Daily Archives: July 5, 2021

The Liberty Bell, reforged from a broken bell and distinguished by a gaping crack that was purposefully widened in hopes of repairing a much smaller crack, is [the] perfect symbol for Philadelphia, says Senator Nikil Saval.

My District gives NCSL members a chance to tell us about life in the places they represent, from the high-profile events to the fun facts only locals know.

Commissioned by the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1751, the Liberty Bell called legislators to session up until the 1840s, when a final crack put it out of commission. No one knows exactly when it first cracked, but a 19th century repair job that involved widening the fissure precipitated a second crack that became a death knell: The Liberty Bell rang no more.

The loss of the bells acoustics, however, marked the beginning of its fame. Journalist George Lippards 1847 story Ring, Grandfather, Ring described the ringing of the Liberty Bell after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This fictious story captured the publics imagination and immortalized the Liberty Bell as a symbol of independence. From the 1880s to 1915, the bell went on multiple tours across America, awing the public and reaching nearly one-third of the U.S. population. Along the way, the bell and its inscription, Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof, became a powerful emblem of hope for people fighting for freedom, including abolitionists, suffragists and civil rights activists.

No one alive today has ever heard the bell ring freely, but we still feel the reverberations of its tolls, says Senator Nikil Saval (D), left, whose 1st District includes the Liberty Bell site. The Liberty Bell has become a symbol of the power of the people, and we gather to its clarion call to stand together against injustice.

The Liberty Bell is now on permanent display at the Liberty Bell Center, which is managed by the National Park Service and visited by millions of tourists every year.

We recently caught up with Saval and Representative Mary-Louise Isaacson (D), right, of the 175th District to ask about the bells impact on their constituents and the nation.

What does it mean to you and your community to be home to a beacon of freedom and independence?

Isaacson: The many symbols of freedom and independence in my district are constant reminders of the founding principles of this country, the dreams and vision that our Founding Fathers had, and the just system were working towards to correct the grave injustices and missteps made along the way. To truly honor history, you must recognize the parts that youre not proud to build a better future. Every time I walk past historical sites such as Independence Hall, the Betsy Ross House, the Museum of the American Revolution and Carpenters Hall, I am reminded of the immense progress weve made thus far, and the long way we still have to go. I carry this with me when I vote on the House floor on behalf of all Pennsylvanians with fairness, equality and justice in mind.

Saval: The 1st District is home to people whose families have lived here for generations, and those who are newly arrived, brought by the same hopes and dreams that have inspired people to put down their roots here for centuries. Our district is one of the most racially, ethnically and linguistically diverse in Pennsylvania.

Those who visit our district, especially around the Liberty Bell, come from all over the country and all around the world. The bells toll has always been used to bring people together. The Liberty Bell was first known as the State House bell. In its original use, the bell was rung as a signal for townspeople to gather for news, and lawmakers to gather for their meetings. While its import was always in bringing people together, it did not become a symbol of liberty until the 19th century. The inscription on the bell became a rallying cry for abolitionists in their fight to end slavery. The bell was first referred to as the Liberty Bell in 1835 in the Anti-Slavery Record, an abolitionist publication, and the name was adopted gradually over the following years. The Liberty Bell has since inspired the womens suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, and many others who have fought against an unjust status quo.

How has the Liberty Bell shaped your district and its values?

Isaacson: The Liberty Bell inscription, a reminder of freedom and inclusivity, accurately reflects the progressive values of the 175th district. We value environmental conservation, quality public education, equitable access to health care, racial justice, and equality for all peoples.

Saval: The Liberty Bell was ordered from England and shipped to Philadelphia. But on the very first test ring, the bell cracked. The metal that it was made from was too brittle to withstand the task for which it was created. Local metalworkers melted down the original bell and recast it here, in Philadelphia, where it would ring for nearly 100 years.

In this origin story, I see Philadelphias roots as a city in which working people save the day. We value our trades, our labor. I see the importance of building structures that are strong but not rigid. My city knows that things will break, that things will fall apart; and when that happens, we must come together and try again. We cannot build structures that cant withstand the blows of our times.

What does the Liberty Bell mean to you personally?

Isaacson: I live in Northern Liberties, so my daughter and I regularly take walks through the Historic District and past the Liberty Bell. The streets are always filled with people, both tourists and residents alike, either there to admire and learn about the Liberty Bell or just passing by on their way to work, lunch, or to visit friends. And while living down the street from sites of such historic importance may make some people forget, the Liberty Bell is a constant visual reminder to me that our liberties and rights today have been hard fought forand unfortunately, are still often under attack by not only systemic oppression and racism, but by special interest groups and lobbyists. The Liberty Bell is a constant reminder to me to keep fighting so that its inscription finally rings true for all people in our great country.

Saval: Philadelphia has a reputation for being a scrappy city, rough around the edges. The Liberty Bell, reforged from a broken bell and distinguished by a gaping crack that was purposefully widened in hopes of repairing a much smaller crack, is its perfect symbol. The Liberty Bell presents as a force of chaotic good, showing Philadelphias free spirit and its good heart, while maintaining its propensity for disruption of an unjust status quo. We must always take our symbols of freedom and liberty and bring them with us into unchartered territories. It is right that the bell became a symbol of abolition, of womens suffrage, of civil rights. We keep its spirit alive by bringing it with us in our current struggles to dismantle racism, to end poverty and to build a world in which everyone can truly thrive.

What else is great about your district? What other attractions should people see?

Isaacson: One of my favorite facts about the 175th Legislative District and the seat that I currently serve in as the elected representative, is that it was, in fact, Benjamin Franklins seat when he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. So, in a way, I carry the torch that he first lit, which is frankly an honor. Other attractions, historic sites and museums people should see in the district are Penn Treaty Park, the Chinatown Friendship Arch, the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the National Museum of American Jewish History, Christ Church, Reading Terminal Market, and so many others!

Saval: Our district is home to some of the countrys greatest arts institutions and museums. We have the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rodin Museum, the Franklin Institute and the Academy of Natural Sciences, to name just a few! We have the Avenue of the Arts, with its dance and theater companies, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. All of Philadelphias sports teams play in our district! And we have some of Philadelphias most iconic neighborhoods and some of its most beautiful and widely used parksRittenhouse Square, Penn Treaty Park, Fairmount Park, the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, and FDR Park, along with dozens of smaller community parks, where farmers markets set up to offer local food and produce, friends sit and enjoy each others company, and families bring their children to play on hot summer nights. Our architecture includes some of Phillys newest structures and some of its oldest houses.

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Ben Mathios is an intern for NCSL.

Read this article:

My District: Is Home to the Liberty Bell - National Conference of State Legislatures

State lawmakers and activists say a Hearst Connecticut Media Group investigation into the shadowy and often lenient world of police discipline highlighted how more reform is needed beyond the passage of last years law enforcement accountability bill.

The big problem is the police are policing themselves, said state Rep. Robyn Porter, a New Haven Democrat and judiciary committee member.

While the landmark legislation state lawmakers passed last year should help address some problems exposed by the Hearst Connecticut report, There is more to be done, Porter said.

State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, a Bridgeport Democrat and co-chairman of the judiciary committee, shared a similar outlook.

A key sponsor of last years Police Accountability Act, Stafstrom said the new law will result in significant changes and improvements in police discipline in the coming years.

What we were hearing from advocates and the public really matches up with your findings in that article, said Stafstrom. Frankly, I wish I could say I was surprised, but Im not. Thats why we made some of the reforms we did.

Still, he said, We continue to look for areas where there are gaps and deficiencies in how police departments are held accountable and how we provide public transparency.

Hearst Connecticut examined more than 1,800 internal affairs investigations by 30 local police departments in Fairfield, New Haven, Litchfield and Middlesex counties between 2015 and 2020.

About 40 percent of the internal charges were sustained, meaning misconduct was found. Only about a quarter of sustained cases drew a suspension from duty, the most serious form of punishment short of termination. About one percent of sustained cases led to an officer being fired.

Most sustained cases drew a reprimand, counseling or an order for more training the lightest punishment available.

The investigation also found that police departments struggle with transparency. Seven departments, including Bridgeport the states largest city did not provide any records. Other departments omitted key details in the records they provided in response to requests through state freedom of information. And, because of vague language police often used to describe officer misconduct, its unclear if the records provided accurately reflect the total number of claims of excessive force.

This is why people are protesting across the country for police reform, Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut chapter of the NAACP. There needs to be more police accountability and police reform for officers involved in misconduct.

Police officials, however, defended how officer misconduct is investigated and how discipline is issued.

We certainly do the best we can to police ourselves, said Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour, who is president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association. Every department has a system of progressive discipline. If its something that can be corrected, we do training and a reprimand. If its more serious, you can get a suspension or termination.

Ridenhour noted departments must adhere to union contracts and officers can appeal to reduce or overturn punishments. He said discipline handed out by departments is often more costly to officers than it may appear.

When people see a three-day suspension, or four or five days, people think thats not sufficient, Ridenhour said. But, There is a sufficient cost to being out of work with loss of pay. A three-day suspension can cost up to $2,500. There is a significant cost, and it can be a detriment.

Among the lawmakers and activists who believe more reform is needed, there is a range of ideas of what the next steps should be.

Esdaile said there should be independent oversight over police departments.

We have always had issues with police officers policing themselves and the internal affairs and collective bargaining [union] agreements have not made sense to us, Esdaile said. We always felt there should be an outside, non-biased organization investigating these complaints.

Porter listed a series of changes she said are needed, including not allowing fired cops to work at other departments and completely doing away with a provision last years reform legislation chipped away at: qualified immunity, which shields cops from personal liability for their actions.

We know why this stuff happens. They [police officers] are getting away with it, Porter said. They are above the law and they know that. We have to make sure people understand thats not the case.

Beyond law changes, departments and their officers need to change their mindset, Porter said. Some of this stuff you cant legislate; you have to treat people like you wanted to be treated, Porter said. There is level of respect and things need to be done in decency and order. Its still the same culture; its still us against them.

Camelle Scott, executive director of the Black Infinity Collective based in New Haven, said she has given up on seeking meaningful reform of the existing policing system.

This situation is a prime example of why reform is an inadequate response, Scott said. Abolition is the only path forward.

Abolition refers to a national movement that supports disbanding police departments and allocating the money to other initiatives, such as social programs, community building and job creation.

Some envision replacing traditional police with mental health specialists or crisis and intervention teams that would handle routine police matters. While there is debate within the movement over whether any traditional police would remain, there is general agreement that the current police state must go.

We support the efforts of community-based groups to implement reforms that reduce harm and move us closer to abolition, and we are grateful for the thoughtfulness and intentionality of groups that prioritize both harm reduction and abolition, Scott said.

Stafstrom said last years accountability bill allows municipalities to get tougher on officers and makes it easier to take away an officers certification, the state-issued license to work in law enforcement.

We had heard that from folks that its hard to fire an officer because of the grievance process, Stafstrom said. We have heard frustration from reform advocates and complaints from police chiefs and elected officials that the state labor board says no and its sent back.

The Connecticut State Board of Mediation and Arbitration, which is empowered to review punishments by police departments, can reverse discipline and even reinstate fired officers, based on a reading of union contracts that establish the rules officers operate under and state law. A Hearst Connecticut review in 2019 uncovered seven officers fired by Connecticut municipalities over the prior two years were reinstated by the mediation board.

Stafstrom said the legislation also gave more teeth to the POST [Police Officer Standards and Training] Council to decertify an officer for conduct that undermines public confidence in law enforcement on the job and off the job.

The council provides an officer the license to work in law enforcement. The council can now decertify officers for more offenses; previously a felony conviction was the most often reason applied.

The bill also created an independent state Office of Inspector General to rule on serious use of force violations and the death of suspects at the hands of officers, and local communities were given the authority to create civilian review boards with the power to subpoena police department records.

Ill be interested to see how the statistics change from 2021 to 2025, Stafstrom said.

We made reforms, and Im not saying we are done, but we made reforms, he said. In some of these instances, its incumbent on local leadership to make sure their department is accountable to some sort of civilian review board.

See the article here:

Lawmakers call for reform after Hearst CT investigation of police misconduct - CTPost

This month marks 100 years since the founding congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) opened in a Shanghai girls school in July 1921. Inspired by the 1917 Russian Revolution, it was an event of world historical significance, marking a critical turning point in the protracted struggle of the Chinese people against class oppression and imperialist domination.

The revolutionary conceptions that guided the founding of the CCP 100 years ago stand in stark contradiction to the hypocrisy and falsifications that characterise the official centenary celebrations, which are designed to boost the partys public standing and that of President Xi Jinping in particular.

Chinese television is being inundated with dramas depicting the history of the party. Seminars are being held in local neighbourhoods in cities and towns across the country. Red tourism is being pushed, with party branches, work units and local clubs encouraged to visit sites associated with the CCPs history, including the birthplace of Mao Zedong. Cinemas are required to screen, twice weekly, films glorifying the CCP, and theatres are staging so-called revolutionary operas. Eighty new slogans, such as Follow the Party Forever and No Force Can Stop the March of the Chinese People, are plastered everywhere.

And the list continues, all trumpeting Chinese nationalism and the role of the CCP in ending the humiliating subordination of China in the 19th and 20th centuries to the imperialist powers and in building the Chinese nation. Schoolchildren are required to write essays on Xis Chinese Dream to transform China into a great power on the international stage. Adult education classes offer discounts for essays praising Maoist ideology and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism With Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

Behind this nationalist extravaganza lies a distinct nervousness in the CCP apparatus that the centenary will lead to a critical questioning of the litany of falsehoods that comprises the official party history. On April 9, the Reporting Centre for Illegal and Unhealthy Information, a division of Chinas internet policing apparatus, added a new layer to its already extensive censorship by announcing a new facility to fight historical nihilism. Citizens are encouraged to report online posts that allegedly distort the CCPs history, attack its leadership or ideology, or slander heroic martyrs.

There is good reason for the concern, particularly under conditions where there is widespread disgust with the corrupt CCP bureaucracy, which nakedly represents the interests of the wealthiest layers of the population. The whole official celebration is built on the transparent lie that the party has remained true to its founding principles. In reality, the CCP long ago renounced the program of socialist internationalism on which it was established.

On July 23, 1921not July 1, an anomaly the CCP has never correctedthe founding congress of the Chinese Communist Party opened in a dormitory of the Bowen Womens Lycee in the French Concession of Shanghai, later shifting to a private house. Present were 12 delegatestwo each from Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, Changsha and Jinanas well as two representatives of the Third International or CominternHenk Sneevliet, known as Maring, and Vladimir Neiman, known in China as Nikolsky. Also present was a special representative of Chen Duxiu who could not attend but was elected as the CCPs founding chairman.

While the current CCP propaganda presents the congress as a Chinese affair, the founding of the Communist Party in China, as in other countries, reflected the enormous international impact of the Russian Revolution of October 1917 and the establishment of the first workers state by the Communist Party led by Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky. The manifesto of the founding congress of the Third International in March 1919 made a direct appeal to the masses in the colonial countries, declaring: Colonial slaves of Africa and Asia: the hour of proletarian dictatorship will also be the hour of your liberation.

Intellectuals and youth in China seeking a means to fight the countrys semi-colonial oppression found the message immensely attractive. The Chinese revolution of 1911 made Sun Yat-sen, who had formed the bourgeois nationalist Kuomintang (KMT), provisional president of a Republic of China but failed to unify the country or end imperialist domination. Moreover, in the aftermath of World War I, the major victorious powers at the Versailles Peace conference in 1919 endorsed the claims of Japan to Shandong Province, seized from Germany. When the decision became public, it provoked widespread protests and strikes beginning on May 4, 1919. What became known as the May 4 movement sprang from anti-imperialist sentiment but led to far broader intellectual and political ferment, in which Chen Duxiu and his close collaborator Li Dazhao played leading roles.

A recent article published by the state-owned Xinhua news agency in its Lessons of the centenary of the CCP series declares that the partys founding goal in 1921 was the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It continues: [The CCP] shoulders the historic tasks of saving the country, revitalizing it, enriching it and empowering it; will always be the vanguard of the Chinese nation and the Chinese people; will forge a historical monument, upon which its great achievements will be marked for thousands of years.

This glorification of Chinese nationalism is utterly alien to the conceptions that guided the founding of the CCP, which was bound up with the Russian Revolution and the intervention of the Third International in China. Those youth and intellectuals who emerged from the May 4 movement to form the party were won to the understanding that the fight against imperialism was inseparable from the international struggle to overthrow capitalism and establish socialism. Its goal was world socialist revolution, not the reactionary nationalist conceptionthe rejuvenation of the Chinese nationthat is the central element of Xis dream.

The documents of the first congress in 1921 elaborated the partys basic principles: the overthrow of capitalism by the working class and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat, leading to the abolition of classes, an end to the private ownership of the means of production, and unity with the Third International.

Any objective examination of the CCP today exposes the claim that it continues to fight for these goals. The CCP is not a party of the proletariat but of the bureaucratic apparatus that rules China. Even according to its own official figures, workers make up only 7 percent of party membership, which is overwhelmingly dominated by state functionaries and includes some of Chinas wealthiest billionaires. The state-run trade unions police the working class and suppress any opposition by workers to their oppressive conditions.

The claim that China, with its huge private corporations, stock markets and wealthy multi-billionaires, where private profit and the market dominate every aspect of life, represents socialism with Chinese characteristics, is farcical. Xis dream of a powerful Chinese nation has nothing to do with socialism or communism. It represents the ambitions of the super-rich oligarchs and wealthy elites that emerged with the restoration of capitalism in China under Deng Xiaoping from 1978 onward.

In the present policy of the Chinese government, there is not a trace of the internationalism that animated the founding of the CCP in 1921. The aim of the CCP today is not the overthrow of imperialism but for a prominent place in the world capitalist order. It does not advocate or support socialist revolution anywhere in the world, including above all in China, where it uses its huge police-state apparatus to suppress any, even limited, opposition.

The critical question facing workers, youth and intellectuals in China today wanting to fight for genuine socialism is what perspective will guide this struggle. To answer this question requires coming to grips with how and why the CCP was transformed from a revolutionary party fighting to overthrow capitalism into its diametrical opposite.

Three key turning points stand out in the partys lengthy and complex history.

The first is the Second Chinese Revolution of 192527 and its tragic defeat. The chief political responsibility for the crushing of this vast revolutionary movement lay with the emerging bureaucracy in Moscow under Stalin, which, under conditions of the defeat of revolutions in Europe and the continuing isolation of the workers state, abandoned the socialist internationalism that underpinned the Russian Revolution and advanced the reactionary perspective of Socialism in One Country.

In doing so, the Stalinist apparatus transformed the Third International from the means for advancing world socialist revolution into an instrument of Soviet foreign policy in which the working class in country after country was subordinated to opportunist alliances with so-called left parties and organisations.

The impact on the young and inexperienced Chinese Communist Party was immediate. In 1923, the Comintern insisted, against the opposition of CCP leaders, that the party dissolve itself and individually enter the bourgeois KMT, claiming that it represented the only serious national revolutionary group in China.

This instruction negated the entire experience of the Russian Revolution, which was carried out in irreconcilable opposition to the liberal bourgeoisie. It was a reversion to the two-stage theory of the Mensheviks who maintained that in the struggle against the Czarist autocracy in Russia the working class could only assist the liberal Cadets in establishing a bourgeois republic, putting off the fight for socialismthe second stageto the indefinite future.

When the issue was discussed in the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in early 1923, Leon Trotsky was the only member to oppose and vote against entry into the KMT. Lenin had been incapacitated by a series of strokesthe first in May 1922. In his Draft Theses on the National and Colonial Questions written in 1920, Lenin had insisted that the proletariat, while supporting anti-imperialist movements, had to maintain its political independence from all factions of the national bourgeoisie.

In his Theory of Permanent Revolution, which guided the Russian Revolution, Trotsky demonstrated the organic incapacity of the national bourgeoisie to carry out basic democratic tasks, which could therefore be achieved only by the proletariat, as part of the struggle for socialism. He formed the Left Opposition later in 1923 to defend the principles of socialist internationalism against their renunciation by the Stalinist bureaucracy.

The subordination of the CCP, and thus the Chinese working class, to the KMT was to have devastating consequences for the mass revolutionary movement of strikes and protests that erupted in 1925, triggered by the shooting of protestors in Shanghai by British municipal police on May 30. Despite the imposition of increasingly stringent restrictions on the political activities of CCP members inside the KMTnow led by Chiang Kai-shekStalin opposed any break from the KMT and continued to paint this bourgeois party in bright revolutionary colours.

In 1927, Trotsky exposed the falsity of Stalins claim that the struggle against imperialism would compel the Chinese bourgeoisie to play a revolutionary role, explaining:

The revolutionary struggle against imperialism does not weaken, but rather strengthens the political differentiation of the classes To really arouse the workers and peasants against imperialism is possible only by connecting their basic and most profound life interests with the cause of the countrys liberation But everything that brings the oppressed and exploited masses of the toilers to their feet inevitably pushes the national bourgeoisie into an open bloc with the imperialists. The class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the masses of workers and peasants is not weakened, but, on the contrary, is sharpened by imperialist oppression, to the point of bloody civil war at every serious conflict.

This warning was tragically confirmed. By subordinating the CCP to the KMT, Stalin became the gravedigger of the revolution, facilitating the April 1927 massacre of thousands of workers and CCP members in Shanghai by Chiang Kai-shek and his armies and the subsequent slaughter of workers and peasants by the so-called left Kuomintang in May 1927. Stalin then did an abrupt about-face and, amid the waning revolutionary tide, flung the battered Chinese Communist Party into a series of disastrous adventures.

These catastrophic defeats, which were to have such a far-reaching impact on the history of the 20th century, effectively marked the end of the CCP as a mass party of the Chinese working class.

Far from drawing the necessary political lessons from this tragic experience, Stalin insisted that his policies had been correct and made CCP leader Chen Duxiu the scapegoat for the defeats. Chen and other prominent CCP leaders, seeking answers to the questions posed by the Second Chinese Revolution, were drawn to Trotskys writings and formed the Chinese Left Opposition and then a section of the Fourth International, which was established by Trotsky in 1938 in opposition to the monstrous betrayals of Stalinism in China and internationally.

Those that remained in the CCP defended Stalin and his crimes to the hilt, including the Menshevik two-stage theory, and retreated to the countryside. Mao Zedong, who was to eventually assume unchallenged CCP leadership in 1935, drew the anti-Marxist conclusion from the defeats of the 1920s that it was the peasantry, not the proletariat, that was the principal force in the Chinese revolution.

This was to have far-reaching consequences for the Third Chinese Revolution of 1949the second major turning point in the CCPs history.

While Trotsky was keenly aware of the immense revolutionary-democratic significance of the struggles of the peasantry in China and of the necessity of the working class winning the support of the peasant masses, he delivered an acutely prescient warning over the implications of the attempt to substitute the peasantry for the proletariat as the social foundation of the revolutionary socialist movement.

In a 1932 letter to Chinese supporters of the Left Opposition, Trotsky wrote:

The peasant movement is a mighty revolutionary factor insofar as it is directed against the large landowners, militarists, feudalists, and usurers. But in the peasant movement itself are very powerful proprietary and reactionary tendencies, and at a certain stage it can become hostile to the workers and sustain that hostility already equipped with arms. He who forgets about the dual nature of the peasantry is not a Marxist. The advanced workers must be taught to distinguish from among communist labels and banners the actual social processes.

The peasant armies led by Mao, Trotsky warned, could be transformed into an open enemy of the proletariat, inciting the peasantry against the workers and their Marxist vanguard represented by the Chinese Trotskyists.

The defeat of the KMT, the CCPs seizure of power and its proclamation of the Peoples Republic of China in October 1949 was the outcome of a momentous revolutionary upheaval in the worlds most populous nation. It was part of the revolutionary movements and anti-colonial struggles that erupted around the world in the aftermath of World War II, reflecting the determination of working people to put an end to the capitalist system that had produced two world wars and the Great Depression.

As a result of the CCPs political domination, the Chinese Revolution was a contradictory phenomenon that is poorly understood. Following the line dictated by Stalin that resulted in defeats of the post-war revolutionary movements in Europe in particular, Mao and the CCP maintained the opportunist alliance with the KMT, forged in 1937 against the Japanese invasion of China, and attempted to form a coalition government. Only when Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT launched military action against the CCP did Mao finally call for its overthrow in October 1947 and for the building of a New China.

The rapid collapse of the KMT regime over the subsequent two years testified to its internal rot and the bankruptcy of Chinese capitalism, which spawned widespread opposition, including a wave of strikes in the working class. The CCP, however, made no orientation to the working class and insisted that it passively wait for the entry of Maos peasant-based armies into the cities. Following the Menshevik-Stalinist two-stage theory, Maos perspective of a New China was for a bourgeois republic in which the CCP would maintain capitalist property relations and alliances with remnants of the Chinese capitalist class, which for the most part had fled with the KMT to Taiwan.

Maos program led to the deformation of the revolution. To maintain capitalist property relations meant the bureaucratic suppression of workers demands and struggles. The Stalinist state apparatus that emerged out of the leadership of the peasant armies, and rested on them, was profoundly hostile to the working class. Workers were recruited to the CCP not to provide the working class with a political voice but to tighten its control over the working class.

Mao had claimed that the revolutions supposed democratic stage would last many years. However, in less than a year the CCP faced the threat of military attack by US imperialism, which launched the Korean War in 1950. As the war proceeded and China was compelled to intervene, it faced internal sabotage from layers of the capitalist class that regarded the US-led armies in Korea as their potential liberators. Confronting a possible US invasion, the Maoist regime was compelled to rapidly make inroads into private enterprise and to institute bureaucratic Soviet-style economic planning.

At the same time, fearing a movement of the working class, the Maoist regime cracked down on the Chinese Trotskyists, arresting hundreds of members, their families and supporters in nationwide dragnets on December 22, 1952 and January 8, 1953. Many of the most prominent Trotskyists remained imprisoned without charge for decades.

In a 1955 resolution, the American Trotskyists of the Socialist Workers Party [1] characterised China as a deformed workers state. The nationalisation of industry and the banks, along with bureaucratic economic planning, had laid the foundations for a workers state, but it was deformed from birth by Stalinism. The Fourth International unconditionally defended the nationalised property relations established in China. At the same time, however, it recognised the bureaucratically deformed origins of the Maoist regime as its dominant feature, making its overthrow through political revolution the only way forward for the construction of socialism in China, as an integral part of the struggle for socialism internationally.

The 1949 Chinese revolution is justifiably regarded by Chinese workers and youth as an enormous advance. It ended direct imperialist domination and exploitation, and, in response to social aspirations of the revolutionary movement of workers and peasants, the CCP was compelled to eliminate much of what was socially and culturally backward in Chinese society, including polygamy, child betrothal, foot binding and concubinage. Illiteracy was largely abolished, and life expectancy increased significantly.

Nevertheless, the CCPs Stalinist perspective of Socialism in One Country led in a very short space of time to an economic dead-end and Chinas international isolation after the Sino-Soviet split of 196163. Within the framework of national autarchy, the Maoist leadership was incapable of finding a solution to the problems of China and its development.

The result was a series of bitter and destructive internal factional disputes as the CCP thrashed around for a way out of its dilemmas. This led to one disaster after another that was bound up with the partys nationalist perspective and Maos attempts to overcome the problems of Chinas development by means of subjective and pragmatic manoeuvres.

These included Maos catastrophic Great Leap Forward, which produced mass famine, and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, which was neither great, proletarian nor revolutionary. Maos attempt to mobilise students, elements of the lumpen proletariat and peasants into the Red Guards as a means of settling accounts with his rivals proved an unmitigated disaster. It was brought to an end with the use of the army to suppress workers who went on strike.

Chinese workers must draw a sharp distinction between the necessary and justified revolution of 1949 and the reactionary character of the Cultural Revolution, whose turmoil only set the stage for the third major historic turning pointcapitalist restoration and the systematic dismantling of the gains of the 1949 Chinese Revolution.

Various neo-Maoist tendencies falsely seek to portray Mao as a genuine socialist and Marxist revolutionary, whose ideas were betrayed by others, particularly Deng Xiaoping, who introduced initial pro-market reforms in 1978.

In reality, it was Mao himself who opened the road to capitalist restoration. Facing mounting economic and social problems and the threat of war with the Soviet Union, Beijing forged an anti-Soviet alliance with US imperialism that laid the basis for Chinas integration into global capitalism. Maos rapprochement with US President Richard Nixon in 1972 was the essential pre-condition for foreign investment and increased trade with the West. In foreign policy, the Maoist regime lined up with some of the most reactionary US-based dictatorships, including those of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile and the Shah in Iran.

Without the relations with the US providing access to foreign capital and markets, Deng would have been unable to launch his sweeping reform and opening agenda in 1978 that included special economic zones for foreign investors, private enterprise instead of communes in the countryside, and the replacement of economic planning with the market. The result was a vast expansion of private enterprise, especially in the countryside, the rapid rise of social inequality, looting and corruption by party bureaucrats, growing joblessness, and soaring inflation that led to the national wave of protests and strikes in 1989. Dengs brutal suppression of the protests, not only in Tiananmen Square but in cities throughout China, opened the door for a flood of foreign investors, who understood that the CCP could be relied on to police the working class.

The reactionary role of Maoism finds its sharpest expression in the horrific consequences internationally of its Stalinist ideology of Socialism in One Country and bloc of four classes, subordinating the working class to the national bourgeoisie. In Indonesia, these politics left the working class politically disarmed in the face of a military coup that led to the extermination of an estimated one million workers. Maoism has led to similar defeats and betrayals in South Asia, the Philippines and Latin America.

Xi and other Chinese leaders boast of the economic achievements of what is absurdly called Socialism with Chinese characteristics.

That they are compelled to still speak of socialism and even proclaim that their capitalist policies are guided by Marxism is testament to the enduring identification of the Chinese masses with gains of the 1949 revolution. Chinas staggering economic development over the past three decades reflect in a contradictory way the impact of the Chinese revolution. It would not have been possible without the far-reaching social reforms introduced by that revolution.

To understand the significance of the Chinese revolution, one only has to ask the question: Why has such development not taken place in India? The contrast between the two countries has found sharp expression in the COVID-19 pandemic, which was contained by China early on, even as it spreads uncontrollably in India, pushing its death toll past the 400,000 mark.

Chinas undeniable economic development has vastly expanded the ranks of the working class, while boosting the social conditions of significant segments of the working population.

This development notwithstanding, China today faces all the contradictions and consequences of the turn to capitalism that cannot be resolved within the framework of either Maoism or the current policies of the ruling CCP.

China faces a terrible price for its integration into the world capitalist economy and the massive influx of foreign capital and technology to exploit cheap Chinese labour. Economic growth has only exacerbated the contradictions of Chinese capitalism, generating immense social tensions and fuelling a profound political crisis.

While Chinas per capita GDP has risen, it is still well behind many other nations and is ranked only 78 in the world. This year, as the centenary celebrations loomed, Xi boasted that China had abolished absolute poverty, but the statistics, based on a very austere measure, are highly questionable and poverty remains widespread. Moreover, the gulf between rich and poor is higher than ever, with the staggering wealth of Chinas multi-billionaires continuing to grow amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has heavily impacted on the broader population.

In the final analysis, the historical questions that motivated the Chinese revolutionindependence from imperialism, national unification and breaking the grip of the comprador capitalistsremain unresolved.

Indeed, they are posed today in an even more acute form, with Chinas capitalist economy dependent upon a global capitalist market and facing military encirclement by imperialism, led by the United States. Taiwan, which is developing as an increasingly hostile national state, has emerged as the flashpoint for a potential global war. The entire perspective advanced by Maoism of independent national development is thoroughly exhausted.

Within China itself, the CCP promotes nationalism based on the Han majority. While imperialisms reactionary propaganda about a Uyghur genocide is deserving of contempt, the CCPs appeal to nationalist sentiments plays no progressive role whatsoever in what is a vast, multi-lingual and multi-ethnic society.

In all its contradictions and complexity, Chinas history has confirmed the thesis of Trotskys Theory of Permanent Revolution that in countries with a belated capitalist development, subjected to imperialist oppression, the basic democratic and national tasks can be accomplished only by means of a socialist revolution, led by the working class and supported by the peasantry, as part of the fight for world socialism.

This path of world socialist revolution is anathema to the CCP and the capitalist layers it represents.

The CCP has no solution to the sharpening social tensions and growing signs of opposition other than the repressive methods of Stalinismblanket censorship, arbitrary arrests and the violent crushing of protests and strikes. The CCP itself is riven with corruption and factional feuding that threaten to tear it apart. Xi has emerged as a Bonapartist figure, balancing between rival factions that rely on him to hold the party together. The glorification of Xi, who is routinely referred to as the centre and hailed as second only to Mao, does not stem from personal political strength, but rather reflects the deep crisis wracking the party.

All this is compounded by US imperialisms increasingly aggressive confrontation with China over the past decade, initiated by President Obama and accelerated under Trump and now Biden. Having helped fuel Chinas decades of economic growth, all factions of the American ruling class now regard China as the chief threat to US global hegemony and are preparing to use all methods, including war, to subordinate China to the international rules-based systemthat is, the post-World War II order established by Washington.

The CCPs perspective of peaceful coexistence with imperialism and Chinas peaceful rise to assume its place within the world capitalist order is in tatters. Biden, backed by both Democrats and Republicans, is marshalling US allies and pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into arming for war against China. At the same time, Washington is seeking to exploit tensions within China, fuelled by the CCPs heavy-handed suppression of ethnic separatist tendencies, in a bid to weaken and fracture the country.

Confronted with the looming danger of a catastrophic war, the CCP leadership conceives of Chinas defence in military and foreign policy terms, building up its armed forces and promoting its Belt and Road Initiative. On the one hand, it attempts to appease US imperialism and strike a new deal. On the other, it seeks to engage in a futile arms race and the whipping up of nationalism and chauvinism that can only end in disaster. Having long ago renounced the socialist internationalism on which it was founded, the CCP is organically incapable of making any appeal to the international working class to build a unified anti-war movement based on the fight for socialism.

None of the huge problems confronting humanitywar, ecological disaster, social crises or the COVID-19 pandemiccan be resolved within the framework of capitalism and its outmoded division of the world into competing nation-states. The challenge confronting workers, intellectuals and youth in China who are seeking a progressive solution is to reject the foul nationalism whipped up by the CCP apparatus and return to the path of socialist internationalism that formed the basis of the partys founding in 1921.

That means reforging the link between the Chinese working class and the world Trotskyist movement, embodied in the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). We urge workers and youth to turn to a study of the history of the Fourth International and the political lessons of its decades-long struggle for Marxist principles in opposition to Stalinism and its lies and historical falsifications. Above all, we call on you to contact the ICFI and begin the process of establishing a Chinese section to fight for its revolutionary perspective.

Endnotes:

[1] The Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in the United States led the fight to form the International Committee of the Fourth International in 1953 against an opportunist tendency led by Michel Pablo and Ernest Mandel that rejected Trotskys characterisation of Stalinism as a counter-revolutionary tendency and claimed that the Stalinist bureaucracies in Moscow and Beijing could be pressured to project a revolutionary orientation. In 1963, the SWP abandoned the struggle against opportunism, broke from the ICFI and unified with the Pabloites on an unprincipled basis without any discussion of the political differences that had emerged in 1953.

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100 years since the founding of the Chinese Communist Party - WSWS

Peoples Voice (PV) party chief Lim Tean took to Facebook on Monday (5 July) to share a Singaporeans disapproval and negative sentiment of the Singapore-Indian Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).

In the post, Mr Lim said that a netizen by the name Victor Tapoh, commented on his most recent Facebook post on Friday (3 July) regarding Health Minister Ong Ye Kungs announcement of delivering a ministerial statement regarding CECA in the upcoming Parliament sitting.

Mr Tapohs comment has garnered more than 230 likes, and below is what he wrote in the post:

No matter who supports the abolition of the CECA treaty, I will fully support him. Whether it is the PAP or the opposition party. Rice bowls are more important than anything else. The imbalance between supply and demand in the job market in the past few years has led to local PEMTs being forced to lay off, lose their jobs or downgrade their wages. This is all caused by the CECA treaty.

In response to Mr Tapohs comment, Mr Lim expressed that ordinary Singaporeans have no time to entertain the nonsense that is spewing from the Peoples Action Party (PAP) about CECA.

He added that Singaporeans can see for themselves the disastrous impact that the free trade agreement has brought upon on the lives of many Singaporeans.

The social media revolution has enabled ordinary Singaporeans such as Victor Tapoh to have a voice in our Nations political discourse. No voice, no matter how small, can now be excluded. This is direct democracy at its best, said Mr Lim.

He added, Political parties ignore this phenomenon at their peril. More than a century ago, the British statesman Lord Bryce observed that public opinion has become the gant before which all tremble.

As such, Mr Lim noted that he will encourage Singaporeans to keep on expressing their views on social media as this will lead to changing Singapore for the better.

The alternative party leader also pointed out that PV is the only party who wants CECA to be abolished, adding that this is a position that the party had taken for the last three years and even included in its manifesto for GE2020.

Earlier on 2 July, Mr Ong revealed in a Facebook post that he, along with Manpower Minister Dr Tan See Leng, will be delivering Ministerial Statements in this months Parliament sitting to debate on CECA, as well as to discuss what is at stake for Singapore and shine a light on untrue statements about CECA.

Mr Ong also slammed Progress Singapore Party (PSP) for its false allegations on how CECA has allowed Indian professionals to come to here easily for work.

Responding to this, PSP released a statement refuting Mr Ongs claims that the alternative party has made false allegations regarding CECA. The Party also urged Mr Ong to withdraw his statement and apologise to PSP.

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PV chief Lim Tean shares netizen's disapproval of CECA; emphasises the Party's call to abolish CECA - The Online Citizen SG

At Uncle Bobbies Coffee and Books, a cafe, bookshop, and community meeting space in Germantown, theres a catchy slogan printed on a bench stationed outside. Its short and to the point: Cool people. Dope books. Great coffee, words that Marc Lamont Hill, the shops owner, says were chosen with intention. Cool people (a fan of Uncle Bobbies is a fan for life), dope books (by underrepresented voices on vital subjects), and great coffee because selling coffee is a big part of what gets people through the door.

We dont want to be a place that people come to out of obligation or burden. The coffee is shit, but I love Uncle Bobbies, Lamont Hill says. We wanted to make a place where you actually like coming here. Youre going to get a great latte. Youre going to get an amazing slice of sweet potato pie. Youre going to be hand-sold a book. Those things matter.

Uncle Bobbies is named for Lamont Hills uncle, who inspired his activism and interest in reading from a young age. The sign out front features an illustration of Bobbie, calling visitors into the cafe on Germantown Avenue like a beacon. When you look at the aesthetics of the place, its a decidedly Black space, Lamont Hill says. Inspired by Crimson Moon, a Black-owned coffee house on 20th and Sansom that closed after being priced out of downtown nearly 20 years ago, Lamont Hill wanted to emphasize that its possible to do coffee in a way that doesnt look like an episode of Friends. Our goal was to not make it less attractive to white people, but more attractive to Black people.

By extension, Lamont Hill opened Uncle Bobbies in Germantown, a historically Black neighborhood in the Northwest part of the city, on purpose. We could have put this in Chestnut Hill. We could have put this downtown, Lamont Hill says. We could have made it an it-spot for hipsters. But there was an idea here that this community deserves beauty. This community deserves care, and so we put it here so they would get that.

Running the shop has come with its challenges. Since Uncle Bobbies opened in 2017, it has been burglarized a handful of times, most recently in March when Hill posted a disheartening Instagram of himself walking through the cafe in the early hours of the morning, taking stock of the damage. In the comments, Uncle Bobbies supporters suggested night security guards and internal gates to prevent another break-in from happening, despite the fact that they have always had an alarm system. It goes off every single time this happens Justin Moore, the shops general manager, says.

Someone asked us on social media, what can we do to prevent [the burglaries]? We can deal with economic inequality and systemic racism, Moore says. Something made these people throw rocks through our windows to try to get money from a register at a bookstore. So why cant we focus on that part? Instead of dealing with gates and hiring security guards, Moore wants to try to address those issues first. In two of the times theyve been burglarized, Lamont Hill says he eventually found out who did it.

I went looking for them to have a conversation with them, he says, adding that he did not participate in their subsequent prosecution. Let me be very clear, I dont pretend that this is easy. I begin all my work in restorative justice and abolition by asking the question, What would the world look like if everyones needs were met? One of the people who had broken in came into the shop a month later to identify themselves and ask how they could make it right. I dont think that happens at Starbucks. Starbucks calls the police if you sit down too long.

With Lamont Hills profile as a TV personality, author, and academic, a shop like his could succeed in bigger cities with more resources, but he stays in Germantown, and in Philly, because its a place where culture thrives. Its a town of hustle and grind and the underdog, much like the bookshop that has dealt with some setbacks and kept going anyway. Sometimes we like to do things the hard way.

This is the place that produced so much the Patti LaBelles, the Marian Andersons, the Gamble and Huffs. Theres a certain kind of cultural energy here, Lamont Hill says. This is where John Coltrane came to grow. This is where Luther Vandross came when he was a teenager. One of the oldest Black-owned bookstores in the country, Hakims, is right here in Philly on 52nd Street. I dont know if this energy, that push, that community support, that backdrop would have formed if we were in Delaware.

Moore stops him. Your mentions are about to be blowing up, he jokes.

Lamont Hill is quick to add, No disrespect to Delaware.

But on the point about Philly, Moore who is from New York originally agrees. One of the things Ive noticed in Philly is that theres a level of loyalty of the people here that I dont think Ive really experienced anywhere else. You have to earn that loyalty, he says. You have to be authentic. But when Philly loves you? Thats it, youre in.

Uncle Bobbies is located at 5445 Germantown Avenue. Its open 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sundays. Website.

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Uncle Bobbies in Germantown Is More Than Just Dope Books and Great Coffee - Eater Philly

SOUTH BEND, Ind. The University of Notre Dame observed the conclusion of Religious Freedom Week in the U.S. with a Religious Liberty Summit June 28-29 that invited ecumenical leaders and scholars from around the nation to discuss the various challenges to religious liberty.

Religious Freedom Week is observed June 22 to June 29 each year. The annual observance, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, always begins on the feast of two English martyrs who fought religious persecution, Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, and ends with the feast of two apostles martyred in Rome, Sts. Peter and Paul.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee for Religious Liberty, set the tone for the Notre Dame conference in his keynote address, observing that religious freedom is a human right, "essential to the dignity of the human person and the flourishing of all that is noble in us."

He noted that defending religious freedom used to be "a nonconfrontational no-brainer," as American as "mom, apple pie, the flag and Knute Rockne." Now, he continued, defense of religious liberty has become "caricatured" as an "oppressive, partisan, unenlightened, right-wing crusade," even considered by some to be discrimination.

This false narrative must be corrected, Cardinal Dolan stressed, and he proceeded to do so by discussing the concept of religious freedom enshrined in the founding documents of the United States. He made four major points in his keynote, titled "Correcting the Narrative."

First, he said that we advocate for religious freedom not primarily because we are believers, but because we are "Americans, patriots, rational human beings." Religious freedom is a fact of the American experiment that has been cherished and defended by people of all faiths.

Second, religious liberty is not a conservative issue, but historically considered part of a movement that is "progressive and reforming." Cardinal Dolan, who has a doctorate in American church history, observed that freedom of religion is "the first line of defense of/and protection of all human rights."

Further, religious liberty has been "the driving force of almost every enlightening, unshackling, noble cause in American history," he said, including movements such as abolition of slavery and the campaigns for voting rights and civil rights.

Third, "religious freedom is enshrined not to protect the government from religion, but religion from the government," Cardinal Dolan explained.

The various religious groups who first settled in this country did not want special treatment from the government, but rather just wanted to be left alone to practice their faith, worship in their tradition and follow their consciences in the public square. Thus, freedom for religion became a keystone in the country's founding documents.

Fourth, throughout most of our history, American culture welcomed religious voices in the public square, Cardinal Dolan said. Then the culture moved to neutrality before arriving at the present moment, in which believers face "downright antagonism," he said, and the message that we must leave our conscience behind when we enter the public square.

Panelists of various faiths who spoke at the conference indicated no disagreements with Cardinal Dolan's assessment, and in fact stressed the necessity for all people of faith to work together to defend and promote religious liberty in this country and abroad.

In a panel on "Overcoming Polarization of Religious Liberty," Asma Uddin, a Muslim attorney and scholar, said that people of various faiths have to stop berating each other if believers are to move forward in obtaining and preserving religious freedom.

The author of "The Politics of Vulnerability: How to Heal Muslim-Christian Relations in a Post-Christian America", Uddin said that people will feel less threatened if we stop emphasizing our differences and focus on our common status as human beings.

A panel on "International Threats to Religious Liberty" featured international speakers, including a representative of the Aid to the Church in Need, Marcela Szymanski. She reported that 62 countries present a danger to their citizens when it comes to religious liberty, even though most of those countries have signed the International Treaty on Human Rights.

Suppressing religious freedom is always part of a "power-grabbing strategy" with no consequences to the perpetrators, she said.

A panel on "Religious Liberty and the Press" included representatives of the secular media and one Catholic spokesperson. Gretchen Crowe, editorial director for Our Sunday Visitor periodicals, explained that the Catholic press seeks to form and inform its readers to advance the mission of the church. That can include filling in gaps, correcting misinformation from the secular media and providing clarity on significant issues, she said.

Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, who is a member of the bishops' religious liberty committee, welcomed participants to the diocese and praised the Notre Dame Law School for establishing the Religious Liberty Initiative.

That initiative, begun by Dean G. Marcus Cole of the law school, will assemble international scholars to study the issue, train law students to defend religious freedom by pursuing claims in the courts, and organize events like the June summit. Two future summits are planned for Rome in 2022 and Jerusalem in 2023.

Bishop Rhoades told the conference that not only was the initiative a great service to the Catholic Church and to all communities of faith, but also a service to our nation at a time when not just freedom to worship is threatened, but so too is the freedom to live out our faith and bear witness to its moral truths in social services, schools and other institutions that serve the common good.

"Religious freedom allows the church and all religious communities to live out their faith in public and to serve the good of all," Bishop Rhoades said.

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Dolan: Religious freedom is a human right and 'essential' to human dignity - Arlington Catholic Herald

SIR It was astonishing, but somehow not unexpected, to see such an unbecoming memorial to Princess Diana unveiled last week (report, July 2). It is positively Stalinist in its dreary greyness, its unsympathetic portrayal of its subject, and its consequent failure to capture a likeness or her ebullient character.

Much better would have been an even more extensive memorial planting of the Sunken Garden.

Marian WatersPebworth, Worcestershire

SIR Simon Heffer explores important issues in his lament over the poor quality of modern public statues (Features, July 3), perhaps most clearly shown in the festival of tat inflicted on the empty plinth in Trafalgar Square.

However, I take gentle issue with him when he says one must go back to before the Second World War to detect a public piece of art that was well-executed, dignified and inspiring. On a recent visit to Sheffield I was struck deeply by Martin Jenningss 2016 work Women of Steel a simple, dignified and compelling celebration of the women who contributed to that great citys industry in two world wars.

Neville WhiteOrpington, Kent

SIR I would urge Simon Heffer to consider the excellent works by Alexander Sandy Stoddart in Scotland and, in particular, Edinburgh. I suggest he will find they satisfy his criteria for dignity and excellence.

John MaloneyEdinburgh

SIR If Simon Heffer was disappointed by the Harold Wilson in Huyton, he might find the one of him outside Huddersfield railway station more acceptable.

Commemorative sculpture doesnt have to be cautiously dignified. Graham Ibbesons representations of William Webb Ellis at Rugby, Fred Trueman in Skipton and of the footballersCunningham, Regis and Batson (the ThreeDegrees) in West Bromwich are all are all fitting tributes to important figures. Ibbesons statues, such as Eric Morecambe in his home town and Laurel and Hardy in Ulverston, often put a smile on the face of the passing public.

John BirkbeckBarnsley, South Yorkshire

SIR Sadly, it is not only public sculpture that is a dying art. The ability to produce a beautiful and detailed coin or medal has also been lost. It is no coincidence that Benedetto Pistruccis image of St George slaying the dragon still adorns our coinage after more than 200 years.

The real or symbolic scenes once depicted on our military medals were true works of art; now they lack detail, are simplistic and largely meaningless. The effigy of the Queen on modern medal issues is quite hideous. It is totally disproportionate, with a crown so large that Her Majestys head is pushed to the bottom of the frame.

Nicholas YoungLondon W13

SIR I fully concur with General Lord Dannatts article (Our success in Afghanistan was squandered, Comment, July 2).

In my recent book, I too pointed to the deleterious impact of the fatal 2003 Iraq War strategic diversion and the abject failure of both Britain and the US to supply sufficient military resources to contain the Taliban and thereby successfully nation build in Afghanistan. In addition I highlighted Britains specific political failure in view of her longer experience in Afghan political and military affairs to harnessfully the support of regional allies (notably India and Pakistan) and indigenous allies/collaborators (notably the Hazara) in stabilising this unfortunate nation.

We were far too complacent after our Christmas 2001 premature claims of victory and sacrificed far too many of our brave soldiers by failing to manage a country of which Sir Olaf Caroe, Britains last governor of the North West Province of India, said in 1947: Unlike other wars, Afghan wars only become serious when they are over.

Dr Edmund YorkeVisiting Research FellowUniversity of Reading

SIR Of course the emphasis post-lockdown should be on personal protection (report, July 4). I would agree that the wearing of face coverings and social distancing can be optional in most situations, but control should remain in some. I would include essential shops (easy to determine those that were allowed to open in the first lockdown) and public transport.

Personal protection is dependent upon the actions of others.

Dr Frank BoothExmouth, Devon

SIR On the same day that Cambridge University reported that they were resuming in-person graduation ceremonies for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, my daughter, who graduated from Bishop Grosseteste University last year, received a message from that establishment stating that the deferred graduation ceremony, arranged for July 20, has been cancelled. Given that all restrictions are set to be lifted on July 19, this is another slap in the face for a group of young people who have already suffered greatly over the past 15 months.

Graduations are an important rite of passage, both for the graduates and for their families. There has been little enough to celebrate recently, and by this action Bishop Grosseteste has removed the opportunity for a family celebration that has long been anticipated.

Tony GreenHigh Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

SIR Your report on Britains reliance on electricity is very worrying (Power cuts will become more severe as electricity use explodes, June 16). To put all our eggs in one basket is crazy. Would it not be better also to use and concentrate development on alternative power sources such as hydrogen and biofuels?

John HeywoodKingsbridge, Devon

SIR Perhaps Cornelia van der Poll and her colleagues (Letters, July 2) and any other readers who are concerned about the direction of travel of the National Trust might like to consider joining the National Trust for Scotland.

My wife and I, despite being English and living in England, did this many years ago and we have not regretted it. It is an excellent and friendly organisation; it produces a splendid magazine, and it is not run by the woke brigade. Annual charges are less than the English version. We dont get the comprehensive printed guide to properties, but all the information we need is readily available online.

Give it a thought. A mass exodus of members to the National Trust for Scotland might concentrate a few minds in England.

David PoundDaventry, Northamptonshire

SIR Roger Bootle (Business, June 28) calls for downsizing to be encouraged through the abolition of stamp duty for the the many moving from properties that are under-occupied. The bigger problem for those seeking to downsize, however, is where to go next.

The Government and planners all seem wedded to the idea, sold to them by developers, that anyone over pension age is a last-time seller and thus ready to go straight into a granny flat. Most people in their sixties whose families have flown the nest can look forward to 20 years of good health. There are many who would happily downsize, but who are not ready to part with either a garden or with most of their possessions in order to squeeze into a flat 20 years too soon. They just want a smaller house.

The problem would seem to be that developers are allowed to build the houses they want to build, rather than the ones needed to complement and make best use of the existing housing stock.

Mike BussellYeovil, Somerset

SIR The ongoing overdevelopment of housing estates in the county has seen a huge increase in roadkill. The developers idea of landscaping is to plant token trees namely cherry, almond and birch.

These give no shelter to nesting birds and provide no autumn fruits for feed. Hedgehogs and birds die on the roads as they have to travel greater distances to forage for food.

Maggie SichelWellington, Shropshire

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Letters: Diana, Princess of Wales, deserved better than this unbecoming statue - Telegraph.co.uk