By Amina Saddiq
Ken Livingstone’s wonderful world
Ken Livingstone, god bless ’im, is holding a conference on 20 January under the title “A World Civilisation or a Clash of Civilisations”.
“Some argue that the world is going into an era of conflict and war driven by a ‘clash of civilisations’”, says the blurb for the event. “The Mayor of London’s policies are based on the exact opposite idea – that the multicultural city is part of creating a new concept of world civilisation that corresponds to a globalised world.”
The “clash of civilisations”, proposed by Harvard academic Samuel Huntingdon in 1993, is right-wing nonsense which has been used to justify the war on terror and all kinds of other unpleasantness. It needs as much skewering by the left as possible. But judging both by the agenda for the conference and his previous antics, the politics of Livingstone's event will be at best liberal and at worst conservative and soft on Islamism.
The speakers at the event are not those who really are fighting to create a higher global culture, ie labour and social movement activists from around the world, but middle-class journalists, academics and administrators. And, naturally, genuinely progressive voices from ethnic, religious and other minorities are excluded in favour of conservative “community leaders” — including Tariq Ramadan, who seems to be invited to almost literally everything Livingstone organises.
The “multicultural city” which Livingstone glorifies and governs, despite its enormous wealth, is massively unequal, poverty stricken and run in the interests of business rather than human beings. No warm words about “a world civilisation” will change that, not while it is run by capitalism and pro-capitalist politicians like Livingstone.
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Respect’s Victorian values
Respect Coalition councillors in the London borough of Tower Hamlets have pledged to further the fight against strip clubs by photographing the punters and displaying their images, in order to shame them into pursuing a more wholesome form of entertainment.
It has to be admitted that there is something rather appealing about this proposal. I live in Tower Hamlets, and I’ve often encountered obnoxious groups of city-boys stumbling eastwards on their way to strip clubs and brothels, boasting about what they’re planning on getting up to. This usually provokes a desire in me to do something a little more nasty to them than simply naming and shaming.
However, as a political tactic this approach is highly problematic. It’s certainly problematic from any actually left-wing, let alone socialist feminist point of view. If one’s objection to strip clubs is that they objectify and exploit the women who work in them, preventing such women from earning a living – through harassment of their clients – is hardly the best way to show your solidarity. It is doubtful whether this crack down on vice is really motivated by concern for sex workers.
Respect’s commitment to feminism has hardly been at the top of its agenda recently, so is it just coincidence that this particular issue will also appeal to a right-wing, moralistic constituency centred around the mosques?
In any case, I shall eagerly look forward to the publication of these mug shots of sin, if only to see how long it takes them to catch one of their comrades in the act....
Laura Schwartz, Tower Hamlets
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Only the best for our boys
Tommy Sheridan’s commitment to resisting the Sassenach oppressors remains strong, as demonstrated by this recent bill:
That the parliament notes with concern that London Underground ticket kiosk machines do not accept Scottish banknotes; notes that ticket machines can be reprogrammed to accept Scottish banknotes, as the parliament has done with its own cashless vending service, and calls on London Underground to reprogramme its ticketing machines to accept Scottish banknotes.
Rosemary Byrne, the only Scottish Socialist Party MSP to follow Sheridan into his personality-cultist “Solidarity” party, also stood up to imperialism by defending the prestige of the Scottish Regiments and their fine traditions:
That the parliament believes that the Royal Regiment of Scotland should use the highest quality woollen cloth for its tartan; is concerned that there is a shortage of kilts for the army at present; notes that EU rules insist on competitive international tendering for the supply of goods worth more than £300,000 which could result in the cheapest and most inferior product being chosen, and calls on the ministry of defence to announce when the trialling of kilts for the Royal Regiment will end and to ensure that every consideration is given to the contract to supply kilts to the Royal Regiment of Scotland being kept in Scotland.
Onward to socialism!
David Broder
