Before I start this article, I would like to preface that I had never even been to Hulme before, let alone to The World Transformed, and I went in thinking it would be the same as many Labour-supportive events I’ve attended before. Being the first year the festival had split its affiliations with Labour, I still expected an old, musty air of their presence looming over it, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The air over Hulme was electric; there was an energy over this old corner of a famously radical city that sparked excitement, debate, and a newfound freedom that seemed to shock the attendees into action. Between 9-12 October, the small but vibrant grassroots community opened its doors to The World Transformed and its attendees, their causes and their art as the festival took its first steps and stood completely independent from the Labour Party conference.
And you could tell:
The World Transformed
This wasn’t just a physical separation, this was an unmistakable and powerful statement from the left, sick of being bullied and beaten, that we were done with being ignored, that we were finally striking out alone, together. Yet the mood wasn’t that of defiance or bitterness, it seemed to be one of pure joy as the shackles of uncertainty were finally shaken loose, and the attendees realised something vital.
This hope, however, remains a fragile thing, one that the left will have to nurture if it is to stop itself from falling into the same old pitfalls and fuck ups we always habitually hurl ourselves into. And the most important one was made obvious by so many people I spoke to.
Whether from the mouths of those dancing to rebellious folk songs or from young and emerging leaders shouted across the various halls of the weekend, the message remained the same. The youth of the left are sick to the back teeth of being ignored by those in power, and by that, they did not just mean politicians.
This contagious hope is of two generations who feel they have essentially been ‘locked-out’ of politics, not only by party leaders… but also by the older comrades who head the grassroots organisations who stimulate our movement as a whole.
Gatekeeping by the Boomers and Gen-X
The emergence of new, younger leaders in the form of Zack Polanski and Zarah Sultana seems to have woken the beast that lay dormant in Gen-Z and Millennial activists, who echoed the same sentiment: that they aren’t just fighting to be heard within the major political parties, but also by older activists who were gate-keeping in local organisations. And we ignore those who are disenfranchised at our peril, because it was this hope and angst of the younger demographic in attendance that gave The World Transformed its unique, vibrant energy and transformed the festival into a living, breathing movement.
This festival showed one thing above all, that this ‘top-down’ approach of governing doesn’t just need dismantling within our political parties, but also within the very core of our movement and its grassroots mechanisms.
The World Transformed’s very existence is indicative of an entire generation’s disillusionment:
Filling a vacuum
It represents a political landscape that has eroded so massively that younger people are filling the vacuum left behind with what they feel their own political future should be.
Organisers of the event echo this sentiment, stating ‘we cannot keep clinging to a political movement that began a decade ago,’ and must ‘rise to meet’ the challenges of a UK grappling with the genocide in Gaza, climate catastrophe, and the staggering growth of the far right. And the crowd full of young faces and the politically curious echoed that. This tenuous hope isn’t entirely down to the promises of new political leaders, but because of a shared understanding that if we are going to implement change, it is going to be a collective grassroots effort.
This philosophical clash was on full display in one of the most anticipated panels of the weekend, a debate on a potential ‘red-green’ alliance between the newly elected Polanski of the Greens and Sultana, independent MP and co-founder of the new ‘Your Party.’ Billed as being a discussion on political strategy, in reality, it showed two very different approaches to building a new left.
The contrast between the two leaders was stark.
Sultana and Polanski: world’s apart?
Sultana, a celebrated figure in leftist politics, seemed tired and unenthusiastic.
She spoke with the guardedness of someone who has fought many battles in the political trenches already. And who can blame her? It has been years of racist, misogynistic attacks from every single facet of the political spectrum, and pairing that with recent hiccups within the founding of her new fledgling party, she has every right to be hesitant to commit.
However, when she left without saying goodbye to the crowd, I couldn’t help but think it spoke of a sense of going through the motions of discourse that are no longer meaningful. Her points, whilst infallible, seemed rooted in the old way of doing things as she repeated philosophical differences such as the two camps’ positions on NATO (as she already had in Liverpool – almost like she was speaking from a script), highlighting a classic party-political approach to guarding ideological ground, drawing lines with discourse and focusing on specific party identity politics.
Polanski, on the other hand, seemed to embody the energy of The World Transformed:
Visibly enthusiastic, incredibly articulate, and with a winning smile that never left his face, Zack seemed entirely at home. With an open demeanour, his body language echoed the ‘bottom down’ sentiment of the crowd, and spoke with someone confident in the momentum of the movement they led. Whilst cautious of committing to a formal alliance, he stated that he ‘couldn’t imagine a scenario where we wouldn’t at least be talking’. He playfully suggested Sultana joined the Greens, a statement that was not a power play, but felt like an open invitation to a movement which is clearly ascendant.
Polanski embodied what the crowd seemed to think a new-age activist should be, at the helm of a party who were willing to shed outdated bureaucratic structures which other parties so viciously defend, and replace it with a fluid ecosystem which would be built by all. His approach in this debate was to find common ground and build upon it, rather to tear down and highlight divisions that we all know the left will and will continue to rip itself apart over. In this clash of styles, there was one clear winner, although both spoke of hope, unity and looked to a future where the shackles of autocracy were removed.
This generational and stylistic difference echoed throughout the entire festival over, a tension which seemed to permeate every single facet and event.
Young people: locked out, but breaking the door in
When speaking to younger attendees, that common frustration kept coming up, that they were essentially being ‘locked out’ by older generations, those who have been part of the ‘old’ political machinations for a very long time.
Over oat-milk lattes, I heard so many stories of younger people being ‘belittled’ on a local level, new proposal or ideas rooted in modern strategies being shouted down by an older guard that appears to hold the same bureaucratic and unmoving ideals of a system we know doesn’t work anymore. The same familiar story of institutional inertia and class of tactics which show that ridding ourselves of the old ‘top-down’ ways we are railing against, are very much alive in our own local organisations.
For many young people, we need to remember that activism is no longer about joining a formal party.
In a world where we all struggle to make ends meet, work long hours for little reward, and face burnout on an unprecedented level, attending weekly meetings in musty rooms is near impossible. Yet time and time again, I was told of younger activists being made to feel somehow lesser for not going. Forcing these younger people to conform to these rigid structures of what we think activism is is deeply rooted in the political systems that we claim we want to dismantle, and are something the left massively needs to address if we are serious about building something new and entirely inclusive.
These are the generation who grew up on social media, of direct action, decentralised organising, and who have brought companies to financial ruin with nothing but viral social media coups. They are the ones who can leverage the tools of the modern world and help to usher in a new age of activism, which can hurt the oligarchy and their business interests in ways we have never known before:
Culture for change
Yet this older crowd, steeped in the slow grind of politics, regards these newcomers and their methodology with suspicion and condescension. They feel unheard, and because of this The World Transformed appears to have become a refuge for those who are determined to build something despite pushback from both the establishment and their own comrades, a place where they could find solidarity amongst peers, and recognition for their own way of doing things.
Panels and workshops revealed new ways for people to create change, disregarding political procedure and carving new ways for the left to surge forward with grassroots approaches aided and abetted by newer communication channels. Packed-out venues saw speakers showing how social media can make or break a strike and how the radicalisation of young people to the far right can be located online, disrupted, and ultimately stopped.
I need to mention one of the overriding themes of the festival: that we need to embrace culture as a catalyst of change.
Warehouses and rooms full of music, art, and poetry aren’t just going to be add-ons in this movement; they are going to be key components in bringing about change, with politics woven into every note and brush stroke. If we can’t get through to people by traditional means, we need to reach them through the music they listen to, the media they consume, and the hobbies they have, embracing them and including them, rather than ostracising:
The World Transformed: hope springs
So, signing off, The World Transformed was one of the most interesting and vibrant leftist festivals I have been to in a very long time, and I cannot wait to go next year.
It showed the vibrancy and life of the left, the determination to fight on no matter what, but it also highlighted one massive problem.
I hope that as a movement, we can listen to those younger than us – because we need them now than ever. It means nothing if we are begging newly-emerging political powers to shake off old bureaucratic and top-down politics when they are still very much alive and well in our own local organisations.
We are at a critical time – and we have one chance to get this right. The alternative is we usher in a government led by fascist Farage, and I am begging you all to please listen to one another. Embrace each difference, negotiate, and don’t attack and collaborate, because we are rapidly running out of time.
Featured image and additional images via @just.barold
By Antifabot
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