We are a libertarian-left group at Queen mary, University of London. Comprised of both students and staff, we aim to build radical grassroots activism on and off campus. We come from a range of political backgrounds but we share some common principles:
- We reject capitalism and the state. We feel that the current economic system is both morally wrong (in terms of the inequalities and conflicts it produces) and woefully inefficient (in terms of the way it encourages overproduction and overconsumption in some areas and scarcity in others). The state protects and regulates capitalism against those who wish to see its end, as well as being an anti-democratic and divisive institution itself.
- We believe in direct democracy. This does not mean just voting for useless politicians every four years, but taking active control of our everyday lives, in our communities, our workplaces and on campus. We believe that democracy within a political group should not be a top-down party system, but a grassroots form of democracy that is designed to minimise hierarchies and maximise participation within the group.
- We believe in autonomy. This does not mean reclusive individualism – it means combining individual freedom and collective self-organisation.
- We believe in direct action. Institutions such as the NUS, the government and police have political agendas directly in opposition to the interests of the working class. As such, although they can be useful tools, we feel that bypassing them is the best way in which we can win collective gains as workers and students. Direct action is also an expression of direct democracy and autonomy in action.
- We reject all forms of oppression and inequality, including but not limited to: race, sex, gender, class, sexuality, (dis)ability, ethnicity, age, and nationality.
As students and staff of QMUL, we also have some specific principles regarding education:
- We believe in free access to information, knowledge and ideas for all. Massively overpriced textbooks, business-oriented research funding, and narrowly-defined, blinkered subject areas are not conducive to real learning and creation. Money or privilege should not be the basis on which people can or cannot learn.
- We reject the commodification of education. Students should not be viewed as ‘bums-on-seats’ for scraps of funding from government. Education should not be tailored towards shaping us into future wage slaves. As it stands, the university is little different from any other factory.
- We reject the legitimacy or ability of the NUS to protect and further the interests of students. While student unions, such as QMSU, sometimes have well-meaning individuals trying to make conditions better, the structure and nature of the NUS ensures that this never happens. It is an anti-democratic organisation that stifles debate and criticism, and whose only useful role seems to be to get us cheap pints. It has proved entirely inept at combatting moves to commodify and undermine our education. It is riddled with careerists desperate to reach the upper echelons of the Labour Party. It is the epitome of how bad a supposedly representative organisation can become.
- We believe that college space is our collective space. The free access to information and knowledge is bound up with the free access to space. If we have nowhere to discuss, imagine and contest ideas, politices and practices, then we are not really free in any meaningful way.
- We feel that although campus is an enclosed space, we are also part of a bigger community, in Mile End, and beyond. Our struggles inside the university are always somehow interlinked with the struggles of people outside, and vice versa. Since we are living, working and studying in the East End, one of the poorest areas of the UK, we should involve ourselves in our communities to make a positive difference outside the university gates as well as within them.
- We believe that workers and students often have the same interests, and if we work together, we can make a real difference. Indeed, with an increasing number of students working to support their studies, this division is becoming increasingly blurred. We all keep management in their high salaries, flashy cars and expensive suits while we, the vast majority, struggle to make ends meet. Basically, we have a lot more power to make a difference than we sometimes think. The power to change our university, workplace and education is in our hands.
If we feel it necessary, the ‘official’ principles of the group will be posted here. For the time being, these will give you a decent impression of what we’re about.
Although this is a long list, we are happy and willing to work with other groups on issues that straddle our principles and theirs. Please get in touch if you have a campaign we might be interested in supporting.
