Sir, – Labour parties and similar parties of the left were able to win notable or decisive electoral response while they proposed socialism. It meant proposing to replace capitalism with a different and more just system that valued human beings more than money and things.
Since those parties ceased proposing socialism they have been at a loss as to what to propose. This is because the capitalist liberal centre, mass media included, has successfully redefined the electoral game. It is to be played in terms of displaying compassion within the capitalist system: the right displays none, the centre some, the left more. So Labour and similar parties must display more compassion than the centre within the capitalist system. However, that displaying of “more” rather than “some”, while leaving the system unchanged, is not sufficient to distinguish Labour, etc, decisively from the centre. It fails to win decisive electoral support.
But if, as at present in the UK, Labour in desperation lurches back to something akin to socialism, the centre through its media admonishes it that it is departing from its proper role as a left party, which is to continue displaying more compassion than the centre, not to tinker with the system. – Yours, etc,
Dr DESMOND FENNELL,
Dublin 4.