A letter from Pat Dunigan the Lewisham branch leader of Union Movement in 1952, given to me by Adrian Davies, is a little piece of history. In those days Lewisham was a mixed working class and middle class London borough that had been heavily bombed during the war. Life was challenging; there was a desperate housing shortage and Britain was still subject to rationing. Few people owned a television set, foreign travel was almost impossible due to exchange control regulations, and credit was hard to get. Mass migration from the West Indies started in 1948 but it was not a serious problem in 1952. Union Movement was campaigning for European unity, and a decent standard of living.
In 1961 John Bean's British National Party stood two candidates in neighbouring Deptford, Alan Charman and John Stanton. Their election address accused the prospective MP Leslie Plummer of: "coming down solidly on the side of coloured spivs and their vice dens as opposed to the white people of Deptford." Plummer had presided over the disastrous groundnut scheme in East Africa in the late 1940s. And he introduced a Racial Discrimination Bill in 1957 which was talked out by the Tory MP Robert Bell. Plummer sued for libel and was awarded £2,000, which was a lot of money in 1961 when the average weekly wage was only £14.00, but fortunately for the BNP he died before he could collect the money.
The West Indian population of Lewisham grew steadily, and on Saturday 13th August 1977 the National Front marched from New Cross to Lewisham town centre. Their 500 marchers were 'protected' from 4,000 anti-fascists by 5,000 policemen using riot shields for the first time in mainland Britain. 111 people were injured and there were 214 arrests.
Today, the Lewisham-Deptford constituency is 46% black and ethnic minority by origin. The New Cross area is plagued by violent crime but in Blackheath the average house price is £492,407. Gentrification has turned it into an up and coming area that is represented by Labour MP Vicky Foxcroft.
Union Movement, Lewisham Branch, Parr Road, Sydenham SE26, 5 May 1952.
Dear Mrs Bland, Mr Etter, who is one of our most active workers, has handed your letter to me for an answer.
It is indeed good to know that there are people like yourself who are at least prepared to give us a hearing. It is a point of interest that you are the sixth in the last two weeks who have written requesting information about our movement.
Briefly set out on this notepaper are our aims and objectives. But, of course, they are very much dear to our policy. We are a movement as distinct from the political parties.
We are not a popular movement. People who join us are subject to all sorts of insults and abuse. Although the public often change in their attitude towards us, insofar as they are now prepared to give us a ring.
We tell you this because the people who join us need courage and stamina, and from the tone of your letter you are not lacking in that.
Young Cordray is our local youth leader and he has won the admiration of us all for the courage that he has shown in giving a lead to many youths who are fed up to the teeth at the stagnation of the old political parties. As you may imagine he is the subject of all sorts from those who once were glad to have him.
We are dubbed ‘fascist’ by those who take no trouble to discuss policy, and it is true that many of us were fascists pre-war. Some of our members were imprisoned without charge and without trial for opposing a war that they said would lead Britain to disaster and bring us nearer to the dangers of Communism. Many men fought and died in a war they knew was wrong. It is recorded that the first two to die in the last war were members of British Union, they were Flying Officers Day and Brooking who were shot down in a raid that was fought at Dunkirk, the first of many actions by former members of British Union. There are many instances I could give of fascists who died in what they knew to be a war for Jewish finance; those jackals of Judah who determine much of the political and academic life of our country.
Today, we of British Union join hands with the disillusioned youth who are daily coming into our movement. We elder members encourage them to lead for we know that the youth of today will be the statesmen of tomorrow. Statesmen and new politicians are needed to lead us to a new and higher standard of life in the new Europe that is to be. We want British youth to take the lead. They lead in the battle for the idea of Europe. Let them now lead in the reconstruction of a new Empire. An Empire that will be independent of America or Russia.
We believe that force can only be met by greater force. And that force can be built up by a United Europe with a common economy based upon the wealth of a greater opportunity, not by domination and licence but by real co-operation. We will put resources at their disposal that will develop Europe, bringing Britons to a state where we will not have to go to America for a few measly dollars.
Britain, not America, not Russia, will lead in the struggle that must inevitably come.
I have tried briefly to give you some idea of what we stand for. I have not, and will not give you the whole picture. We promise nothing but hard work and sacrifice. But in the end a goal that the old parties cannot even dream of. We will build a new world that if not we then our children will enjoy.
Meetings are held Saturday at 3.30 at Ringstead Road, Catford. I am usually there myself, as is Etter and young Philip Cordray.
We are very happy to have you and your husband as members of our movement and any younger members of your family as members of our unit.
If you cannot get along to our Catford meetings I would be happy to call on you one evening to explain further our policy.
Yours in Union. P Dunigan
Father Edward Cahill 1932
Patriotism the Foundation of True Internationalism
Just as one's natural attachment to own's own family traditions and one's own immediate relatives are the foundation which Nature has supplied for sympathy and benevolence towards one's fellow citizens, so, too, the citizens of each nation, in order to attain to true cosmopolitan virtues and well-ordered zeal for the good of the race, must have as the foundation of these virtues that love and devotion to his own country which the law of nature and right-ordered charity demand. True charity and true piety must begin at home.
In the same way the higher and more perfect culture of a people, if it be real perfection and not a degradation or deterioration, must develop along the lines of the national characteristics and traditions. A declassed man or woman who, owing to worldly training or a false ambition for social advancement, has come to disregard or despise his or her own immediate family, forfeits the respect of right-thinking men; and from such a one nothing great or generous may be hoped. The same applies substantially to the more or less degraded citizen, who has lost or never possessed the love and appreciation of the nation to which he belongs, and to which he is bound by the closest natural ties. It is in this sense that Chateaubriand, the Catholic apologist and historian writes:
"We doubt whether it is possible for a man to possess any real virtue, any real talent or ability, without love of country".
"We doubt whether it is possible for a man to possess any real virtue, any real talent or ability, without love of country".
Special Importance of the National Language
The native language and literature of a country are usually bound up very intimately with the whole national spirit, and with almost every aspect of the national life. This is especially true of a literary language like Greek or Irish which contains the native history, the national laws and institutions, and enshrines the traditional ideas and aspirations of the people. In such a case, at least, the preservation of the native language may be regarded as essential for the continued existence of the historic nation itself. The truth of Davis's oft-quoted words cannot be seriously questioned:
"A nation should guard its language more than its territories, 'tis a surer barrier and more important frontier than fortress or river."
Devotion to all Civic Duties
It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that the virtue of patriotism can appear only in its war paint, or is confined to the duty of defending or regaining the freedom of one's country. or saving the nation from extinction. A person manifestly owes many other services to his country, which though more ordinary and commonplace, are, at least, in normal circumstances, more practical, and sometimes little less heroic. The spiritual, intellectual and material interests of the nation need the services of each of its members. The object of the civil union with which patriotism is so closely connected, is to assist the members each and all towards the highest development of their faculties, moral, intellectual and physical. Hence, the patriot will do his part to procure for the country the benefit of good laws, to check the spread of vice, above all, to secure that the most worthy are chosen for the public offices; in a word, all the duties already referred to under the heading of Legal and Distributive Justice are also included in those of Patriotism.
True Patriotism Unselfish
In connection with the services of Patriotism, we shall conclude with one remark. The true patriot serves his country as the dutiful and affectionate son shows kindness to his parents, from motives not of interest but of love. Hence, he will not seek or expect payment or reward save the consciousness of having done his duty; for the proposition may be accepted as substantially true that the man who demands gratitude from his country as his due, rarely gets it, and still more rarely deserves it.
Russia and America
1945 marked the end of the Second World War and the start of the Cold War which lasted until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Over forty years of hostility that brought the world to the brink of nuclear disaster and initiated an arms race that bankrupted the Soviet Union and spread American bases around the world. The Red Army occupied half of Europe and supported revolutions throughout Asia and Africa, but to the emerging nations the Soviets were allies in the fight against colonialism.
Now, communism is finished and the new Russian Federation is a parliamentary democracy with a free market economy, but the West remains distrustful and President Vladimir Putin is still tarnished with the sins of the old regime.
The native language and literature of a country are usually bound up very intimately with the whole national spirit, and with almost every aspect of the national life. This is especially true of a literary language like Greek or Irish which contains the native history, the national laws and institutions, and enshrines the traditional ideas and aspirations of the people. In such a case, at least, the preservation of the native language may be regarded as essential for the continued existence of the historic nation itself. The truth of Davis's oft-quoted words cannot be seriously questioned:
"A nation should guard its language more than its territories, 'tis a surer barrier and more important frontier than fortress or river."
Devotion to all Civic Duties
It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that the virtue of patriotism can appear only in its war paint, or is confined to the duty of defending or regaining the freedom of one's country. or saving the nation from extinction. A person manifestly owes many other services to his country, which though more ordinary and commonplace, are, at least, in normal circumstances, more practical, and sometimes little less heroic. The spiritual, intellectual and material interests of the nation need the services of each of its members. The object of the civil union with which patriotism is so closely connected, is to assist the members each and all towards the highest development of their faculties, moral, intellectual and physical. Hence, the patriot will do his part to procure for the country the benefit of good laws, to check the spread of vice, above all, to secure that the most worthy are chosen for the public offices; in a word, all the duties already referred to under the heading of Legal and Distributive Justice are also included in those of Patriotism.
True Patriotism Unselfish
In connection with the services of Patriotism, we shall conclude with one remark. The true patriot serves his country as the dutiful and affectionate son shows kindness to his parents, from motives not of interest but of love. Hence, he will not seek or expect payment or reward save the consciousness of having done his duty; for the proposition may be accepted as substantially true that the man who demands gratitude from his country as his due, rarely gets it, and still more rarely deserves it.
Russia and America
1945 marked the end of the Second World War and the start of the Cold War which lasted until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Over forty years of hostility that brought the world to the brink of nuclear disaster and initiated an arms race that bankrupted the Soviet Union and spread American bases around the world. The Red Army occupied half of Europe and supported revolutions throughout Asia and Africa, but to the emerging nations the Soviets were allies in the fight against colonialism.
Now, communism is finished and the new Russian Federation is a parliamentary democracy with a free market economy, but the West remains distrustful and President Vladimir Putin is still tarnished with the sins of the old regime.
The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world with a population of 146.7 million, and a GDP of $1,657 trillion. The close proximity of Russian gas and oil to German industry will prove to be an irresistible attraction. Despite American sanctions it is inevitable that Russia will gravitate towards Europe, but we have nothing to fear from an historic nation that has contributed in full to every branch or art and science.
We have lost hundreds of British soldiers supporting American foreign policy in Afghanistan and the Middle East. The leaders of what President Eisenhower called the military-industrial complex think they have a right to rule the world. They have no interest in the ancient cultures and nations of mankind. They believe only in unrestricted capitalism enforced by economic, or actual, warfare.
But the ties of blood, culture and history between Europe and America cannot be broken. We have friends and relations across the Atlantic and we look forward to the day when the American people throw out the criminals in Washington and rejoin Europe and Russia as guardians of civilization. The mass importation of cheap labour is happening all over the world. As discontent spreads the political reaction to this capitalist racket will bring down those regimes that thrive on war and exploitation.
Three Kinds of Identity - Alexander Dugin
In order to clarify the Forth Political Theory let us delve into the problem of identity. We propose a methodological schema. We can represent the identity of a certain society or community as having three dimensions.
Diffused Identity. This is a vague feeling of a common belonging to a certain whole that is proper to every member of a given society. It is somehow confused, uncertain, unconscious and weak. It can be activated only in an extreme situation such as wars, revolutions, natural disasters, and so on. Diffused identity doesn't make a direct impact on political or ideological decisions or choices. People with the same diffused identity can freely chose quite different methods, values, solutions, and strategies, can belong to different and concurrent parties, can share different positions on concrete issues, and so on. Such identity is weak, unconscious, and in times of peace almost nonexistent, because it doesn't affect the person in his everyday life.
Extreme Identity. This is an arbitrary and artificial creation of some rational formula that pretends to express and manifest the diffused identity in the intellectual realm. Here the identity becomes an ideology, a conceptual framework, or a theory. An example of such an identity is nationalism. But there can be other types such as social or class identities, liberal cosmopolite identity, and so on. It tries to convince the bearers of diffused identity that this represents their essence. It is not so popular in times of peace and prosperity but usually gains popularity in periods of wars and troubles. Extreme identity is often a perverted, disfigured, and exotic creation that contrasts with the diffused identity, emphasizing certain features and neglecting others. Extreme identity is often the caricature of diffused identity. This identity is much clearer and conscious and influences formal decisions, allegiances, solutions, and options for the people who accept it and cultivate it.
Deep Identity. The third type of identity is the privileged one in the Forth Political Theory. Deep identity is an organic, existential, basic identity that lies below diffused identity, giving to its content meaning and structure. It is a kind of language identity giving it its content, meaning and structure. It is a kind of language (in the structuralist context of Ferdinand de Saussure) that contains all kinds of possible discourses. It is not a superstructure that is constructed above diffused identity (as extreme identity) but an infrastructure that is beneath diffused identity, giving it reality, sense and inner harmony. Deep identity is what causes a people to be what it is. It is the essence of the people, something that transcends the collectivity in its actual state. This is transcendence: people being simultaneously imminent and present in every other person that belongs to the same people. The people is not what exists at the present time. Its language, culture, tradition, gestures and psychological features don't appear in the present, they come from the past and move toward the future through the present moment. An actually existing people is not a people as such but only a particular moment of it, and only a segment of it. The people includes those who are dead and those of its children who have yet to be born. It is a kind of music that can be perceived as such only if we remember the previous note and anticipate the next one. The deep identity is the whole that plays out in time and space. Deep identity is people as existence.
The Forth Political Theory is dealing with people as existence and therefore the question of the deep identity of each people is of primordial importance.
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European Outlook
All articles are by Bill Baillie unless otherwise stated. The opinions of guest writers are entirely their own. We seek reform by legal means according to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19:
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