UK punk and politics 1975 – 84
These three stanzas demonstrate many of the above-mentioned discontents with society, most notably, the unchecked power of the army and the police to enforce the will of the establishment. The final stanza, however, is the driving message – that we should live independent of the status quo by refusal to cooperate with the establishment, or by direct action to achieve self-determination. Without doubt, anarcho-punk is the most political punk subgenre to emerge from the original movement. It is based upon the fundamental ideas of direct action, DIY ethics and anarchism and thus is inherently political.
SECTION 3 – THE MARXIST CRITIQUES
As well as looking at subgenres, Marxist critiques of the entire punk genre illustrate the extent that punk reflects communist ideology. There are two main strains of communism – the classic (authoritarian) Marxist-Leninist ideology, and the more libertarian forms (anarchism or syndicalism). Evaluation of the views of p unk held by ‘The Progressive Cultural Association’, ‘The C ommunist Party of Great Britain’ and the USSR’s ‘Young Communist League’ illustrates the limited extent of p unk’s connection with radical leftist politics. The USSR provides the most well-known form of Marxist-Leninist ideology. While the USSR was communist, the attitude towards punk was primarily in line with authoritarianism. The Young Communist League stated in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine that: ‘ The music and lyrics of punk rock provoke among the young fits of aimless rage, vandalism and the urge to destroy everything they get in their hands. No matter how carefully they try to clean it up, it will remain the most reactionary offspring of the bourgeois mass culture. ’ 14 Similar to British media, punk is presented as a destruct ive youth trend and as ‘the most reactionary offspring of the bourgeois mass culture’. This negative view stems from p unk’s rejection of the status quo and ‘establishment’. While the USSR’s ‘establishment’ was different from Britain’s, it was still a state with repressive institutions that punk openly challenged. The Soviet regime relied on mass state control and obviously opposed any movement that challenged this status quo. Likewise, the English Maoist PCA (an offshoot of the Communist Party of England) is equally critical of punk. 15 In a statement made to the New Musical Express newspaper in 1977, the PCA argued punk was a bourgeois conspiracy to prevent class struggle: ‘This is part of the entire process that has developed over the last two decades, when pop music has been used as part of an attempt to pacify and disarm the revolutionary sentiment of the youth. In the'6o's there was a growing world-wide anti-imperialist sentiment. It was no accident that the bourgeoisie at this time promoted rock music and through it such trends as ‘ Flower Power ‘ and the ‘ Hippy ’ movement with their cult of ‘peace and love.’ 16 14 The USSR’s Young Communist League. ‘The USSR’s Young Communist League on Punk Rock’, Rolling Stone Magazine , 20 October 1977. 15 Dancis 1978: 60. 16 The Progressive Cultural Association. ‘Excerpts and a summary of the PCA statement’, NewMusical Express, 10 September, 1977
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