[lbo-talk] London riots anew

[James Heartfield]

Last month the British Socialist Workers’ Party were lauding the riots as the British equivalent of the Arab Spring. This month, the same riots are ‘systematic looting’, not necessarily radical collective or progressive and a sign of the relative weakness of the left.

"It would be churlish to deny that some of that looting was systematic and planned and some involved organised gangs. ...

"The behaviour of individual looters may not have necessarily been consciously radical, collective or progressive...

"We can all feel sympathy for him [Tariq Jahan] and those small shopkeepers who work long hours for little reward. ..

"Part of the reason for this explosion is the relative weakness of the left and working class organisation.."

Brian Richardson, After the Riots, Socialist Review, September 2011