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Preparing for power HILARY WAINWRIGHT The media has been vicious in its attacks on Jeremy Corbyn since he became Labour leader. But as Theresa May’s cabinet wobbles, and a Labour government looks more likely by the hour, the attacks so far will seem mild in comparison to what will be unleashed. We can expect a massive storm of disinformation aiming to scare working people into abandoning the prospect of a radical government for fear of chaos and economic apocalypse. Our shelter from this coming storm must be to strengthen the voices of all those who speak truth to power. We need to prepare now, with a sense of urgency, to build up the counter‑power that will be needed in the face of this onslaught. I want Red Pepper to help establish a comprehensive radical communications infrastructure – in print, on the web and on social media – that can start to beat back these lies and disseminate the truth. We should be a resource for a wider network of radical media, including training and support for the new alternative journalism on Labour and the many movements around it that are growing every day. To fulfil this ambitious goal we need to shift gear – and we have started doing this by publishing much more online (see page 50). With more resources, we can do more reporting aimed at unstitching the ‘tapestry of lies’, as Harold Pinter once called it, that is increasingly being presented as news. Altogether, we are aiming to raise £10,000 before the end of the year for Red Pepper’s ‘Preparing for Power’ fund. Whether you’ve donated in the past, or you’re a relatively new reader inspired by the political developments of recent years, please consider making a donation. redpepper.org.uk/donate Inevitable tension? In Hilary Wainwright’s welcome piece on the ‘new model activism’ (RP Oct/Nov 2017), she argues that ‘the new politics needs to be about both winning electoral power and building transformative power’ – but seems torn on whether there is an inevitable tension between the two or they are complementary. She suggests that social democratic parties are based around steering the state apparatus (‘power-as-domination’) on behalf of the people, and includes the Attlee government as an example. The alternative process offered is one of building grassroots power (‘power-astransformative capacity’). But it need not be like that. A unified but diverse political movement with various institutional and organisational forms and at different levels is something Hilary and her colleagues wrote about powerfully in Beyond the Fragments. Coming to office through the ballot box already depends on a complex process of mobilisation of party members and voters to elect chosen party representatives in such numbers that they are able to form a government. Government need not be ‘power-as-domination’ but simply ‘the executive’ – not of the bourgeoisie (as Marx and Engels saw it under capitalism) but of the majority of working people. David Seddon  South London Overlooked again I read the thrust of Hilary Wainwright’s article (RP Oct/Nov 2017) enthusiastically, with her argument about developing grassroots initiatives as a necessary accompaniment to getting a left-wing government in power making a lot of sense. But I was disappointed to see that, once again, disabled people like myself had been overlooked, both in the list of groups facing attacks and in terms of the contribution that disabled people can make to the economy. Too many of us are in despair at the failure of the left, including the Labour Party, to include us, despite our massive efforts to support so many left-wing campaigns. Had they cared when the vicious disability assessments were introduced in the 1990s (shamefully, by a Labour government), thousands of people might now have been able to make use of a humane safety net. Merry Cross  Disabled People Against Cuts Out of your tree In your article about the Green Party (‘Not red yet’, RP Oct/Nov 2017) you imply that the Labour council is wrong to cut down trees in parts of Sheffield. But these complaints are coming from an area that votes mostly for the Tories and Liberals. The trees, some of which are diseased and dangerous to the public, are very large and so have a large root system, which is destroying roads, pavements, the foundations of houses and pipework. They are being replaced with new trees that can grow for longer. Jack Martin  Sheffield Planting seeds As an ardent Corbynista, I still believe it would be a major error for progressive politics for Labour to ruthlessly hoover up the Green vote and so decimate the party. The left needs a healthy and active fringe to seed new ideas – and I’m not just speaking of the environment here. A Corbyn-led government must learn from long-standing Green Party education policy, for example, and urgently address the unforgiving ‘accountability’ regime: testing, examinations, imposed curricula, league tables and the punitive Ofsted regime. The future health and well-being of a generation of children depend on it. Richard House  Stroud GETIN TOUCH letters@redpepper.org.uk 44-48 Shepherdess Walk,London N1 7JP RED PEPPER Dec | Jan 2018 4
page 5
Sexism Cover story This is not a sex scandal 18 Westminster’s abuse is about corruption, power and privilege 12 Spain’s unsolid state Crises and conflicts in Catalonia 15 A new kind of nation Building the Catalan republic COVER DESIGN Tom Lynton 6 i Moron ia laud C Regulars 3 Editorial Taking control 4 Letters Pepper mill 6 Globalise This! World news 8 Guerrilla guide Health check 10 Know your enemy Under the radar 9 Features 22 Which way democracy? A roundtable on Britain after Brexit 32 Come together Two years of Momentum 30 We cry together The women of Marikana 22 26 IN PICTURES Shonda strip Near-the-knuckle Jewish cartoonist 28 Counter-terror on trial Civil liberties eroded at the border 28 Culture 38 Ideas in action The cultural renewal of the left 40 Racism will fall Native Americans and film 42 Permanent revolution China Mieville’s October 42 46 Book reviews David Harvey’s latest and more RED PEPPER Dec | Jan 2018 5

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Preparing for power

HILARY WAINWRIGHT

The media has been vicious in its attacks on Jeremy Corbyn since he became Labour leader. But as Theresa May’s cabinet wobbles, and a Labour government looks more likely by the hour, the attacks so far will seem mild in comparison to what will be unleashed.

We can expect a massive storm of disinformation aiming to scare working people into abandoning the prospect of a radical government for fear of chaos and economic apocalypse.

Our shelter from this coming storm must be to strengthen the voices of all those who speak truth to power. We need to prepare now, with a sense of urgency, to build up the counter‑power that will be needed in the face of this onslaught.

I want Red Pepper to help establish a comprehensive radical communications infrastructure – in print, on the web and on social media – that can start to beat back these lies and disseminate the truth. We should be a resource for a wider network of radical media, including training and support for the new alternative journalism on Labour and the many movements around it that are growing every day.

To fulfil this ambitious goal we need to shift gear – and we have started doing this by publishing much more online (see page 50). With more resources, we can do more reporting aimed at unstitching the ‘tapestry of lies’, as Harold Pinter once called it, that is increasingly being presented as news.

Altogether, we are aiming to raise £10,000 before the end of the year for Red Pepper’s ‘Preparing for Power’ fund. Whether you’ve donated in the past, or you’re a relatively new reader inspired by the political developments of recent years, please consider making a donation.

redpepper.org.uk/donate

Inevitable tension? In Hilary Wainwright’s welcome piece on the ‘new model activism’ (RP Oct/Nov 2017), she argues that ‘the new politics needs to be about both winning electoral power and building transformative power’ – but seems torn on whether there is an inevitable tension between the two or they are complementary.

She suggests that social democratic parties are based around steering the state apparatus (‘power-as-domination’) on behalf of the people, and includes the Attlee government as an example. The alternative process offered is one of building grassroots power (‘power-astransformative capacity’). But it need not be like that. A unified but diverse political movement with various institutional and organisational forms and at different levels is something Hilary and her colleagues wrote about powerfully in Beyond the Fragments.

Coming to office through the ballot box already depends on a complex process of mobilisation of party members and voters to elect chosen party representatives in such numbers that they are able to form a government. Government need not be ‘power-as-domination’ but simply ‘the executive’ – not of the bourgeoisie (as Marx and Engels saw it under capitalism) but of the majority of working people. David Seddon  South London Overlooked again I read the thrust of Hilary Wainwright’s article (RP Oct/Nov 2017) enthusiastically, with her argument about developing grassroots initiatives as a necessary accompaniment to getting a left-wing government in power making a lot of sense. But I was disappointed to see that, once again, disabled people like myself had been overlooked, both in the list of groups facing attacks and in terms of the contribution that disabled people can make to the economy.

Too many of us are in despair at the failure of the left, including the Labour Party, to include us, despite our massive efforts to support so many left-wing campaigns. Had they cared when the vicious disability assessments were introduced in the 1990s (shamefully, by a Labour government), thousands of people might now have been able to make use of a humane safety net. Merry Cross  Disabled People Against Cuts Out of your tree In your article about the Green Party (‘Not red yet’, RP Oct/Nov 2017) you imply that the Labour council is wrong to cut down trees in parts of Sheffield. But these complaints are coming from an area that votes mostly for the Tories and Liberals.

The trees, some of which are diseased and dangerous to the public, are very large and so have a large root system, which is destroying roads, pavements, the foundations of houses and pipework. They are being replaced with new trees that can grow for longer. Jack Martin  Sheffield Planting seeds As an ardent Corbynista, I still believe it would be a major error for progressive politics for Labour to ruthlessly hoover up the Green vote and so decimate the party. The left needs a healthy and active fringe to seed new ideas – and I’m not just speaking of the environment here.

A Corbyn-led government must learn from long-standing Green Party education policy, for example, and urgently address the unforgiving ‘accountability’ regime: testing, examinations, imposed curricula, league tables and the punitive Ofsted regime. The future health and well-being of a generation of children depend on it. Richard House  Stroud

GETIN TOUCH letters@redpepper.org.uk 44-48 Shepherdess Walk,London N1 7JP

RED PEPPER Dec | Jan 2018 4

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