent titles include Alan Woods’ new book Reformism Or Revolution, The summer 2008 issue of the MIR and a new edition of Kautsky’s Foundations Of Christianity. All available at www.wellred.marxist.com

Steve

Reformism Or Revolution book now in stock!

We now have copies of Alan Woods’ new book ‘Reformism Or Revolution’ in stock – you can still order it online at the pre-publication price of £11.25 and get it post free – but hurry on this, soon it will be repriced at the cover price of £12.

Book description

The declarations of Hugo Chavez in favour of socialism have provoked an important debate in Venezuela and internationally. However some have concluded that the ‘old’ ideas of Marxism are no longer valid and that it is necessary to invent a completely new and original theory of Socialism of the 21st century. This book is a reply to that view – expressed by Heinz Dieterich amongst others – and a defence of the fundamental ideas of Marxism and scientific socialism against these revisionist arguements.

Contents include:

• Philosophy and science
• Dieterich and historical materialism
• History and economics
• Outline of Marxist economics
• The economics of Socialism of the 21st century
• Socialism or Stalinism?
• The future of the Cuban revolution
• The Venezuelan revolution

and more…..

Together with Reason In Revolt (also available from wellred) this book is compulsorary reading for all those who wish to understand Marxism and its relevancer to today’s world

New Site on Marxist Economics

There is a new website up and running devoted to Marxist economics called:

http://www.marxisteconomics.com

Why not pay it a visit?

Terry Fields, Militant MP dies – the workers’ MP on a workers’ wage

By Rob Sewell

Monday, 30 June 2008

We  have heard the sad news that Terry Fields, Militant supporter and MP for Liverpool Broadgreen (1983 -92), has died over the weekend after a long struggle with cancer. Terry was a larger than life figure and a fine representative of the Liverpool working class. A ‘salt of the earth’ man who dedicated his efforts to the cause of the working class. Always smiling and joking, he was always seen wearing his black leather jacket, even in Parliament, a place he pretty much hated. He served his time there from 1983, when he was elected along with Dave Nellist and later Pat Wall as part of the Militant trio, until 1992. This was the culmination of decades of work by Militant supporters in the Merseyside labour movement. They had refused to abandon the struggle within the Labour Party. As a militant trade unionist and firefighter, Terry was elected to the executive of the Fire Brigades Union. During the 1977 firefighters strike he joined Militant. Through his work, he was selected to become the prospective Labour candidate for Kirkdale when the sitting member, James Dunn, left the party to join the Social Democratic Party. With the reorganisation of the parliamentary boundaries, a new constituency was created, Broadgreen, in which Terry was selected as the candidate. He went on to take the seat for Labour in the 1983 general election, despite the defeat for Labour on a national scale. As with the other comrades, Terry stood on a socialist programme and held to the socialist principle that he would live on the average wage of a skilled work, in his case a firefighter. The rest of his parliamentary salary would be put back into the labour movement. During the election campaign he was told: “Just promise me one thing – you won’t change.” Terry replied: “Many have said it before, but there’s no way I’ll change. I’ve got no pretentions to enhance my own life style on the backs of working people, when you see the conditions and the support that they’ve given me.” And this was true. He stuck by his principle to the very end. The election in Broadgreen in 1983 was massively important as, in the midst of Thatcher playing the Falklands card to the maximum and the Labour party being undermined by the treachery of the right wing, a new candidate putting forward a socialist programme increased the Labour vote, while elsewhere it collapsed. This put the lie to the argument of the right wing that Labour’s relatively left wing manifesto was the “longest suicide note in history”. At the time, I was national organiser of the Militant tendency and was responsible, with a team of comrades, for overseeing our parliamentary work. I remember Terry and Dave at the first meeting we had to discuss the work. It was new unchartered waters for us and we had to plan the work with dedicated teams of comrades not only in parliament but also in the constituencies. How the MPs would work in and out of parliament was discussed. It was essential to be a tribune of the working class, which Terry was keen to perform. He spoke occasionally in parliament, but most of his activities were outside, addressing labour movement meetings, visiting picket-lines, etc. Terry’s whole manner and friendly approach made it difficult for our enemies as he did not fit into the stereotype and he was obviously not a careerist. Everyone who knew him have the abiding memory of Terry patiently listening to workers or constituents and quietly discussing the issues them – a true workers’ representative. At the same time as his election to parliament, the left won a majority on the Liverpool City Council, with its Militant deputy leader Derek Hatton. Terry played a key role in the struggle of the Liverpool City Council, standing shoulder to shoulder with the working class of Liverpool against the Tory Government. Again this position was built up over years of patient work in the Labour Party, initially against the right wing Braddock machine which controlled the party with a Stalinist grip. Terry also threw himself into supporting the miners’ strike in 1984-85, speaking in the coalfields and elsewhere. Terry truly hated the ruling class and their acolytes. The class struggle was everything to him, and showed how the working class would not only resist the system, but would eventually show the socialist way forward for society. What a total contrast with the rarefied atmosphere of the House of Commons! That was why Terry hated going to parliament. He was like a fish out of water under these conditions. Terry addressed all the Militant Rallies up and down the country as well as in the Albert Hall. I recall that Terry often opened up a speech with a joke, such as “I would like to extend greetings from the parliamentary party. I would like to, but I can’t.” However, with the witch-hunt in progress, and the editorial board being expelled in 1983, the bureaucracy started to tighten the reigns. The MPs were warned not to speak on Militant platforms. Then, at one national meeting, Terry appeared on the platform, to everyone’s merriment, with a paper bag over his head, with the eye holes and mouth cut out and his glasses on. It was a typical Terry Fields’ stunt!  He simply ridiculed the powers that be and their bureaucratic dictates. In the general election of 1987, Terry again increased his majority, while Labour under Kinnock was massively defeated nationally. Considered a Tory marginal in 1983, Terry’s majority increased from 3,800 votes to 6,047, some 48.6% of the vote. The right wing were stony silent about this remarkable victory and simply repeated the lie that socialist policies were unpopular. Terry also played at prominent role in the campaign against the poll tax which advocated non-payment. Millions refused to pay the tax which ended with Thatcher’s resignation. Terry refused to pay his poll tax and was jailed on 11th July 1991 for 60 days, the only Labour MP to have been jailed for non-payment. Comrades held regular protests outside the prison until his release. In 1991, the Militant tendency was thrown into a heated faction fight over whether or not to abandon our long-term work in the Labour Party. This became known as the ‘open turn’ debate. The whole episode really took off with the Walton by-election in Liverpool. The left-wing MP, Eric Heffer, had died. The left had put up Militant supporter Leslie Mahmood as their candidate. She was bureaucratically denied the position and Peter Kilfoyle, the regional organiser and arch witch-hunter on Merseyside, was chosen instead. The leadership of Militant were under pressure to stand independently as a “real” Labour candidate. Myself and Ted Grant opposed the idea in a special meeting in Liverpool. We were isolated and the decision was taken to stand, which threatened 40 years of work in the party. The fact that the MPs could be expelled as a result was of no consequence. Whether the Militant MPs would have avoided expulsion without Walton it is not possible to say. Walton, however, made it inevitable. After a massive campaign to get Leslie elected, on polling day some 2,700 people voted for the “real” Labour candidate. The disappointment was palpable. Kilfoyle has won comfortably. Ted Grant and myself urged the comrades to reconsider their position at a national meeting called just after the by-election result, but they would hear nothing of it. For them, it was a great “success” and we should consider developing this further on the same lines, starting with an open organisation in Scotland. The Walton fiasco was, as predicted, used by the Labour bureaucracy to push through expulsions, including the Militant MPs. The soft left capitulated. One of these was NEC member, Clare Short MP. She had made up her mind to support expulsions after Walton, not only of those involved in Leslie Mahmood’s campaign, but also of the two Militant MPs (Pat Wall had died in 1990). “The most difficult task I have ever undertaken as a member of the NEC was the action we took to declare Dave Nellist and Terry Fields unsuitable as Labour MPs… The decision was difficult and painful – not least as the two did not admit they were members of Militant.” On 24th July 1991, a few weeks after Walton, Labour’s NEC suspended 85 party members and decided the cases of Nellist and Fields would be handled in September. Both were later expelled by Labour’s National Constitutional Committee. In the general election of 1992, both lost their seats – Terry to Jane Kennedy. We salute Terry’s courageous stand while be was a Member of Parliament and his years of effort both supporting and leading the working class. In Terry’s immortal words, “A Militant is a moderate who has got off their knees.” He was an honest class fighter and will be remembered for this. The editorial board of Socialist Appeal wishes to extend their condolences to Terry’s wife, Maureen and family.

SOCIALIST APPEAL Northern Weekend School

The Class, the Party and the Leadership

We are very pleased to announce the first Socialist Appeal Northern
Weekend School.

The theme of the weekend is The Class, the Party and
the Leadership, and our main speaker will be Alan Woods.

Our delightful location is in sunny West Yorkshire, nested in the
Pennines. Activities will include talks, workshops and of course walks!

All are welcome, but places are limited. Please send an e-mail or
telephone for the address and full details:

E-mail:

wellredbooksleeds@hotmail.co.uk

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Tel: 07814 226878

The price is £45 (waged) and £35 (unwaged), and a £10 deposit secures a
place. This price includes bed and board.

If you require crèche facilities, please contact us, and we will do our
best to accommodate. Please make all cheques payable to Wellred Books Leeds.

The dates are the 12th, 13th and 14th of September.

Location: West Yorkshire
Contact: E-mail:
wellredbooksleeds@hotmail.co.uk

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Tel: 07814 226878