Democratic Green Socialist: Celebrating Our First Year!

The Democratic Green Socialist online magazine is now one year old. In recognition of that fact this month’s issue carries a number of articles commemorating or celebrating many of the important anniversaries for the left that have recently taken place or are being marked over the course of the year.

It has not been easy producing a distinct online magazine, especially in today’s information society where people have access to so many online publications at the touch of a button.

Even on the left a whole plethora of online magazines and web Blogs have emerged over the past few years, offering socialist analyses of the world today and revolutionising communication between socialists and progressives.

We in the DGS want to play our part and we believe that we have something unique to say. In our first year we have began the process of establishing ourselves as an online brand and have begun the task of developing a steady readership.

During the past twelve months we have produced six online magazines - including this issue. We have tackled a wide range of subjects. For example, contemporary political issues such as the experiences of the SNP in power; to the election of Barrack Obama as President; to an extensive analysis of the current economic crisis. We have responded to news events such as the oil refinery strikes and Israel’s attack on Palestine. We have had special features on Cuba and Venezuela. We have dealt with debates in the sphere of science. In our cultural section we have offered our readers poetry, film reviews; everything from Bob Dylan to Beethoven. We have contributed towards big ideas and drawn influence from big thinkers: Marx of course, but also other intellectual giants from both the social and natural sciences.

We are beginning to establish ourselves as something different on the left. If there is a slogan that sums up the magazine, it is ‘DGS: for socialists who think outside the box’.

We have had much to write about in our first year. Capitalism has undergone an economic crisis not seen since the 1930s. The DGS has been quick to point out that it is not just an economic crisis but also a political one. The very foundation of what people call neo-liberalism is being questioned. This creates enormous opportunities and challenges for the left.

But despite the obvious problems with capitalism the DGS recognises that everything is far from perfect in the land of the left. 

In this editorial which marks our first anniversary we once again want to repeat our call, made in previous issues, that if the left it to put forward a credible alternative it needs to be united.

As Tony Benn once said there are too many socialist parties and not enough socialists. The DGS aims to create a space where socialists can come together to share ideas and work towards a way forward for the future.

We will seek wholeheartedly to promote left unity and dialogue amongst progressives in Scotland today. It is ironic that the left, with its rallying cries of ‘workers unity’ and ‘unity is strength’, is subject to so much ridicule and excluded from power in country after country.

In Scotland, the left remains divided because of the political fall out and the implosion of the SSP in 2006. However, as traumatic as this experience has been for some individuals, it is small beer when compared to those who have lost their jobs or had their homes repossessed as a consequence of the economic downturn.

The left in Scotland urgently needs to get out of its trench like mentality if it is to have any relevance to ordinary people.

In the DGS we want to think big; and thinking big means thinking outside the box.

We are not afraid to be controversial. We recognise that socialist ideas and socialist strategies need to be rethought for today’s modern world. This means explaining what is wrong with the current economic system but also putting forward a conception of socialism which is rooted in people’s lived experiences, which avoids Luddite or selective attitudes in relation to the findings of science, is presented in a language relevant to today’s society, and is informed by a politics of pragmatism as well as the politics of idealism.

Finally on behalf of the editorial team we want to thank all those who have supported the Democratic Green Socialist Magazine in what has been a very positive first year.