This should be of interest to quite a few of our readers:
Where Do Ex-communists Go?
What remains of a Marxist intellectual training when ex-communists move on? And where, in all conscience, should they move on to?
Where do former Communists belong? The New Labour project owes a great deal to the contribution of those who became disillusioned with communism in the 1980’s. More recently, former communists in the UK and the US have been vocal supporters of the war in Iraq. Is it a distinguishing feature of former communists that they remain wedded to an idea of modernity and universalism, in whatever form it takes? What remains of their radical intellectual training when they move on? And where, in all conscience, should they move on to?
Speakers: David Aaronovitch, Guardian columnist; John Lloyd, editor, Financial Times magazine; Suzanne Moore, columnist, Mail on Sunday; Beatrix Campbell, writer and broadcaster. Chair: Francis Beckett, author of The Rise and Fall of the British Communist Party and Stalin’s British Victims.
Its on Feb 17th. Further details here.
(Hat tip Andrew)
After thought: More recently, former communists in the UK and the US have been vocal supporters of the war in Iraq
I’m not sure they have, have they? OK, Aaronovitch is fairly prominent in the pages of the Guardian (although I’m not sure he would describe himself as a “vocal supporter of the war”) but I’m struggling to think of many others.
