BY IAN BOLAS
It is no secret that for a long time the socialist left has suffered through being fragmented into lots of little groups, all of which had appointed themselves the vanguard, but none of which have demonstrated a capacity to cohere large numbers of people around them, though some have done better than others.
The Socialist Alliance is a positive step forward because it has the potential to allow these differences to be worked out, while maintaining a unified front on the key issues.
I think the DSP's proposal is a tremendously generous and a commendable step to take for a party with a long history.
The alliance should be active in as many areas as possible, combining the resources of all involved. Large numbers of people are looking for an alternative. I have noticed this among my union's [WA Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union] membership.
A lot of people used to see left parties as the lunatic fringe. I think they take the alliance more seriously because they can support it without getting caught up in debates about state capitalism versus degenerate workers' states and the like, focusing instead on issues that are of real concern to the mass of people in their daily lives.
[Ian Bolas is a member of the Perth branch of the Socialist Alliance.]
From Green Left Weekly, October 16, 2002.
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