The Collapse Of The Political Centre
A Return of the colonels?



Marxists do not, therefore, hold any illusions that social-democratic forces such as those of Syriza, Podemos, Corbyn or Sanders are socialist. They are not proposing the building of an independent worker owned property, and independent organisation of workers-power and democracy, increasingly standing in opposition to capitalist property, and the capitalist state, or workers self-government as Marx described it. But, we do recognise that they represent the rational interests of socialised capital, looking forward, whereas the conservatives look backwards, in their representation of forms of property that have had their day, even within the confines of capitalism. It is that objective reality, that underpins the collapse of the political centre, and which means that its only resolution, currently, within capitalism, resides with a rejuvenation of social-democracy, or else with the rise of some form of fascism or Bonapartism.
It is on that basis that Marxists give critical support to social-democratic forces such as Syriza, Podemos, Corbyn and so on. To the extent that these forces can link up across Europe, and extend their influence, the more the objective reality exerts itself against the current appearance of the hegemony of conservative ideas and power.
But, one of the reasons that Marxists can only give critical support to these social-democrats is precisely the limited nature of their own position, which continually lags behind the development of the working-class, and its own forms of property. Socialised capital, in the form of corporations have existed as multinationals for more than sixty years. Some co-operatives operate on an EU or wider international basis. Yet, social-democratic parties and trades unions continue to reflect the dominance of nationalist ideas, despite the oft claimed “internationalism” of those parties. They work together on a loose basis within the EU Parliament, and some half-hearted attempts to build a European trades union movement have taken place. But, as the current moves to loosen the ties in the British Labour Party indicate, with proposals to essentially create an independent Scottish Labour Party, rather than strengthening and drawing closer across borders, the lingering statism and nationalism, that lies behind their ideology continually pulls them apart.
Not only, therefore, should Marxists have no truck with sharing a platform with Tories and other nationalists – we can leave that to the likes of national-socialists and demagogues of the ilk of Galloway – but, we should also have no truck with sharing platforms with those social democrats who frame their arguments in nationalist terms either. There is no more reason to stand side by side with Labour politicians like Hilary Benn, for example, who have welcomed parts of Cameron's reactionary package, and who have only demarcated themselves from the Tories over the removal of workers rights and benefits, by presenting themselves as a pale imitation of the Tories, just as they have done over austerity. Marxists are in favour of staying in the EU, not because it is in the interests of British workers to do so, still less that it in the interests of Britain to do so, but because it is in the interests of workers full stop. It is in the interests of building unified workers' organisations across Europe, of undermining the ability of our enemies to sow division on nationalist grounds, and it is in the interests of building socialised capital, and worker-owned property across Europe.
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