Interest in DSP and Resistance strong after S11

BY ARUN PRADHAN

MELBOURNE — "There is definitely renewed curiosity and interest in socialist politics following the S11 protests", says Democratic Socialist Party activist Anne O'Casey, who has revealed that both the DSP and the socialist youth organisation Resistance have registered a large increase in enquiries about membership since the three-day blockade.

Jody Betzein, the Resistance organiser in Melbourne, told Green Left Weekly that new activists have been attending Resistance's regular Saturday "introduction to socialism" sessions which precede the group's branch meetings.

"S11 has changed the way many people look at the world", O'Casey reports. "That experience has shown the 'empire' is not all-powerful and that by acting together we can make an impact on the world."

"Many people have been watching us for a while and have been impressed with the effort we put into producing, writing for and distributing Green Left Weekly", said O'Casey, who was a spokesperson for the S11 Alliance during the blockade. "The way we networked with environmental, church and union groups in the lead-up to S11, and the leading role we played in organising the protests, seems to have encouraged many activists to take the plunge and consider joining the socialist movement".

For more information about the DSP and Resistance's introduction to socialism discussions and other discussion groups, phone (03) 9639 8622 or email <melbourne@dsp.org.au>. Visit the DSP's web site at <http://www.dsp.org.au>.

From GLW issue 423