The Socialist Alliance (1 Viewer)

[Not-That-Bright]

What do you think of these people? Are they standing for socialist causes or are they more of an anarchists group?

 

[demosthenes]

It depends on the person in the socialist alliance you are talking about. I am a member of the wollongong group, and I am active in the refugee part of it. There are so many passionate people in it, and people who are willing to dedicate themselves to eradicating injustices on all levels.
That said, there are those who just love the way their new, hip, trendy Che Guevera shirt highlights their doc martins and pink mohawks, and think it is really cool to sit in coffee shops sipping espressos quoting Stalin--these people thrive on anarchy.
Social Justice should be the key ideal of a group like the socialist alliance, otherwise it will just turn into another fashion trend.

 

[Not-That-Bright]

I haven't met many people that don't fit into that 'hip, trendy', category yet.. then again i guess they'd be the main ones advertising themselves.

 

[Comrade nathan]

The SA are not a anarchist group they are a Trotskyite group.

The SA was formed to unit the left but it turned out that the DSP (democratic Socialist Perspective) created a monooply over power with their majority. Recently the DSP stated it would disolve itself into the SA, thus it becoming the SA.

They are very opportunistic. At every event they are there with their pre made posters, with there templates on the top. One week they are campaigning for gay rights the next week aboriginals rights. They are always moving from one movement to the other remaking their template posters and leaftlets. When every they do something they always make sure they are in charge.

It makes you wonder who if they really care for what they fight for or they are just trying to prove how radical they are.

Here is a good article explaining on the functions of Trot groups.

http://www.left.ru/inter/sept/leftright.html

 

[demosthenes]

The SA are not a anarchist group they are a Trotskyite group.

They are very opportunistic. At every event they are there with their pre made posters, with there templates on the top. One week they are campaigning for gay rights the next week aboriginals rights. They are always moving from one movement to the other remaking their template posters and leaftlets. When every they do something they always make sure they are in charge.

It makes you wonder who if they really care for what they fight for or they are just trying to prove how radical they are.


[/URL]

Way to make a generalisation. How many SA members do you know?

 

[Phanatical]

Over the years I've had many dealings with the Socialist Alliance, and while they're incredibly passionate about the cause, I get the feeling that some of them don't know what the cause actually is. For a lot of these people, the words "pragmatism" and "realistic" are not in their vocabularies, so they will say that society must do certain things, without fully understanding the ramifications of what would happen if society actually listened to them. They will destroy property ("the property of the evil bourgeoisie"), threaten physical harm against their enemies and advocate strongly the use of violence in instigating the "Revolution" and then go and violently protest against police brutality. Oh, and the only people with long hair and shaved legs are the guys.

 

[Comrade nathan]

Way to make a generalisation. How many SA members do you know?

Tons, even truck loads.

 

[rantman]

if theres the SA, then whats the CPA for?

 

[Comrade nathan]

What do you mean.

 

[Phanatical]

The CPA, or Communist Party of Australia, are a bunch of Marxists who are a lot more Sane than the Democratic Socialist Party. They discussed becoming part of the Socialist Alliance, but they decided against it as the SA is dominated by the DSP, and the DSP and the CPA have a number of disagreements in policy - most notably the "going out to destroy stuff, then protesting police brutality every time they're pissed off" policy. The CPA are more a lobby group, who debate the virtues of Marxism. The DSP are hellbent on instigating this "revolution" that Marx wrote is needed to bring about a Socialist state.

 

[ohne]

They are extremely annoying outside the UNSW library every day.

 

[Phanatical]

They're extremely annoying wherever they are. It's even worse when you make an enemy out of them.

 

[Comrade nathan]

They're extremely annoying wherever they are. It's even worse when you make an enemy out of them.

Thats the SA's biggest problem. Most uni students who are not political find them annoying.

Thats what the CPA must take note of if they want to get recruits.

 

[transcendent]

Thats the SA's biggest problem. Most uni students who are not political find them annoying.

Thats what the CPA must take note of if they want to get recruits.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[Phanatical]

Most students who ARE political find them annoying too.

 

[Not-That-Bright]

Yea... i imagine only 'trendy' people who like to insult every notion of capitalism while wearing designer clothes, and die hard marxists.

 

[um..]

Over the years I've had many dealings with the Socialist Alliance, and while they're incredibly passionate about the cause, I get the feeling that some of them don't know what the cause actually is. For a lot of these people, the words "pragmatism" and "realistic" are not in their vocabularies, so they will say that society must do certain things, without fully understanding the ramifications of what would happen if society actually listened to them. They will destroy property ("the property of the evil bourgeoisie"), threaten physical harm against their enemies and advocate strongly the use of violence in instigating the "Revolution" and then go and violently protest against police brutality. Oh, and the only people with long hair and shaved legs are the guys.

word up, idealism at any cost.

 

[loquasagacious]

Well they had set up their stand at Pre-enrolment day at the ANU (my firts real contact with them).... from this I observed.

They seemed to have regular disagreements with students who were organising the day, they seemed friendly toward 25% of the students already studying (albeit this is a false representation as only sumeer-schoolers, organisers and students working in hospitality were there).

The majority of the men had facial hair of some desription - usually a goatee in one instande a handlebar moustache.

They seemed to get a fair bit of interest from future students.

One was in designer jeans, a fitted t and 'tredoid' shoes the others looked more like the stereotyped uni student socialist.

Their pamphlets did indeed cover almost everything concievable.

They made even small decisions only after discussion.

The guy in charge was middle aged the others all students.

My gut-feeling is on the surface they appear a well meaning general leftie group, under the surface they are indeed well meaning lefties prone however to protracted meetings, negotiating and infighting. They didn't seem particularly militant but then I wouldnt expect fascists to seem militant on a day like PEA day.

I tend to be an idealist tempered by pragmatism with a streak of militant. From what saw the lack of pragmatism I would find annoying, my lack of complete militantism they would find disloyal.

I'll investigate in more detail however the feedback from my partners brother who checked them out when he first started uni was "bunch of wankers into overthrowing evrything and protesting at anything" and I know they have harangued his partner and her collegues at work - Aus Aid of all places.

 

[chelloveck]

It depends on the person in the socialist alliance you are talking about. I am a member of the wollongong group, and I am active in the refugee part of it. There are so many passionate people in it, and people who are willing to dedicate themselves to eradicating injustices on all levels.
That said, there are those who just love the way their new, hip, trendy Che Guevera shirt highlights their doc martins and pink mohawks, and think it is really cool to sit in coffee shops sipping espressos quoting Stalin--these people thrive on anarchy.
Social Justice should be the key ideal of a group like the socialist alliance, otherwise it will just turn into another fashion trend.

it already has...

CoZ lyk i H8 buSH n He'S so MEAn. He'S JuSt in IrAq Coz oF OiL yOu KnOw...omg LOLz

 

[Comrade nathan]

There are actually are knowleadgeable people in the SA. They had some good in depth leassons on Marxism and Leninism, also about current events except for the lessons on Stalinism, people are so paraniod.

I think there major problems is that because their politics are radical they think they are mean to act radical, which just goes agaisnt the current mass culture and way of thinking.