Has the Left Failed?
Seminar Series & Reading Group
Why does the Scottish Left seem unable to organise itself to achieve the radical change it so desperately wants? Has the Left indeed failed? And what can be done about it, if anything? Join PEN Scotland to find answers to these questions.
For decades now, the Scottish Left seems to have been in decline. Political parties have come and gone, to a point where no single party seems capable of being claim to represent the working class convincingly. Social mobilisations and protests on issues from the Bedroom Tax to Gaza have failed to produce any enduring or meaningful effect.
Other failed political projects such as the Corbyn and Sultana-led ‘Your Party’ to ‘unite’ the Left (amongst other recent abortive attempts) has shown the individual and collective failures of leadership. Amongst all of this, a resurgent but disparate coalition of right-wing and far-right forces have ‘flooded the zone’ to such an extent that left-wing activists jump from issue to issue, with no clear sense of direction or strategy.
While much of the Scottish Left's woes are replicated across the UK, much of Europe and globally, is the Scottish Left now tied to a rudderless ship unable to change course, or can we begin to take back control over our own sense of purpose and direction?
PEN Scotland are organising a six-session seminar series for anyone keen to make sense of the current political period that we are in, and how we ended up here. The seminars will search for collective answers about why previous left projects seem to have failed, what we can do about a resurgent right-wing, and how the Scottish Left might go about beginning to rebuild.
Our seminars will combine critical discussion alongside reading four significant books which will allow us to gain deeper reflection into our own position, and what can be done about it. These seminars are a must for anyone serious about understanding our previous failures, and keen to do something about it.
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Seminar Dates & Materials...
Most of the seminars will take place online and led by a facilitator who will help draw out questions and points of discussion in the group. Generally, we will spend 10-15 minutes gathering ideas and themes for discussion and then use this as the basis for the main discussion and activity section of the seminar.
The last 15-20 minutes of each session will focus on what we have learned and how we can take these ideas into our own activity. Seminar participants will also work together to write a collaborative essay on what the main findings, points of discussion and lessons learned during the series.
Below you can find details including dates and times for each of the six seminars. Participants are encouraged to purchase copies of the reading associated with each the main online seminars. Additional materials, questions and prompts for the seminars can also be downloaded.
PEN Scotland recommends participants buy hard copies of the books from Hive.co.uk, an ethical online bookstore which supports local retailers.
Session One: Has the Scottish Left Failed?
Our first session opens with a political discussion about the current state of politics in Scotland and internationally. We will consider whether social movements and community activism over the past two decades been effective in countering the ‘failures’ of Left parties. Is a political party necessary to counter the forces opposing the Left in Scotland today? And if it is, does the historic decline of leftist parties represent a ‘failure’ of the left?
Tea, coffee and light refreshments will be provided at this event.
Where?
Townhead Village Hall, 60 St Mungo Avenue, Glasgow
...Or...
Online, Link via EventBrite
When?
Monday 24 August
7.00pm to 9.00pm
Session Two: Do we even need a Left party in Scotland?
This seminar looks at the nature of political party organising, the structure they give to our organising, as well as the limits they have placed on our ability to put pressure on those in power. We will try and examine some of these themes through the book Ruling the Void by Peter Mair. In it, Mair argues that as political parties have lost their societal roots and connection to the electorates they represent, a fundamental lack of trust has opened up between ruling elites and the people they govern. This in turn has given rise to ‘populist’ parties and movements – both of which serve to further undermine trust in democracy. We will consider the implications of these ideas in the context of both left and right parties and movements.
Where?
Online, link via EventBrite
When?
Thursday 17 September
7.00pm to 9.00pm
Session Three: Have protests replaced parties in Scotland?
Has organising street protests, building social movements and joining NGOs replaced joining a political party? Does ‘movement-building’ produce tangible results for the Left? In this seminar, we will explore these (and other) questions, based upon our reading of Ivan Kasev’s book Democracy Disrupted: The Politics of Global Protest (2014). Kasev argues a shift has taken place among citizens who view party politics as ineffective and seek to disrupt and protest against state power, rather than challenge it through alternate ideas and institutions. We will consider a range of examples from the environmental movement, pro-Palestinian demonstrations, as well as the setting up of Your Party to test the continued relevance of Kasev’s claims.
Where?
Online, link via EventBrite
When?
Monday 5 October
7.00pm to 9.00pm
Session Four: Does the Left need a new leadership?
Where is the current leadership of the Left in Scotland today? Does the Left even require ‘leaders’? This seminar explores the role of leadership in political parties and movements, and the effect it can have in providing direction to activists. The central text for discussion in this seminar will be Vincent Bevins’s If We Burn (2023). Bevins considers the role of leadership in left-wing activism throughout the twentieth century, arguing that the shift from more hierarchical forms of organising – especially those of a vanguardist nature – towards more horizontal, non-hierarchical organising structures in the twenty-first century has allowed opposing forces to challenge (and, even worse) at times co-opt such movements.
Where?
Online, link via EventBrite
When?
Thursday 29 October
7.00pm to 9.00pm
Session Five: Is Scotland in an Age of Hyperpolitics?
Do we mobilise activists without a clear sense of the purpose behind such mobilisations? Why do so many Left projects seem to arise so quickly but then disappear with almost as much speed? Why does it seem so difficult today to use social movements to make political gains? This seminar will explore these questions in the context of one of the most influential books of recent years – Anton Jäger’s Hyperpolitics. Jäger argues that our current political period is one of ‘hyperpolitics’, defined by a lack of institutional and organisational structures to underpin this current period of high politicisation. We will consider both the application of Jäger’s framework to Scotland, and implications of his ideas for the future of organising on the Left.
Where?
Online, link via EventBrite
When?
Monday16 November
7.00pm to 9.00pm
Session Six: Where now for the Scottish Left?
Our final seminar will be a hybrid in-person/online roundtable discussion to explore and bring together all of the ideas and arguments from the previous seminars. It will allow us to share and discuss strategies, options and proposals for how we should seek to rebuild the Left. We will consider both our individual and collective power to do so. There will also be an opportunity to explore what further sessions PEN Scotland should produce as a result of these seminars.
Tea, coffee and light refreshments will be provided at this event.
Where?
Where?Townhead Village Hall, 60 St Mungo Avenue, Glasgow...Or...Online, Link via EventBrite
When?
Thursday 10 November
7.00pm to 9.00pm