'IT IS fantastic to attend such an event. It shows that socialist ideas and action are more relevant than ever as we approach the next century.' That is what an electrician from Glasgow said about last weekend's Socialism in Scotland conference in the city.
A total of some 375 people registered for the event, which also drew in people from Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen. Discussions ranged from 'GM foods' and 'Why does capitalism breed war?' to 'NATO and imperialism after the Balkan War' and 'Does the media control our minds?' Socialists also discussed the lessons of the huge struggles on Clydeside during and just after the First World War. And Alex Callinicos of the SWP debated with George Kerevan, a columnist for the Scotsman, on the relevance of Karl Marx at the millennium.