In today's world, Socialist Alternatives has become a topic of great relevance and interest to a wide variety of people. Whether due to its impact on society, its relevance in the professional field or its role in history, Socialist Alternatives has captured the attention of individuals of all ages and backgrounds. As time progresses, the importance of understanding and deeply analyzing everything related to Socialist Alternatives becomes evident, since its influence transcends borders and encompasses multiple aspects of daily life. In this article, we will dive into the world of Socialist Alternatives to explore its various facets and discover its true impact on the world today.
Socialist Alternatives was the British section of the International Revolutionary Marxist Tendency (IRMT), a formerly Trotskyist Pabloite group based in Paris.
Being a small group in the UK, it was best known for the Marxist magazine of the same name partially edited by Keir Starmer from 1986 to 1987. The magazine is believed to have been produced by the Pabloist International Revolutionary Marxist Tendency (IRMT) and advertised its events and publications, although one of the authors identified it as being an outgrowth of the Socialist Society connected with Ralph Miliband and Hilary Wainwright. Paul Mason has called it a "Trotskyite front magazine", although this is disputed. The French Trotskyist journalist Maurice Najman was also cited as a key supporter.
Its politics were defined by one of its later authors Andrew Coates as being "aligned to the European ‘alternative’ movements of the time which stood for ecology, feminism and self-management. These were forerunners of later radical green-left groups, Los Indignados, Podemos, the left of Labour and similar currents within social democratic parties."
It was described by the left wing magazine Chartist as "the human face of the hard left". Peter Hitchens described Socialist Alternative's "preoccupation with sexual politics and green issues" as presaging the politics of all today's major British politicians.
The magazine included articles by Michalis Raptis, the leader of the International Revolutionary Marxist Tendency and the left wing Labour MP Eric Heffer, Peter Tatchell as well as an interview with Tony Benn. There were also advertisements for Michael Raptis's "Self Management Lectures" and IRMT publications. Keir Starmer wrote articles on the Wapping strike, the 1986 TUC conference, criticising Labour leader Neil Kinnock's moves towards the market economy, a book review of Eric Heffer's Labour's Future, Trade Unions and pluralism, an interview with Tony Benn and left wing approaches to local government.
The magazine was still publishing in 1989 and 1994.