It’s almost two years since we started our fortnightly Zoom discussions under the title “Talking About Socialism…from a Marxist point of view”. Our first meeting was on 20 March 2023. The TAS website carried its first article on 29 August 2022.
Our aim was to develop an ongoing discussion about socialism (or communism, as we use the term), bringing people together from different socialist/communist backgrounds and trends, and those new to the ideas, in an open and comradely atmosphere.
In our opinion differences of background, political education and experience will inevitably give rise to differences in understanding, terminology and methods of work. We don’t shy away from such differences but see no address them in ways that make further discussion and debate impossible.
What do we mean by the word “socialism”? Our aim was to counter the desire of many on the socialist left to recreate Corbynism, albeit outside the Labour Party. We don’t aim at recreating the Labour Party or starting a vague ‘left-wing’ party. We see that as a dead end.
We need clarity about the use of the word socialism, and how we, as socialists (communists) should respond and react to international and domestic events. How do we apply our socialist (communist) ideas practically?
Our aim is very much a practical one.
We set out the need for a new, democratic, mass communist party [we use the terms socialist/socialism and communist/communism to mean the same things] as the necessary means of achieving the transformation to the new world we want.
We want to help bring together the core or nucleus of determined working-class militants that can become that mass party. We don’t see ourselves as being that party. It has to be created by much bigger forces. It will take patience and time.
Since our launch we have held fifty online discussions on an array of topics. They are all available on our YouTube channel (apart from one on immigration which unfortunately was not recorded).
Our aim has been to raise Marxist ideas and the need for a new party with a clear programme declaring the necessity for a fundamental change in society: a break with capitalism. That is our goal.
We need a party that states its aim for a complete break with the capitalist profit system, with its competition, inequality, wars and its inability to do anything to halt or reverse the climate catastrophe it has created, and for the establishment of a new society in which the world’s resources are owned in democratic common ownership and planned democratically for the benefit of all.
That will only be achieved by the conscious act of the working class, acting collectively in the practical application of its shared programme.
It will fight for every reform within the present system but will never take our eye off the ultimate goal.
To that end we have also held an in-person meeting in Manchester on 16 November 2024 (available on our YourTube channel), and participated in a joint Day Event with Prometheus – a Journal for Socialism and Democracy in Manchester last month.
We are currently involved in the Forging Communist Unity talks with the CPGB and a section of the Prometheus Editorial, to discuss the possibility of fusing our small forces into one new organisation to develop the process to the next stage.
It has been difficult at times over the past two years to arrange the speakers and ensure that everything goes ahead as planned, making sure that we don’t miss a scheduled meeting. But it has been worth the hard work.
We would like to thank all of you who have helped by speaking, participating, or just watching our videos or reading our Facebook posts and the articles on our website.
If you share our ideas, or some of them, why not get in touch and help us build the working-class party that our class requires?
We would like you to join TAS. Please read the statement, “WHO WE ARE AND THE IDEAS THAT GUIDE US”.
What do you think of our approach?
If you agree with our statement, or most of it, why not join us? Fill in the form here to get more information.
Get involved and, together, let’s build a mighty force that can change the world.
In the above statement there is a comment that if the viewer agrees with the statement or most of it then why not join us. But, throughout the fusion process, J ack Conrad has used the word accept as an alternative to agree. In one sense accept can just mean submission or acquiescence. This meaning was part of the Cominturn culture where policy and strategy was formulated by the executive, the highly centralised leadership and passed down to the members to accept in the sense of discipline. The only thinking element was the top leadership. It was for the members to implement the line as passive receivers. Now, according to my Collins Dictionary and Thesaurus, accept has other shades of meaning including to agree on, approve, and affirm in an active sense of agreement. If communism means making communists in any transformation or mass struggle to root out Capitalism, rather than merely the decisions of a handful of leaders, then a common general outlook in a party, if not total agreement, is important. So seeking as much agreement as possible should not be excluded nor should one meaning of a word serve to prevent unity.