CONFLICT & RESOLUTION
Socialism or barbarism: a year of LeSoc
Challenging the perception that the College consists entirely of right-of-centre mind-sets, Ben Tudor and Edward Wilson (Year 13) explain why they believe their new society offers a refreshing dose of left-leaning discussion and debate
S chool is a deeply political environment. We have a Politics department, we study political history, we vote in mock general elections and occasionally in real ones. It seems incongruous then that, until earlier this year, no society existed in which people of similar political affiliation could meet. Spurred on by the turmoil of contemporary conventional politics, we decided that an unambiguously left-wing group should be formed. Our aim was to create discussion where once there was consensus or apathy; our method was to give in- depth talks about leftist theory and practice. Of course we’ve had our share of detractors. For one, there was the eternal accusation of public-school hypocrisy, to which we plead entirely guilty. If nobody opposed the existence of systems from which they benefit, the order of society would be entirely static. The other option, an ambivalent non-engagement with the world, is simply too distasteful. In spite of these naysayers, we established a successful programme of complex lectures and discussions throughout the year. We began in the winter with a talk, split over two weeks, which
covered the recent resurgence of neo- fascism in North America and areas of Europe. Our specific concern was how this unhealthy resurgence might be redressed, as we attempted to explain ‘How to Spot a Fascist’ and subsequently ‘How to Resist’. We discussed the nature of the alt-right and profiled some of the key figures in the movement. The danger, we decided, is that these people are easy to underestimate as figures of derision. An analysis of their ideology, however, demonstrated how their poisonous approach to issues of race has infected more mainstream discourse, prompting a discussion of the Elvis Costello lyric: You think they’re so dumb, You think they’re so funny, Wait until they’ve got you running To the night rally The issue of political violence was quite fiercely debated within the society, as we examined the controversial tactics of the anti-fascists who line the streets in protest against neo-fascist rallies. The conclusion that everyone drew, however, was that fringe fascism was primarily a product of the alienation of a certain
group (unemployed, unsuccessful and increasingly interconnected white men) from the workings of capitalism. A full response to the right, therefore, has to be from an unequivocally socialist perspective. The next talk was given by a friend of the society, Ben Joe, about contemporary imperialism. Following Ben’s focus on the South China Sea and the tensions that cultural and economic competition is causing in that arena, discussion turned to
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