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2 September 2016updated 09 Sep 2021 9:22am

To understand Jeremy Corbyn, look first at Vladimir Derer

Corbyn's brand of politics epitomises Derer's campaign for "socialism from below".

By Sam Pallis

Why has a battle to the death emerged between Jeremy Corbyn and the parliamentary Labour party? Is it because the PLP has undermined Corbyn at every turn, or does Corbyn in fact not see the parliamentary process as his end goal?

Corbyn has been compared to many in the Labour party – George Lansbury, Michael Foot and Militant Tendency. However, none of them capture Corbyn’s brand of socialism, except for Vladimir Derer, the founder of the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy (CLPD). He is the central intellectual spirit behind Corbynism, a man who sought to transform the Labour party into a “rank and file” movement that would create radical change and lead to socialism. Which leads to more questions: Is this Corbyn’s endgame? Or his departure point?

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