The Way the Wind Blows: The Collapse of Western Capitalism and the Second Cold War
- Thread starter Maponus
- Start date
- Status
In this period, a new issue of interest to me surfaced - horror films. In England, as by this time (if more precisely, in 1970) should release The Vampire Lovers - the most "frank" film from the studio Hammer. Also from the beginning of the 60s the Italian direction ("Gothic Horror" and giallo) is rapidly developing. It is interesting to look at the wintering (or collapse) of this industry.
thatsbunkers
Banned
If the UK revolution is in 1968 does that mean the revolution is against Harold Wilson because I don’t see Wilson being overthrown by the working class and students since he is very popular with both of those demographics. Did Heath or some other Tory win the election instead?
thatsbunkers
Banned
Hows Israel doing? Have the arabs started a war now that the new left leads all of Israel's old allies because that could go nuclear, or have Marxist labor Zionists taken power in Israel and aligned with the Soviets
Wolf of Badenoch
Donor
I was a student in the UK in 1968 and did not esteem Harold or Edward at all. Most of my contemporaries were either totally apolitical or else Young Liberals or Young ScotNats with a leavening of Young Socialists and a few Anarchists.
thatsbunkers
Banned
Well yeah but he wasn’t unpalatable enough to radicalize liberal students into revolutionaries, so whoever the prime minister is in this is a lot worse
Political Party Info - Socialist Republic of Great Britain
Political Parties of the Socialist Republic of Great Britain, Part One
The Socialist Republic of Great Britain is the worlds largest Trotskyist state, and as such is something of the odd one out amongst the nations of the North-Western Alliance. Though professedly committed to a Internationalist policy of Permanent Revolution, the Socialist Republic of Britain has yet declined to fully join the Union of European Republics with its close neighbours in France and the Federal Commune of Germany, fearing not only that the purity of "Bolshevik-Leninist" ideology may be diluted if too sovereignty is ceded to a cross-national workers that does not follow the truth path, but also that a "overly hasty" move towards a pan-European workers state will inflame popular opposition to the Trotskyist government. As such Socialist Republic of Britain has yet to adopt the Euro. Britain is also somewhat leery of entering into too close relations with the United Peoples of North America, partially out of a residual anti-Americanism and partially because it views the UPNA's relationship with Maoist China with suspicion, fearing Maoist influence in America may one day create a Sino-American bloc of "degenerate workers states" just as bad as the Soviet Union. Despite all this, however, the Socialist Republic of Britain remains firmly on the Western side of the New Cold War, an implacable enemy of the Soviet Bloc. While not the great power it once was, Britain military capacities are still a welcome asset to the North-Western Alliances ongoing arms race with the Soviet Union.
The state of democracy in Britain is complicated by the ambiguities of Trotskyist ideology. While determined on the one hand not to end up like the Soviet Union, the fact remains that the pre-Stalinist model of Lenin's Russia which the Socialist Republic of Britain broadly follows is not one entirely tolerant of dissent. While all agree that opposition should exist, not all degree on what consists the boundaries of that opposition. All forms of Communism and most forms of Socialism get a fairly free pass, even if "Tankies" get their mail opened and wires taped, but opposition from outside the traditional left exists in a semi-legal realm. Periodic "Black Scares" result in outbreaks of persecution against anarchists, whom the government associates with the terrorist activities of the Angry Brigades, a situation only made worse by the appropriation of anarchism as a label by young right-wing radicals. The remnants of the Liberal tradition are generally left unharnessed, mainly because they aren't seen as a real threat, but the new workers state has a extremely complicated relationship with Tories. Since Enoch Powell's famous "transcendental values" speech many Tories followed in the foot steps of Russia's Smenovekhovtsy and adopted Powell's mantra of "loyalty to the nation above all, even with a Communist government." This has put the government in the difficult position of utterly loathing Powell, and fearing the precedent his intimation of Ustryalov represents, but needing him as a useful tool with which to pacify what otherwise might be a uncooperative and even hostile part of the populace - even to ensure the loyalty of parts of the old elite civil service and business class who expertise is still needed. "Fascism" is illegal here as it is in most parts of the globe, but since few are stupid enough to profess Fascism openly it becomes a form of detective work to divide apart groups who profess loyalty to the revolution genuinely and those who do so as a tactic to avoid being banned.
Economically, the Socialist Republic ironically resembles more closely an Eastern Bloc country than most parts of the North-Western Alliance. Like the Soviet Union, Britain favours the model of cybernetically enhanced centralised state ownership over cooperative autogestion in the French style or the market socialism of the South-Western Alliance. British cyberneticist Stafford Beer returned from Chile shortly after news of the revolution reached him to bring Cybersyn back to his homeland.
The Communist-Labour Party (Bolshevik-Leninist), commonly known as the Bolshies or the Trots - The All-Britain Communist-Labour Party (Bolshevik-Leninist) was once the democratic socialist party known simply as the Labour Party, which was successfully taken over by Trotskyist entryists in the early 70's. It has been the traditional party of government in the Socialist Republic of Britain for most of the post-revolutionary period, primarily because of it's leading role in the revolution and its perhaps dubious status in public opinion as "the real Labour Party."
Party Leader: Chairman Tariq Ali is the paramount leader of government, but Tony Cliff remains a symbolic figurehead and has the final say in all matters theoretical.
The Communist-Labour Party (Marxist-Leninist), commonly known as the Stalinists - Though anti-Revisionist Stalinists and Maoists originally took part in (some would say attempted to hijack) the Entryist takeover of the Labour Party, they were expelled fairly shortly after the revolution succeeded, ironically for refusing to abide by the rules of Democratic Centralism. Marxist-Leninist Labour is primarily Maoist, but includes Hoxaist and Third World Castroist contingents. An uneasy coalition between the third worldist faction lead by Hardial Bains and the "white working class" tendency represented by the parties current leader, Reg Birch.
Party Leader: Reg Birch.
The Communist Party of Great Britain, commonly known as the Tankies - Though in OTL the phrase Tankies refers to Stalinists and Leninists in general, in the world of the Way the Wind Blows it is restricted to supporters of the Soviet Union itself, since China is generally at least a enemy of an enemy to the Western world, perhaps sometimes a fair weather friend. The Soviet Union, however, remains the primary enemy - and so the CPGB remains in the eyes of the British public a party who serves a foreign enemy. They therefore struggle electorally, but retain a core appeal to those who see the continuation of Cold War tensions as a betrayal of the lefts principles. The Party plays to this niche by sometimes running candidates on a "CPGB-CND" ticket and utilising peace related imagery and slogans in their electoral material. This fad reached its height when the Party replaced the sickle in the hammer and sickle with a dove of peace, but outside of its core constituency few are convinced and the Parties inherent hypocrisy is a favourite target of satirists.
Party Leader: John Gollan.
Syndicalist Workers Federation, commonly known as Syndies - Technically not a "Party" as such, the Syndicalist Workers Federation or "the Syndies" is the primary voice of Britain's anarchists.
Party Leader: Members take turns to act as sort of executive officer for the week, but all the decisions of that officer have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting, by a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs, but by a two thirds majority in the case of more....
The Democratic Socialist Labour Party, commonly known as Old Labour or the Bevanites - The Democratic Socialist Labour Parties divorce from Bolshevik-Leninist Labour was not as bitter as that of Marxist-Leninist Labour, for it was largely based on a technicality and it's leadership is largely made up of the Bevanite left whose tolerance of entryism made the transformation of the Labour party into a "vanguard party" possible, and the party remains an ally of the Bolshies in parliament on most issues. However, one issue upon which they will not budge is Europe, and this makes it difficult for Bolshevik-Leninist Labour to commit to a clear policy on Europe.
Party Leader: Tony Benn.
Loyalist Party, commonly known as the Tories - The Conservative Unionist Party did not survive the revolution, mainly because it was one of its targets, but the ever flexible Tory political tradition lives on within the Loyalists. Enoch Powell might have been an unlikely candidate to first raise the Loyalist banner of "service to my country, even with a Communist government", free-market libertarian and British nativist that he was. But it was perhaps his credentials as the voice and philosopher of the old Conservatives parties far-right that made him the ideal figure to lead a British version of the White Russian "Changing Signposts" movement. Where a One-Nation Tory would have been accused of capitulation and cowardice more easily, Enoch's reputation added gravity to his declaration of loyalty to the new government, persuading many who might otherwise gone underground to accept the status quo. Yet Enoch was still widely reviled by most of the revolutionaries for his Rivers of Blood speech, and shortly after the party was established he was removed as leader in what has been called the "most ungrateful act in British political history" by the new party he had founded.
Loyalists avoid the now politically toxic label of "Conservative" for the most part, sometimes calling themselves "Unionists" in an attempt to relate themselves to Trade Unionism. Operating on the knifes edge of accepted political discourse in the SRGB, the Loyalists are a soft spoken party with indistinct ideas, who often gain more mileage out of "harmless" sentimental issues, such as their ever-ongoing "campaign" to have the Union Jack put somewhere (anywhere) on the SRGB flag, than they ever can on matters of serious national policy. Most Loyalist policy hinges around a vague, inarticulate desire for some kind of patriotic market socialism coupled with traditional social values. Yet the Loyalists are gradually developing more a concrete party ideology over time, mainly thanks to the philosophical leadership provided by the parties young leader Roger Scruton, whose regular trips to Carlist Spain have helped the party forge links with the Western worlds only existing model of "Conservative Socialism". As the Party grows more sure of its legal status and right to exist, and as democratic institutions in the SRGB seem to grow stronger, perhaps it may one day express more vocally the parties secret desire to one day replace, rather than collaborate with, the left.
Party Leader: Roger Scruton
The Liberal and Social Democratic Party - Liberalism too struggles on within the SRGB, largely irrelevant, it's already unimpressive natural position in British electoral politics lost to the Bevanites.
The Socialist Republic of Great Britain is the worlds largest Trotskyist state, and as such is something of the odd one out amongst the nations of the North-Western Alliance. Though professedly committed to a Internationalist policy of Permanent Revolution, the Socialist Republic of Britain has yet declined to fully join the Union of European Republics with its close neighbours in France and the Federal Commune of Germany, fearing not only that the purity of "Bolshevik-Leninist" ideology may be diluted if too sovereignty is ceded to a cross-national workers that does not follow the truth path, but also that a "overly hasty" move towards a pan-European workers state will inflame popular opposition to the Trotskyist government. As such Socialist Republic of Britain has yet to adopt the Euro. Britain is also somewhat leery of entering into too close relations with the United Peoples of North America, partially out of a residual anti-Americanism and partially because it views the UPNA's relationship with Maoist China with suspicion, fearing Maoist influence in America may one day create a Sino-American bloc of "degenerate workers states" just as bad as the Soviet Union. Despite all this, however, the Socialist Republic of Britain remains firmly on the Western side of the New Cold War, an implacable enemy of the Soviet Bloc. While not the great power it once was, Britain military capacities are still a welcome asset to the North-Western Alliances ongoing arms race with the Soviet Union.
The state of democracy in Britain is complicated by the ambiguities of Trotskyist ideology. While determined on the one hand not to end up like the Soviet Union, the fact remains that the pre-Stalinist model of Lenin's Russia which the Socialist Republic of Britain broadly follows is not one entirely tolerant of dissent. While all agree that opposition should exist, not all degree on what consists the boundaries of that opposition. All forms of Communism and most forms of Socialism get a fairly free pass, even if "Tankies" get their mail opened and wires taped, but opposition from outside the traditional left exists in a semi-legal realm. Periodic "Black Scares" result in outbreaks of persecution against anarchists, whom the government associates with the terrorist activities of the Angry Brigades, a situation only made worse by the appropriation of anarchism as a label by young right-wing radicals. The remnants of the Liberal tradition are generally left unharnessed, mainly because they aren't seen as a real threat, but the new workers state has a extremely complicated relationship with Tories. Since Enoch Powell's famous "transcendental values" speech many Tories followed in the foot steps of Russia's Smenovekhovtsy and adopted Powell's mantra of "loyalty to the nation above all, even with a Communist government." This has put the government in the difficult position of utterly loathing Powell, and fearing the precedent his intimation of Ustryalov represents, but needing him as a useful tool with which to pacify what otherwise might be a uncooperative and even hostile part of the populace - even to ensure the loyalty of parts of the old elite civil service and business class who expertise is still needed. "Fascism" is illegal here as it is in most parts of the globe, but since few are stupid enough to profess Fascism openly it becomes a form of detective work to divide apart groups who profess loyalty to the revolution genuinely and those who do so as a tactic to avoid being banned.
Economically, the Socialist Republic ironically resembles more closely an Eastern Bloc country than most parts of the North-Western Alliance. Like the Soviet Union, Britain favours the model of cybernetically enhanced centralised state ownership over cooperative autogestion in the French style or the market socialism of the South-Western Alliance. British cyberneticist Stafford Beer returned from Chile shortly after news of the revolution reached him to bring Cybersyn back to his homeland.
The Communist-Labour Party (Bolshevik-Leninist), commonly known as the Bolshies or the Trots - The All-Britain Communist-Labour Party (Bolshevik-Leninist) was once the democratic socialist party known simply as the Labour Party, which was successfully taken over by Trotskyist entryists in the early 70's. It has been the traditional party of government in the Socialist Republic of Britain for most of the post-revolutionary period, primarily because of it's leading role in the revolution and its perhaps dubious status in public opinion as "the real Labour Party."
Party Leader: Chairman Tariq Ali is the paramount leader of government, but Tony Cliff remains a symbolic figurehead and has the final say in all matters theoretical.
The Communist-Labour Party (Marxist-Leninist), commonly known as the Stalinists - Though anti-Revisionist Stalinists and Maoists originally took part in (some would say attempted to hijack) the Entryist takeover of the Labour Party, they were expelled fairly shortly after the revolution succeeded, ironically for refusing to abide by the rules of Democratic Centralism. Marxist-Leninist Labour is primarily Maoist, but includes Hoxaist and Third World Castroist contingents. An uneasy coalition between the third worldist faction lead by Hardial Bains and the "white working class" tendency represented by the parties current leader, Reg Birch.
Party Leader: Reg Birch.
The Communist Party of Great Britain, commonly known as the Tankies - Though in OTL the phrase Tankies refers to Stalinists and Leninists in general, in the world of the Way the Wind Blows it is restricted to supporters of the Soviet Union itself, since China is generally at least a enemy of an enemy to the Western world, perhaps sometimes a fair weather friend. The Soviet Union, however, remains the primary enemy - and so the CPGB remains in the eyes of the British public a party who serves a foreign enemy. They therefore struggle electorally, but retain a core appeal to those who see the continuation of Cold War tensions as a betrayal of the lefts principles. The Party plays to this niche by sometimes running candidates on a "CPGB-CND" ticket and utilising peace related imagery and slogans in their electoral material. This fad reached its height when the Party replaced the sickle in the hammer and sickle with a dove of peace, but outside of its core constituency few are convinced and the Parties inherent hypocrisy is a favourite target of satirists.
Party Leader: John Gollan.
Syndicalist Workers Federation, commonly known as Syndies - Technically not a "Party" as such, the Syndicalist Workers Federation or "the Syndies" is the primary voice of Britain's anarchists.
Party Leader: Members take turns to act as sort of executive officer for the week, but all the decisions of that officer have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting, by a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs, but by a two thirds majority in the case of more....
The Democratic Socialist Labour Party, commonly known as Old Labour or the Bevanites - The Democratic Socialist Labour Parties divorce from Bolshevik-Leninist Labour was not as bitter as that of Marxist-Leninist Labour, for it was largely based on a technicality and it's leadership is largely made up of the Bevanite left whose tolerance of entryism made the transformation of the Labour party into a "vanguard party" possible, and the party remains an ally of the Bolshies in parliament on most issues. However, one issue upon which they will not budge is Europe, and this makes it difficult for Bolshevik-Leninist Labour to commit to a clear policy on Europe.
Party Leader: Tony Benn.
Loyalist Party, commonly known as the Tories - The Conservative Unionist Party did not survive the revolution, mainly because it was one of its targets, but the ever flexible Tory political tradition lives on within the Loyalists. Enoch Powell might have been an unlikely candidate to first raise the Loyalist banner of "service to my country, even with a Communist government", free-market libertarian and British nativist that he was. But it was perhaps his credentials as the voice and philosopher of the old Conservatives parties far-right that made him the ideal figure to lead a British version of the White Russian "Changing Signposts" movement. Where a One-Nation Tory would have been accused of capitulation and cowardice more easily, Enoch's reputation added gravity to his declaration of loyalty to the new government, persuading many who might otherwise gone underground to accept the status quo. Yet Enoch was still widely reviled by most of the revolutionaries for his Rivers of Blood speech, and shortly after the party was established he was removed as leader in what has been called the "most ungrateful act in British political history" by the new party he had founded.
Loyalists avoid the now politically toxic label of "Conservative" for the most part, sometimes calling themselves "Unionists" in an attempt to relate themselves to Trade Unionism. Operating on the knifes edge of accepted political discourse in the SRGB, the Loyalists are a soft spoken party with indistinct ideas, who often gain more mileage out of "harmless" sentimental issues, such as their ever-ongoing "campaign" to have the Union Jack put somewhere (anywhere) on the SRGB flag, than they ever can on matters of serious national policy. Most Loyalist policy hinges around a vague, inarticulate desire for some kind of patriotic market socialism coupled with traditional social values. Yet the Loyalists are gradually developing more a concrete party ideology over time, mainly thanks to the philosophical leadership provided by the parties young leader Roger Scruton, whose regular trips to Carlist Spain have helped the party forge links with the Western worlds only existing model of "Conservative Socialism". As the Party grows more sure of its legal status and right to exist, and as democratic institutions in the SRGB seem to grow stronger, perhaps it may one day express more vocally the parties secret desire to one day replace, rather than collaborate with, the left.
Party Leader: Roger Scruton
The Liberal and Social Democratic Party - Liberalism too struggles on within the SRGB, largely irrelevant, it's already unimpressive natural position in British electoral politics lost to the Bevanites.
Last edited:
markus meecham
Banned
words fail me.
that came completely out of left field, damn!
i love it.
that came completely out of left field, damn!
i love it.
Last edited:
Bookmark1995
Banned
Red Britain sounds like Singapore painted red: a place with a weird blend of freedoms and authoritarianism.
Are the SPGB still around? Denouncing the Trots as reformist and insisting that the real revolution will come through the ballot box.
The SPGB remains as ever entirely correct about everything, and keenly await the day when everyone will notice the sheer depth and majesty of their correctness. This day has not come.
Looking at it, Australia is probably TTL's equivalent of North Korea in the sense of being an insular fortress state opposed to the current world order. It's largely self sufficient in terms of resources and the few ones that can't be found in ANZAC can probably be procured by propping up Indonesian splinter governments. Australia was also incredibly racist and also incredibly white, and I'd guess a lot of Jim Crow and Apartheid alumini as well as European and commonwealth reactionaries might end up going over to Australia.
Bookmark1995
Banned
There isn't much indication that EVERYWHERE had become some kind of Communist.
Because of its geographic limitations, Australia might need to engage with the remaining non-Communist countries.
But yeah, I can imagine Australia becoming a far-more xenophobic and authoritarian place. The association of Chinese with Maoism means that the White Australia policy will remain in place.
- Status