Socialist Alternative (Australia)
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Socialist Alternative (often abbreviated as SA) is a Trotskyist group in Australia formed by a split from the International Socialist Organisation in 1995. They are characterised by a strong focus on recruitment on campus and at demonstrations, and by the high level of activity they achieve from their student members.
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[edit] Activity
SA is mainly composed of students active in their students' unions, with emphasis on university-based political campaigns and is active in a number of students' unions. Following this strategy they have become an important socialist organisation on a number of campuses.
SA have regular meetings to discuss current events and Marxist theory and usually employ an energetic postering campaign to advertise them, particularly on inner-city campuses and in the surrounding suburbs. Their regular discussions focus on the relationship between political ideas and every day life, such as consumerism and living in a consumerist society. These discussions double as recruitment opportunities for new members. SA hold a national educational conference called Marxism Today in April each year.
Socialist Alternative was heavily involved in the protest movement against Israeli attacks in Lebanon during July and August 2006. Over the last three years they have been prominent in the left-wing campaign against the Iraq War. They have previously been involved in campaigns for the rights of refugees, in anti-capitalism and anti-globalisation demonstrations and against the operation of the Jabiluka uranium mine.
[edit] Students Against War and Racism
At a conference in December 2005, SA decided to focus on anti-war sentiment in 2006, including the establishment of "Students Against War and Racism" groups on campuses. The groups organised a national speaking tour for Mamdouh Habib.
Members of SA are identifiable during protests due to the red flags they usually carry in their contingent or red bloc. This distinguishes them from other Marxist organisations in Australia who normally carry placards.
SA values the political education of their members and supporters by publishing a range of books and pamphlets. Most recently a number of members produced a book analysing Australian capitalism, Class and Struggle in Australia, edited by Rick Kuhn. Socialist Alternative also publish a monthly magazine called Socialist Alternative, which is sold on stalls at university campuses and on city streets.
Socialist Alternative clubs are present on many capital city university campuses. They have a strong presence at the University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, the University of Sydney, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology, the Australian National University, the University of Queensland, the University of Western Australia and Australia's largest university, Monash University. Members regularly run in various students' union elections and have held positions in the National Union of Students. In 2005 they fervently campaigned against the Howard government's "Voluntary student unionism" legislation. SA is to the left of the Labor Party factions, competing with the Grassroots Left for votes.
At their most recent conference in December 2006 they decided to prioritise defeating the Howard government around the slogan: "Howard Out! Don't rely on Labor! Build a fighting socialist alternative!" They decided to continue to focus on mobilising against the war in Iraq and against the Howard government's Industrial Relations laws.
[edit] History
Socialist Alternative began amongst a number of Melbourne ex-members of the International Socialist Organisation (ISO), after they were expelled from the latter organisation in 1995, following a lengthy debate about perspectives for building its membership. This was part of a broader debate in the International Socialist Tendency (IST) about the nature of the political situation and how socialists should respond, which resulted in splits in a number of countries, including New Zealand, Greece, South Africa and France, and the expulsion of the United States ISO from the IST.
SA briefly joined the Socialist Alliance, which grouped together the Democratic Socialist Perspective, the ISO, and some smaller left groups and individuals. However SA dropped out, apparently because Socialist Alliance was not attracting new forces and appeared to be increasingly dominated by the DSP. SA also opposed the strong emphasis the Socialist Alliance put on running in parliamentary elections which they saw as counterposed to building activism on the ground. In 2002 and 2003 Socialist Alternative made a number of approaches to the ISO for unity but the ISO was not interested.
Socialist Alternative was a primarily Melbourne-based group up until around 2003, when it experienced an organisationally significant growth in membership across Australia. In August 2004 Socialist Alternative experienced the loss of a number of members in Sydney and most of their Brisbane branch. In Sydney, Marc Newman, an experienced member from Melbourne who had been transferred to Sydney to grow SA there, led the split. The group of ex-Socialist Alternative members in Sydney joined a small socialist group named Solidarity, which was started by former members of the ISO. Their ex-members in Brisbane formed another separate organisation, calling themselves the Socialist Action Group. SA soon overcame this setback and grew significantly in 2006 and is a noticeable presence at most left wing protests as well as in the National Union of Students, where members were re-elected to high positions, including NUS Education Officer, in December 2006.
[edit] Beliefs and Ideology
Socialist Alternative claim to be committed to avoiding the grand pretensions that they say characterise much of the left. While not a member of the International Socialist Tendency, SA remains committed to the ideas and positions associated with the "International Socialism" tradition of Trotskyism and has links with a number of other groups which were previously part of the International Socialist Tendency, such as the US International Socialist organization and, in France, Socialisme International.
Socialist Alternative analyses the world in terms of the political and economic ideas of Karl Marx, the 19th century philosopher who argued that history was underpinned by economic systems (the base or structure) which drove changes in political ideas and institutions (the superstructure), which in turn resulted in replacements of one economic system for another. SA views the world in terms of the ruling class and the workers, the former oppressing the latter almost everywhere. Consequently, members of SA believe that today's capitalist world economy needs to be overthrown by means of a socialist revolution, in which the workers or proletariat will unite to overthrow their employers, the bourgeoisie, who control the means of production. Socialist Alternative's activities are therefore attempts to mobilise workers and students in order to facilitate such a revolution, which they believe will result in an end to worker exploitation, as well as other phenomena such as racism, sexism and homophobia, which are all attributed to capitalism and its need to divide workers and silence masses of people.
Socialist Alternative is also known within Australian student politics for its hostility towards John Howard and his conservative government. Other targets of Socialist Alternative hostility are the "ruling class" of the United States and its President George W. Bush, and the Australian Labor Party for trying to civilise capitalism. Socialist Alternative also accuses the government of Australia and the United States of waging a racist war against Islam in general.
[edit] Controversy
In an article published by The Age on September 4, 2006, members of Socialist Alternative were accused of engaging in antisemitic behavior and of exploiting ethnic tensions in order to increase their numbers. They were accused of assaulting members of groups with contrasting ideas and propagating particular attitudes towards local Jewish communities[1]. SA was likewise accused of being unsympathetic to semitic groups during the highest period of antisemitism since the 1940s [1][2] and demonstrating on university campuses where the majority of this was occurring[2]. SA's response to these accusations was to express their position that opposition to Israël is not antisemitic. They argue the distinction between Zionism as a political ideology, and Judaism as a faith. Vashti Kenway of Students Against War and Racism and SA said "We take a firm stand against all forms of racism.[1]
Within the left, Socialist Alternative has been criticised for being sectarian for rejecting the tactic of uniting far Left goups into the Socialist Alliance.
[edit] Notes and citations
- ^ a b c Jews in Fear of Hardline Uni Groups. The Age. Retrieved September 2006.
- ^ a b In Depth: An Unholy Alliance. The Age. Retrieved September 2006.
[edit] External links
- Socialist Alternative (Australia)
- Socialist Alternative and the ISO – Perspectives for Socialists September 2002 SA document discussing the group's history.
- International Socialist Organisation (Australia) ISO Website
