NORWICH CLASS WAR
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As we have said before, the Class War Federation doesn't have all the answers, neither do we pretend to. We are not a new "party", or leaders in waiting. Unlike the rest of the Left we don't see ordinary working class people as mindless, moronic sheep with no political brain of their own who we must seek out and educate with our "superior" political beliefs. We believe that ordinary people have our basic politics already - that of suspicion of authority, and a hatred for the priveleged elite. The role of our propaganda is to champion and develop these ideas.
Our propaganda is fundamentally different from all the other political groups. While the Left whine and moan about the power of the State, injustice, write garbled theory and copy the dated writings of obscure 19th century intellectuals or concentrate on "building the part", Class War tries to increase the confidence, autonomy, initiative and solidarity of working class people.
Moaning on and on about how terrible everything is, is depressing and boring and encourages reformism (Green politics for example). We know that however many reforms are made, the ruling class will be in direct, or indirect (e.g. culturally) control of our lives. They will still control where and how we live and work, and to a large extent what we think. Apart from sheer physical force, the ruling class controls us by demoralisation, pacification, creating apathy, robbing us of our identity as a class and fostering and encouraging prejudice of every possible kind to divide us. Through our propaganda, we try to combat this.
There are three ideas central to Class War, Humour, populism and violence. Some people have said that writing a paper in this style is patronising - well that's crap, of course many working class people are very capable of reading intellectual material - and Class War is aimed at them as much as those who aren't. Humour is essential to the paper, firstly because is makes people want to read it, and secondly because it is the best way we have of making our point. People remember witty one-liners, and repeeat them to their mates, taking with it the political content. Humour is a very powerful weapon. It makes our enemies seem ridiculous and less powerful.
Politics is not seperate from everyday life, it is life. The idea that politics must be boring and serious encourages us forget this. The trouble with most lefty papers is that they are difficult and boring to read. There is a reason why people like to read The Sun. It's not because they're stupid and ignorant, it's because a lot of the time is a light entertaining read. This isn't saying that The Sun doesn't talk crap. It just means that there is a lot to be said for a paper that is simple, entertaining and easy to read, and that's what Class War should be like if we want people to read it. The idea that if you enjoy reading a paper like that, or watching soaps or sitcoms on the telly, means you're thick, is just intellectual bullshit.
Class War doesn't shy away from violence, it promotes open class violence - the idea of a lot of people fighting a common enemy. We feature people fighting back in the paper to show that it happens all the time (it's ignored or marginalised by everyone else), and to show that it works, giving people the confidence they need to take on capitalism and the State. After all the ruling class aren't just going to roll over and give up their power - it will have to be taken from them.
We also produce a range of propaganda for people who have read Class War and want to know more about what we believe - you're reading some now! Our theoretical journal, The Heavy Stuff, comes out regularly and goes into current issues and affairs with more depth than Class War does. We also have Unfinished Business, a 200 page book which goes into the present situation that our class is in, how we got there, and how we can learn from the past to change the present. All of the ideas you have read here are gone into in more detail, and it's highly recommended reading.
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