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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume. 34, Number 2. 1971

The Pym

The Pym

The Wellington radical scene has never been much; but few of the people who read Winton Cassels' Dominion article on the PYM - "A State of Mind" (Friday March 5th) - would have recognised it for what it was - an obituary. Because while he raved on about the non-organisation which was so informal that it had no elected officers, manifesto, or aims, a meeting of the PYM the night before had elected a president, secretary, treasurer, adopted a manifesto, and introduced an annual sub of $1. The "counter-culture" had finally joined the glorious ranks of the Jaycees.

The manifesto is addressed to "all young people who are opposed to authoritarian policies (president?) and are prepared to rebel against authority" (manifesto?). The policy is just as fucked-up - full rights to all who take a full and active role in society, workers control, all the usual lefty platitudes, a people's militia.

Someone else has added their corpse to the spectrum of radical politics. But the passing deserves some note: the PYM for a long time was a completely non-theoretical body interested in action only. The reason for the action was left to individual members, most of whome were just anti-establishment. Now all this is gone—nothing caters for someone who doesn't want to get strangled in the doctrinal bitching that gives the NZ left most of its vehemence, but none of its credence. The PYM is just another party with its own line to push. The PYM is now dead - and with it has gone the last pretence at gathering people who were not infected with ideology. In short, the sane left has passed away. Yet the Anarchist Conspiracy lives.

Roger Cruickshank