We'll Keep the Red Flag Flying Here

I'm not sure whether I am finally in touch with trendy thinking but I am thrilled that Ed Milliband is the new Labour Party leader. The son of a Marxist with unashamed old Labour tendencies leading the opossition fills me with joy - I had all but given up on the politcal machine as simply too tacky - too sleazy. But here we have an unmarried father of two who makes no aplogy for leaning clearly to the left. I may even rejoin the party.

Now before all my beloved true blue friends jump up and down, we are talking opposition but oh, what a thought, the chance of real socialism back on the agenda. I have this theory that Marx's theory is proven as much by the fall of the Soviet Union as it was by the Revolution itself. Basically if you push people down enough eventually they will rebel and change the system that has brought them down. Sadly, communism in Russia became Stalinism and stopped the real revolution in its tracks. Also, humanity isn't that nice - we all want that shiny new toy and we want it to be slightly bigger and better than our neighbours',

So if I know and understand all that why  am I so pleased that we have 'Red Ed' as the new leader of the oppostion - simple - naively I still believe in the greater good, that we have a responsibility to care for those who cannot care for themselves, that I will willingly share what I have so that each gets a fair share. Of course it is naive, credulous and probably unworkable but  it is aspirational for the future of all of us. It is about believing in inherent decency and god knows we need that. Look at the world around us, Sarkhozy threatens war if he is reprimanded for deporting Romans in a style eerily reminscent of other European deportations that ended the lives of millions. Europe is nearly bankrupt - there are riots in the streets of  of the major capitals and the elephant in the room is trumpeting his presence.

I think we stand on the threshold of a frightening time and decisions will have to be made that will affect not just the next generation but the one after that as well. And this is not about Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan - those wars are symptomatic not causal - at the risk of sounding like the worst kind of conspiracy theorist, it is more convenient for us to fear the outsider than to look too closely at ourselves.

So yes - I am thrilled we've got Ed, for, as Marx would say:

Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win.

Working Men of All Countries, Unite!