Panel on Aidan Beatty's book, The Party is Always Right
I participated in a panel on Aidan Beatty's book, The Party is Always Right on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. Besides Beatty and myself other panelists included Peter Ross and Gerry Downing. Steve Zeltzer, who organized the panel, served as moderator of the online discussion. Arriving in the audience for the Q&A part of the panel were several representatives from the Socialist Equality Party, including David North, Tom Mackaman, Joseph Kishore and Evan Blake. The online newspaper of the Socialist Equality Party, the World Socialist Website, ran an edited version of the sound recording of the panel that only included the remarks of the SEP members and a brief response from the author. Missing from the WSWS version of the panel recording were Beatty's presentation, my remarks, the presentation of Peter Ross and Gerry Downing as well as the remarks of Steve Zeltzer. I am posting here the full video recording of the panel. Viewers can make up their owns minds who is attempting a serious investigation of the history of Gerry Healy and the Workers Revolutionary Party and who is fearful of an accounting of an important episode in the history of Trotskyism.
The organizers of the event did not record the meeting and would not let guests do so either. I will check with the organizers if there is any way I can get at least a sound recording.
Thank you for posting this. I have just watched it and found it very interesting. My opinion is that Healy is a disgusting criminal and it's embarrassing for genuine revolutionaries to have to deal with him, but deal with him we must. The sectarian with the objectivist outlook will always blame the objective conditions for the degeneration of an individual or a party. That is so one sided and doesn't take a look at the subjective factors that drive humans in the directions that they consciously or subconsciously choose. To listen to North attack Beaty because he uses oral testimony as opposed to documents is just nauseating. Like anything other than the written word is false and a lie. The only liars I could discern are North and his cronies (blind followers). How can these people downplay his criminality and abuse, whether it was sexual, physical, psychological, or verbal??? It beggars belief and those that know your work know that you are on the right side of this. There is an explanation of Healy but there is no defence. Aside from this I have recently been trying to obtain copies of the International Worker. I subscribed to it between 1996-1998 or thereabouts. I didn't keep copies and have asked a retired SEP member if he has any. He doesn't have any and although being a member for 25 years he is struggling to locate any? I think it is really bad practice and dishonest of them not to provide access on the WSWS to their forerunning organ. I recall some really interesting articles that were written in a completely different way and before they became completely shipwrecked. Do you have any thoughts about how I might locate copies? Keep up the good work. In my head I compare Eugene Debbs to Gerry Healy and there is no contest. Thank god he's dead but we only get more of the same. Another sectarian and cult like formation. I do not believe Healy advanced the cause of Socialism one iota and did a lot of damage. To North's credit he played an important part in that struggle against Healy but that was decades ago and didn't go far enough. I recently listened to the retired SEP member defend North's criticism of Beatty's book and basically say if it wasn't for Healy there would not be a Trotskyist Movement. Like he was the only Trotskyist around at that time. There's a youtube video of Healy addressing a meeting and it's embarrassing. I'm troubled by him and may he be a lesson on not what to do or be. Gerry Healy was a phoney and I will not defend this man in any way shape or form. He was trouble from the start and how he was able to elevate himself as he did is testament to the poor shape the movement must have been in to allow this to happen. Any thoughts welcome. I also find it troubling that papers were trying to be flogged outside of the toilets at Hyde Park where an altercation took place. Why there? Doesn't that trouble anyone? All reeks of seediness. It is a shame that there was not one woman on the panel. It's the 21st century and half the world's population is absent from the discussion. I was luckily never a member of the WRP or the SEP. I have only ever conversed with members and was a child in 1985.
7 comments:
This is the Farrell Dobbs video.
No it's not. Take a look again.
The first time I clicked on it, I got the Dobbs video. Maybe I accidentally clicked a related video.
Thank you for promoting full transparency.
Are you going to provide a link for the Institute of Historical Research event? WSWS couldn't be bothered to provide one.
The organizers of the event did not record the meeting and would not let guests do so either. I will check with the organizers if there is any way I can get at least a sound recording.
Thank you for posting this. I have just watched it and found it very interesting. My opinion is that Healy is a disgusting criminal and it's embarrassing for genuine revolutionaries to have to deal with him, but deal with him we must. The sectarian with the objectivist outlook will always blame the objective conditions for the degeneration of an individual or a party. That is so one sided and doesn't take a look at the subjective factors that drive humans in the directions that they consciously or subconsciously choose. To listen to North attack Beaty because he uses oral testimony as opposed to documents is just nauseating. Like anything other than the written word is false and a lie. The only liars I could discern are North and his cronies (blind followers). How can these people downplay his criminality and abuse, whether it was sexual, physical, psychological, or verbal??? It beggars belief and those that know your work know that you are on the right side of this. There is an explanation of Healy but there is no defence.
Aside from this I have recently been trying to obtain copies of the International Worker. I subscribed to it between 1996-1998 or thereabouts. I didn't keep copies and have asked a retired SEP member if he has any. He doesn't have any and although being a member for 25 years he is struggling to locate any? I think it is really bad practice and dishonest of them not to provide access on the WSWS to their forerunning organ. I recall some really interesting articles that were written in a completely different way and before they became completely shipwrecked. Do you have any thoughts about how I might locate copies?
Keep up the good work.
In my head I compare Eugene Debbs to Gerry Healy and there is no contest. Thank god he's dead but we only get more of the same. Another sectarian and cult like formation. I do not believe Healy advanced the cause of Socialism one iota and did a lot of damage. To North's credit he played an important part in that struggle against Healy but that was decades ago and didn't go far enough. I recently listened to the retired SEP member defend North's criticism of Beatty's book and basically say if it wasn't for Healy there would not be a Trotskyist Movement. Like he was the only Trotskyist around at that time. There's a youtube video of Healy addressing a meeting and it's embarrassing. I'm troubled by him and may he be a lesson on not what to do or be. Gerry Healy was a phoney and I will not defend this man in any way shape or form. He was trouble from the start and how he was able to elevate himself as he did is testament to the poor shape the movement must have been in to allow this to happen. Any thoughts welcome. I also find it troubling that papers were trying to be flogged outside of the toilets at Hyde Park where an altercation took place. Why there? Doesn't that trouble anyone? All reeks of seediness. It is a shame that there was not one woman on the panel. It's the 21st century and half the world's population is absent from the discussion. I was luckily never a member of the WRP or the SEP. I have only ever conversed with members and was a child in 1985.
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