DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST PERSPECTIVE

It is time for the DSP to make a decisive turn towards building the Socialist Alliance as our new party. We’ve been held back for far too long already, first, by the hesitations of former Socialist Alliance affiliates and then by the former minority in the DSP. It was the responsible thing to take some time to deal with the destructive factional split in the DSP but that is behind us now and it is time we moved forward to build the Socialist Alliance as a bigger, more influential and more working class-based socialist organisation, than any currently in existence in Australia.

Since our last DSP NC report devoted to this issue the prospect for the planet has worsened quite considerably.

The latest bad news was a report on May 19 by a group scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Based on their studies they concluded that the previous worst-case scenario for global warming by the end of this century has been underestimated by about half. By 2100 the Earth could be an average of about 5 degrees hotter than today, and possibly as high as 7 degrees, on a business-as-usual scenario. This was the first study of its kind to take into account the global cooling effect of an unusually high amount of volcanic eruptions in the 20th century – hence the higher warming prediction for the 21st century.

The following report and summary by Emma Murphy on behalf of the DSP National Executive was adopted unanimously by the DSP National Committee meeting on June 6, 2009.

The January National Committee (NC) discussed the triple crisis that confronts us: climate change, the economic crisis and capitalism’s crisis of legitimacy. This report will focus mainly on the economic crisis, as the area in which there have been the most developments since January, and which increasingly informs the state of the class struggle today.

Democratic Socialist Perspective (Australia) statement in response to the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka

June 12, 2009 -- The Democratic Socialist Perspective (DSP) -- a Marxist organisation affiliated to the Socialist Alliance of Australia -- supports the right of Tamils to self-determination. We have campaigned in solidarity with the Tamil people for several decades. For example, at the time of the 1983 massacre the DSP worked with the Tamil community in Australia to organise protests. This year too, the DSP, Socialist Alliance and Resistance worked closely with Tamil communities, including helping organise rallies, to highlight the calls for a ceasefire and for self-determination.

All supporters of democracy and social justice have reason to be concerned by the recent events in the republic of Nepal.

The military high command, backed by right-wing parties tied to the country’s elite, has openly defied the authority of the elected civilian government, led by the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M).

May Day greetings from the Democratic Socialist Perspective, a Marxist tendency in the Socialist Alliance in Australia.

May Day this year takes place amidst the most severe economic crisis for capitalism since the 1930s. At the same time, the very survival of humanity is now threatened by catastrophic climate change that cannot be solved without fundamental social change. It has never been more clear that capitalism is not working.