You are here

Blogs

Blockade: Raising A Tactic To A Principle?

Published in Jacques Chester's sample 'Honi Soit' for the 2001 University of Sydney student elections.

It seems that almost every political protest organised via political organisations of the far left is now a blockade. Following the relative success of the blockade of the World Economic Forum of September 11-13, 2000, the call to blockade has been applied to everything from Nike retail outlets in Melbourne to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Effective Strategies for Social Reform

Presented at the Labor Left Activists and Supporters Conference, July 2001, Trades Hall, Melbourne

Introduction

Today's Conference has provided a great opportunity for various progressive organisations, their representatives and individuals to express their desired results from current and future Labor administrations. It is by no means conclusive or comprehensive. It is merely the beginning of one of many future public activities organised by left Labor activists.

The Sex Industry: Socialism or Censorship?

By Lev Lafayette and Anthony Leong

An article in response to 'Labor Left in Bed with the Sex Industry', published in Green Left Weekly, Issue 456, p15

The crucial political question facing any inquiry into the erotica industry under capitalism is whether one places economic class or biological sex as the principle unit of analysis.

Vale Joe Spiteri

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 21:52:54 +1000
From: Lev Lafayette <lev@student.unimelb.edu.au>
Newsgroups: aus.culture.gothic
Subject: Vale Joe Spiteri

Lenin's application of Marx's theory of the state and socialist economics

Presentation to the 'No Gods, No Masters', Melbourne Anarchist and Autonomist Conference "Lenin on Trial" session, held at the University of Melbourne, April 29, 2001

Introduction

I will begin with thanking the organisers of the 'No Gods, No Masters' Melbourne Anarchist and Autonomist Conference for providing me this opportunity to defend Lenin's understanding and application of the Marxist theory of the state and socialist economy. I must also at this opportunity express my grave disappointment that members of the various political parties and movements that make up the 'red left', as the Conference organisers have described them, have not considered it worthwhile to defending Lenin in the face of very important criticisms. I do not see how ignoring this criticisms or the anarchist movement how differences between progressive forces can be resolved for the purpose of social change.

Defending Lenin's application of Marx's theory of the state and socialist economics

Presentation to the 'No Gods, No Masters', Melbourne Anarchist and Autonomist Conference "Lenin on Trial" session, held at the University of Melbourne, April 29, 2001

Another Generation Lost? Doubts About the Socialist Alliance

There can be no doubt it was an enthusiastic evening. On April 10, some two hundred people attended a meeting at Brunswick Town Hall launching an electoral alliance of the radical left calling itself "Socialist Alliance". Consisting of the Democratic Socialist Party, the International Socialist Organisation, Socialist Alternative, Workers Power, Workers Liberty, Workers League, the Freedom Socialist Party, Socialist Democracy, and the Worker-Communist Party of Iraq (in exile), the alliance is being heralded as having "enormous potential", "huge opportunities" and so forth.

How Howard Can Win The Federal Election

From: Lev Lafayette
Newsgroups: aus.politics
Subject: How Howard Can Win The Federal Election
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 10:39:02 +1100
Organization: The University of Melbourne
Lines: 50
Message-ID:
NNTP-Posting-Host: cassius.its.unimelb.edu.au
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
X-Trace: ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au 983230744 24825 128.250.6.200 (26 Feb 2001 23:39:04 GMT)
X-Complaints-To: news@news.unimelb.edu.au
NNTP-Posting-Date: 26 Feb 2001 23:39:04 GMT

The ALP Draft National Platform (2000): A Critical Review

Introduction

The following is a critical review of the ALP Draft National Platform (2000). By "critical" the same meaning is used as that used by "critical theory". It is not to be equated with a negative review, but rather as critique to test the sincerity of principles to practices. Aspects of the Draft Platform are thus evaluated in an oppositional, yet positive manner; where such an assessment is given it is also with constructive alternatives. Further, by "critical" this review also seeks to highlight those aspects of the Platform, which directly relate to the organising principles of the Party rather than those that are temporary or incidental.

The Relationship of Punk Music to Anarchist Politics: Preliminary Thoughts

The relationship between punk fashion and anarchism poses some difficulty. It is a second-order symbol which requires interpretation upon interpretation. It is contextually specific. In other circumstances, the fashion of punk could quite easily represent the politics of what Marx would call the "lumpen-proletariat" (ie., fascism), or indeed - particularly in the gothic-punk style, the disenfranchised aristocracy.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - blogs