We would like, in this first issue of the Week to take this opportunity to explain our objectives and the reason for our existence. We will not present readers with a long catechism of wishes, but rather indicate the type of publication we are endeavouring te create. ‘The Week has no intention of duplicating the efforts of other established socialist journals such as New Left Review, The Voice and ifribune,- Cur aim is rather to complement these journals, and others, whilst maintaining constructive relations with thom, ~ i
Socialists today have a difficult and prodigious task in reDaining both active as socialists and keeping conversant with the significance of a whole plethora of national and international events, largs and small. In a world where a relatively minor occurrence in.a small and little-known country like Laos has the potential of trigsering events of nuclear and global significance the need: for detailed and accurate information in a precise and useful form cannot be denied. On the other hand, to complete the dilemma of socialists, there exists a host of socialist publications, many ofwhich are contradictory and occasionally tendentious and harmful, There is also the physical impossibility of absorbing all this material, let alone making a critical assessment of it. Detailed information vital for an understanding of the underlying processes at work in society appears in a lengthy form in journals such as The Sconomist, New Society, Doard of Trade Journal, etc., but no journal offers a digest of such information.
To this end The Week has established a net-work of correspondents from amongst our sponsors and supporters throughout the country (a list of sponsors appears below) ; each with specialist knowledge in some field and with ability to comment speedily on events of significance, Internationally, we have many correspondents who’ Send in regular reports covering important events in their countries. When important events take place we will commission special correspondents to comment upon them and interpret them for our readers. ,
The Week, whilst not having a long statement of aims, will support every endeavour to achieve the election of a Labour Government with a socialist policy; will support the struggle of the colonial peoples for national and social liberation s will sympathetically report news of the fight against monclithism in the communist countriesg and will defend the ideas of socialist democracy against all who oppose thems Robin Dlackburn — Ken Coates (editors)