From the March 1983 issue of the Socialist Standard
The centenary of Marx's death is a time for his opponents to speak up. in line with the SPGB policy of constantly encouraging the anti-socialists to debate with us, the Socialist Standard wrote to a number of what are called public figures, inviting them to contribute their views on Marx for publication in this issue, with our reply.
Most of them simply ignored us: Denis Healey (who once called himself a Marxist), Gerald Priestland, Lord Chalfont, Robert Conquest (who presumably prefers to put his views to the less rigorous readership of the Daily Telegraph), Piero Sraffa (who might have been expected to take this chance to display his alleged torpedoing of Marx's theory), Robert Miller, Francis Pym (too busy worrying about the Falklands?), Lord Carrington (too busy not worrying any more about the Falklands?), Peter Shore.
A few replied with a refusal to take up our offer:
Winston Churchill (". . . he does not wish to contribute. . .")
Norman St. John Stevas (". . . I am not able to make a contribution.")
The Archbishop of Canterbury (''. . . he simply does not have the time available . . .'')
Milton Friedman (". . . I am so heavily committed that there is no way I can contribute.")
Only two agreed to put their opinion: Tony Benn and Brian Crozier. We publish their contributions with our comments and leave our readers to draw their own conclusions about the reluctance of the anti- Marxists to slate their case when they have the chance.
Editors.
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