Andrew Glyn
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Your support makes all the difference.Andrew Glyn was indeed "steeped in Marxism", but not just on an intellectual level, writes Lynn Walsh [further to the obituary by Bob Rowthorn, 7 January]. He was also a political activist for many years, and during the late 1970s and early 1980s was an active supporter of the Militant, precursor of the Socialist Party, helping to build a strong group in Oxford.
He and others went to picket lines at Rover Cars, Cowley, and elsewhere, to offer solidarity and sell papers. In 1978 Andrew wrote a Militant pamphlet, "Capitalist Crisis or Socialist Plan" (republished in 1982), a Marxist critique of the "Alternative Strategy" put forward by the Tribune group of left Labour MPs. He subsequently dropped out of our ranks, but that period should not be left out of Andrew Glyn's biography.
Glyn continued to support workers' struggles. In 1984 he was very willingly enlisted by the NUM to write The Economic Case Against Pit Closures, which helped expose Margaret Thatcher's energy policy as a politically motivated vendetta against the miners. He was always ready to debate key economic and social issues of the day, and contributed to a well-attended session on globalisation at the Socialist Party's "Socialism 2007" event.
Who can doubt that, except for his tragically premature death, Andrew Glyn would have made many more valuable contributions on the latest developments in global capitalism? On a personal level, he was a very modest person, with a great sense of humour and a generous gift for friendship. Conversations with Andrew were always immensely stimulating and a lot of fun.
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