The problem with the left. (To BLOC UK).

During my recent spate of 'political activism' which I have started to come out of, as very much an outsider I wanted to write some hopefully useful criticism of the left. This is what I found:

A) Everybody is too self centered: I went to a 38 Degrees meeting and there was no unity. It wasn't like an efficient army everyone (including me a little) turned up with their own agenda.

Now I don't know what it is you should be doing. But I do know that if one person turns up talking about 'global warming', one turns up talking about 'welfare' (NEVER call it 'benefits'... Psy op) another talks about 'the NHS' another talks about 'the media'; and then there is NO COMPROMISE not much is going to get done.

In fact if I was an 'infiltrator' trying to mess up a group I would simply try and make people stick to their guns. 'A kingdom divided against itself will not stand'.

B) Cultish thinking: While economic ideas do need to be discussed in this highly difficult area, grand statement which may or may not be correct can be quickly picked apart, and serve very quickly to alienate people who do not agree with them. Whether the original statement was correct or not.

Your idea might be FANTASTIC. But people need to understand the foundation of an idea before they can get over their pre concieved notions. One of them I heard was 'nationalise the banks'. Put it in the hands of the current 'sociopathic' regime? Perhaps good, perhaps not. I have heard Abraham Lincoln did it with some success.

People repeating such ideas without explaining and getting people to agree on the basics is just confusing. People come out with things such as 'the rich are out to get us'. Better, perhaps, to simply state facts and what is going to be done about them.

'The average citizen lives on x income and z,000 die every month. This is how we intend to fix it.'

C) Alienating people who do not think the same way: This is obvious. There are many ideas that are fairly useful, that are taken, twisted, and them packaged as 'right wing' when they are nothing of the sort. A good example of this is how, according to the guardian, economists don't agree with George Osborne's 'austerity plan'. They are not solid 'market principles' they are just nuts.

This means, that if you had a 'Tory' that walked through the door. Who once believed that his party was going to bring sense to a messed up state of economic affairs. This person would be utterly alienated by blind ideology to left wing ideals. So talking about 'right wing/ left wing' 'poor/ rich' rather than the exact principles you intend to use and things you care about. Is going to alienate people. Remember, accountants, economists, property developers and a lot of people that have dealt unfavourably with certain working class communities, (and some who have had 'immigrant' drug traffickers in their area who have become perhaps racist due to real problems). These people exist. These are the people who will not respond favourably to some of the language in a Peoples Assembly meeting but whose support activism and protesting groups seeking to broaden their appeal may wish to be able to communicate with.