Arguing against capitalism, Speakers' Corner, October 31, 2004

The Socialist Party of Great Britain, also known as the SPGB, is a small Marxist party, which is emphatically not Leninist. It should not be confused with the Socialist Party of England and Wales, the relatively new name of the Trotskyist former Militant Tendency. In propaganda and publicity material the SPGB often styles itself simply The Socialist Party whilst SPEW uses Socialist Party (without the definite article). The SPGB has published a monthly paper, the Socialist Standard, without interruption since 1904. Download high resolution version (616x920, 241 KB)Danny Lambert addresses passers-by on Sunday, 31 October 2004, Speakers Corner, Hyde Park, London, England. ... Download high resolution version (616x920, 241 KB)Danny Lambert addresses passers-by on Sunday, 31 October 2004, Speakers Corner, Hyde Park, London, England. ... Speakers Corner on a Sunday in April, 2004 Speakers Corner is an area where public speaking is allowed located in the north-east corner of Hyde Park, City of Westminster, London. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism; it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ... The Socialist Party is a Trotskyist political party active in England and Wales and part of the Committee for a Workers International. ... Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. ... The Militant Tendency was a Trotskyist faction within the Labour Party in the United Kingdom, accused of entryist tactics. ... The Socialist Standard is a monthly socialist newspaper published without interruption since 1904 by the Socialist Party of Great Britain. ... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The SPGB believes that the only way socialism (its term for a society without property, money, classes, or the state - what is more commonly called communism by most Marxists) will come about is for a majority of people, on a worldwide basis, to come to believe in the superiority of this social system. They endorse the theory of impossibilism, and favour winning power through elections, although in the current situation their main function is as a propaganda group to try to raise consciousness. In contrast to Leninists, they believe that it is possible to make the transition from capitalism to the complete abolition of the state immediately that the majority decide to do it. The party rejects everything which they consider diverts from their main objective and hence has no 'Leader' in the conventional sense. The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ... // Use of the term The concept of property or ownership has no single or universally accepted definition. ... Money Money is any marketable good or token used by a society as a store of value, a medium of exchange, and a unit of account. ... Social class describes the relationships between people in hierarchical societies or cultures. ... A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ... Communism refers to a theoretical system of social organization and a political movement based on common ownership of the means of production. ... Impossibilism is an interpretation of Marxism. ... An election is a decision making process whereby people vote for preferred political candidates or parties to act as representatives in government. ... North Korean propaganda showing a soldier destroying the United States Capitol building. ... Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ...

Although the SPGB claim to follow Marx's precepts, they claim to follow them simply because they are correct in their own right, not because Marx was a special individual, sometimes quoting his own contention that Je ne suis pas une Marxiste (I am not a Marxist). They do, however, often challenge the use of the term Marxist in the media, specifically when used to describe guerrilla and terrorist movements that have nothing to do with what the SPGB considers to be working-class socialist emancipation. Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... Distinguish from the type of ape called a gorilla. ... Look up terrorist in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The party is one of the oldest political parties in the UK, founded in 1904 as a split from the Social Democratic Federation. It was condemned by Lenin for refusing to join the Third International. It consistently argues against vanguardism, and denies the possibility of reforming capitalism in the interests of the working class. It refuses to engage in direct action or to co-operate with political parties that do not agree with the ideas set out in its founding document, the Object and Declaration of Principles. The SPGB and its companion parties in other countries constitute the World Socialist Movement. Political parties in the United Kingdom lists political parties in the United Kingdom. ... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about the British political party. ... Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин  listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) ( April 22 (April 10 ( O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the founder of the ideology of Leninism. ... The Comintern (from Russian Коммунистичекий Интернационал (Kommunisticheskiy Internatsional) – Communist International), also known as the Third International, was an international Communist organization founded in March 1919 by Lenin, Trotsky and the Russian Communist Party (bolshevik), which intended to fight by all available means, including armed force, for the overthrow of the international bourgeoisie... In the context of revolutionary struggle, vanguardism is a strategy whereby an organization (usually a political party) attempts to place itself at the center of the movement, and steer it in a direction consistent with its ideology. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Capitalism The dollar-sign is often used as a symbol representing capitalism. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ... George Bush may refer to: People: George W. Bush, George Walker Bush, the 43rd and current President of the United States of America (2001–present) George H. W. Bush, George Herbert Walker Bush, 41st President of the United States (1989–1993), and father of George W. Bush George P. Bush... The World Socialist Movement (WSM) is an international organisation of socialist parties. ...

The party rejects the idea that "socialism has existed before and has failed", holding to the view that those countries which claimed to have established socialism had in fact merely established "state capitalism". SPGB members believe that socialism cannot exist in one country, but only on a global scale, and that socialism will come about only when a majority of people want it and are prepared to organise politically to establish it. There are multiple definitions of the term state capitalism. ...

One of the reasons the party split from the SDF was over the issue of leadership. Since its establishment in 1904, the Socialist Party has existed without any leader. The Party has a ten-person executive committee, which is elected annually by a ballot of the whole membership and is charged with the day-to-day administration of the organisation. Its decision-making powers are tightly restricted. All substantial decisions are taken at the Annual Conference held each year at Easter. This article is about the British political party. ...

In 1991, the Camden and North West London branches were expelled from the SPGB after a party-wide referendum found them to be engaged in consistent undemocratic behaviour. The two branches never accepted the expulsion and continue to operate under the SPGB name, publishing Socialist Studies. 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Socialist Party of Great Britain (Reconstituted), also known as the SPGBR, is a tiny Marxist party founded in 1991 after its members were expelled from the Socialist Party of Great Britain for refusing to adopt certain party-wide resolutions. ...

Despite its small size and refusal to cooperate with other socialist groups, which it regards as not being genuinely socialist, the SPGB has a place in the folklore of the left in Britain in general. Thus it is often said that its initials actually stand for Small Party of Good Boys and that it is not so much a movement as a monument to socialism. Indeed, Robert Barltrop's history of the SPGB is entitled The Monument.

External links

• The Socialist Party of Great Britain
• World Socialist Movement
• [1] — a brief introduction to the ideas of the Socialist Party in video format
• News from Nowhere SPGB campaign blog for the Livingston by-election, 2005