Left Unity

So - just to be clear- a global economic crisis did nothing to build a unified global left (Occupy's brief spark just a teaser). The release of thousands of classified documents showing imperialist barbarism and decadence and deceit did nothing to build a unified global left ("Arab Spring" still a chaotic spiral). The massive consolidation of wealth and historic levels of inequality that continues post-crisis does nothing to build a unified global left. Of course much of that angry energy is directed into nationalist or racist or xenophobic organizations and it is also very natural to simply retreat into some defensive posture of pure apathy or submission. Drinking through the crisis is always tempting. That's why I was surprised to see a new political party formation spring up in the United Kingdom calling itself Left Unity. From what I have been reading, Ken Loach has been instrumental in the process. After a convention last week they settled on some foundational principles and are ready to take on Labour. No one is deluded into thinking it won't be a long slog but following the demoralizing self-destruction of Socialist Workers Party, some healthy growth seems possible. This blog post over at Left Unity encapsulated many of the debates I have participated in here in our local setting and on the IOPS website. These questions don't go away. I just hope there is some young energy that can stare this beast right in the eye, David to Goliath, and not be overwhelmed. That there is a distinctly feminist critique is hopeful and when they see people of color coming over, they will know they have struck a chord. Examples such as Siriza or Die Linke are just that, examples and not models. Richard Seymour of the Leninology blog ( see my blogroll) covers the conference in this piece. Some insist a democratic workplace somehow makes it not capitalist. Some like Richard Wolff believe this is a route to anti-capitalism but not the goal. Some think a "mixed economy" is the best we can hope for and that workers will carry forward and increase their demands in the future. The New Deal and other Social Democratic projects suggest that this is hardly inevitable, that Capital has it's own counter proposals and strategy to meet such contingencies. But I am glad to see the debate alive and well. What might a Left Unity look like here in the good old USA?