norwich transformed

yesterday was the first ever norwich transformed, a splinter event of the world transformed which is a radical political education conference that follows around the labour conference. today was such an energising experience. to spend what was definitely the nicest, sunniest day of the year so far, cooped up in a methodist church with a couple of hundred other comrades, was honestly all i could have asked for.

jon hegerty led a workshop on organising for power, from the work of jane mcalevey, which i found engaging. i have a lot of respect for the ideas and tactics talked about, but as was laid out by marina prentoulis in a panel on capitalism now, the old techniques don’t always work any more. we need something new, that acknowledges the current structures and stratifications of the world around us.

the core of organising for power was about workplace organising, or if not in the workplace among another structure, which the source materials defined as a community you have a stake in, which isn’t self-selecting. it gave examples of school, or work, or a block of flats. i found it really hard to get into the topic - because none of those are really related to my life. i work part time in an organisation which i only found due to self-selecting in to its political outlook. i live in a flat, but one in a row of terraced houses and never really have much cause to get to know my neighbours, shamefully! and my only schooling is interest-based, and remote. i simply didn’t know where to look.

so then the question becomes – why am i not involved in any of those structures? why does my organising¹ not take the form of trying to reach my neighbours? it’s not a new assertion to note the increasing atomisation, individualisation, alienation in contemporary society. it’s also not new to blame that on the internet. filter bubbles and algorithmic curation leads us down a path of starting to get really used to only speaking to, and hearing from, people who think like us. i realised during the workshop that i’ve almost backed myself into a corner – that all of my communities, all of the structures which define my life, are ones which i’ve self-selected into. they’re full of people who think along the same lines as me, who share my values.

another factor leading to this atomised culture is the combination of precarious work, freelance work, working from home, gig working, and all of the other dominant trends in many private sector ways of working. with the breakdown of the lines between work, leisure, home, office, we’re spending far more time alone, and when we do see people they are those we have chosen to spend time with, or are our direct clients, customers, or employers. if our workplace isn’t one which we chose because of its shared values with ours, it may well be one which necessitates a considerable distance from our colleagues, and no real material place to anchor our organising around.

i don’t think it’s controversial to assert that most people prefer spending time with people they agree with. it makes you feel good about yourself, and it makes you feel like your thoughts are Definitely Correct and that you’re a good person doing good things. given the choice, i think anyone would self-curate their communities in the same way – to avoid conflict as much as possible, and feel as good about themselves as they can. it’s pertinent to consider this in context with the resisting the culture war panel which came later on in the day.

the culture war panel was probably the most conflicted and tense session i went to yesterday. with that being said, there was definitely a sense of unity in most of the room. probably the most controversial figure was the local MP, clive lewis. clive’s presence was compelling, in that he’s someone who has historically had a relatively good record of solidarity, at least in his spoken position, but as he’s also beholden to such a huge institution (and subsequently constantly under critical observation from the public) sometimes seems to act in ways which are counter to the values he propagates.

the panel didn’t share a common definition of what it means when we say ‘culture war’. they did share a sense that cross-issue solidarity is probably the most important tool we have to move towards a meaningful and effective left - but this panel really highlighted the tensions that are felt, especially amongst those who are in groups which are being particularly targeted by the far right at the moment. charlie caine spoke well about the very real threat which certain alt-right groups are posing to the material safety of trans people and their allies at demonstrations in norwich.

i raised this in the session, and want to note it here - there is a tangible tension between groups which are rightfully materially afraid for their safety, and the pursuit of cross-interest solidarity. it’s hard, and could even be seen as naïve, to meaningfully connect with people who aren’t demonstrably in your corner, especially when facing material violence from those opposed to your very existence. despite feeling and knowing this, i still found myself agreeing with the broader notion that left class solidarity is more important, that it should transcend those lines. there’s of course something sticky in there. it takes immense strength to show solidarity with others who you know share your struggle, but who don’t acknowledge it yet themselves.

it could be questioned if it’s really down to those on the sharp end of things to demonstrate that strength, to hold their breath through misapplied language and clumsy assumptions, from people who may or may not ever come to a parity of understanding. i understand the anger, and the instinct to not put energy into this position, instead using the energy to react, to lash out. ultimately, this comes back to the intended result of the ‘culture war’ (or however you’d rather term the neoliberal aesthetic desire to divide us on superficial lines), which is to ensure we’re too busy fighting amongst ourselves to organise across boundaries, rather than spend all of our time and energy on mobilising our self-selected communities of interest.

so returning to the topic of ‘old techniques’ – yes, of course, the landscape has shifted. yes, we’re more isolated, atomised than ever. but maybe instead of building something new, we should focus on shifting our landscape back towards one where we do engage with those outside our communities of interest, where we are materially connected with the communities around us, and in real solidarity regardless of superficial positions. my lasting takeaway from norwich transformed is the very real, present, and verbalised sense that we must move towards this solidarity once more. that not only is it our only real option, it’s also a path many of us are happy to take, and more still are already taking material steps towards.

above all - the most uncomfortable undercurrent, present in the substrate of every session, was simply whether or not we have enough time.