RECENTLY I have found myself wondering why socialists or communists write as journalists, authors or poets — or any other kinds of writing I’ve missed off the list.

Sometimes I think it has more to do with demonstrating a superior grasp of Marxist-Leninist theory than anyone else. Good for you if it floats your boat to fill page after page with a demonstration of your superior intellect — particularly in non-theoretical publications.

Just let me know in advance so I can put some John Coltrane on to get me through. Coltrane’s Love Supreme possibly accurately describes a love that many of these writers or critics appear to have for themselves.

As anyone knows who graciously takes the time to read my scribblings, I am not capable of writing this way. Some would say I am barely able to write at all.

Not having the intellectual capacity of many — some of who may find time out of their busy revolutionary schedules to read this — I choose to write pretty much as I speak.

That is to say, building on ideas that I have read — because you can’t write unless you read — and then interpreting them in a way that I could go into any setting and have a conversation with someone around.

Those conversations obviously differ. If I want to have a conversation with someone obviously intellectually superior to me then my contribution is more as a learner hoping to benefit from the wisdom of these great people.

Mostly, not ever likely to be part of that happy band of greats, my role is as an organiser hoping to help people understand the power that they have to bring about revolutionary change if only they realised it.

So that is how I choose to write. I am and always have been an organiser. As I now write for a living I try to write in a way that does not cause people’s eyes to fog over within the crucial first 10 seconds before losing interest.

Many will recognise this as the sort of time you have in a workplace as an organiser to get someone’s attention before they have decided you are a self-opinionated bore that they could really do without in their lives.

I must make it clear that I am not having a go at anyone for writing in any way that they choose. On the contrary. I thoroughly admire anyone who puts themselves out there by writing.

I am not being condescending to any other writer. It is likely impossible to be condescending to someone who is above you so please do not take this article as a criticism.

Again I reveal my linguistic limitations but I am absolutely certain that the critics of this article will no doubt put me right in hopefully a non-condescending manner.

So, having said all of that, why do socialists or communists write?

I would never dream of speaking for the hundreds of thousands if not millions of writers or critics of writers who have an answer to that question.

I can only speak on my own behalf in explaining some of the reasons that I write other than the necessity of putting bread on the table and keeping a roof over my head.

I am also making the rather arrogant assumption that I can call myself either a socialist or communist. But I figure that I am on fairly safe ground given that I’ve come across so many others who claim to be in either category without any recognisable evidence.

These reasons are written in no particular order — just as they occur to me. I apologise in advance for the lack of intellectual rigour behind this choice of method.

One reason is fun! I have always, from a really young age, enjoyed writing and playing with the wonderful English language — apologies to anyone reading this with a different first language. I realise that I may have already alienated you. (Alienated is such a great word that I must have picked up from somewhere but probably don’t really understand).

Aside from sports and getting in trouble, writing, during what could loosely be described as my school days, was always the only thing that I had any real talent for.

Another reason is to try to find ways of using writing to help me as a union organiser to help empower workers.

This was always really difficult in a previous work role because everything that I wrote was subject to multiple rewrites so it was often nothing like what I actually wrote. There was always the probably reasonable assumption that whatever I wrote was somehow being done with a view to electoral gain in the organisation. Well that went well!

Educating others about something that many may not know about is another reason for my scribbles.

This is the reason for the book that Manifesto Press kindly published for me last year, African Uhuru: The Fight for African Freedom in the Rise of the Global South (available from not enough booksellers but certainly from the Manifesto Press and Morning Star websites).

It is also the reason why three books I am planning exploring the rise of Africa, Eurasia and the decline of the so-called First World are also in the works.

I realise that this will disappoint many who feel that I lack the necessary class analysis to engage in these discussions but please forgive me if I just give it a whirl anyway.

I also write because I have enough ambition as someone who has been allowed by my ancestors to remain on the planet for more than three score years to try to agitate people into action.

I may fall short of achieving this to some; but what is life without ambition?

Did I mention fun and the fact that I am having a really good time not having to spend my working days worrying about workmates trying to undermine me at any opportunity they get?

I did indeed mention fun and freely admit the rest is pure self-indulgence! I will await my admonishment for such a thing. (Admonishment is another good word that I will note to use again sometime).

Somehow, obviously purely accidentally given my limitations, I appear to have hit on writing because I like fun, educating, agitating and organising. I just need to find a way to put this into some sort of acronym that we can use and nobody outside the movement will understand.

It could almost be a secret code for socialist and communist writing? Maybe not? But I have every confidence that those who know better will put me right on my reasons for writing and replace them with their own. I eagerly await their pearls of wisdom.