International Socialists (Amsterdam): ”How Come We’re Socialists But We’re Not Social?”

In 2007, at 19-years-old, Hella had a boss who molested her at work, and no one to turn to. Then one day, walking through her university square in Amsterdam, she met a group of people full of conviction. Passionate about the injustices in the world. And passionate about doing something about it.

They were a far-left political group. A Trotskyist splinter organization called the International Socialists (aka Internationale Socialisten). They knew who was to blame (the capitalists). And they knew what it would take to fix it...

...a goddamn revolution.

14 years later, after giving them her money, her twenties, and her autonomy… after the tragic death of a fellow female comrade… Hella woke up to something she couldn't unsee: 

The exact thing she'd been fighting against was running rampant inside the group that claimed to be against it.

__________________________________________________________________

FIND HELLA

You can find Hella on Facebook (Hella Baan). She said if you'd like to send her an email, go for it! ISculty@proton.me

HELLA'S WRITINGS DURING HER TIME IN THE GROUP

Hella's article archive at socialisme.nu (in Dutch) — the articles she published as a comrade, a rare window into her voice from inside the organization

REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini 

The Guardian's 2013 coverage of the SWP / Comrade Delta case -- Shiv Malik and Nick Cohen's reporting on the Martin Smith rape allegations and the party's internal cover-up

Monty Python's "Splitters!" scene -- the People's Front of Judea vs. the Judean People's Front

Monty Python's "meeting" scene -- where the People's Front of Judea proves you can have all the feminist rhetoric in the world and still be an all-boys club

IF YOU WANT TO GO DEEPER

 "The SWP Crisis: Some Reflections" -- a widely-cited insider account of the 2013 crisis at the SWP, written as it was happening

"Apology Not Accepted" -- a 2024 follow-up from ex-members proving the pattern Hella describes is alive and well today

The Party is Always Right: The Untold Story of Gerry Healy and British Trotskyism by Aidan Beatty -- the definitive account of the abuse and authoritarianism inside one of the most infamous British Trotskyist groups, and the lineage Hella's organization descends from

FOLLOW US

Instagram → @wasiinacult
TikTok → @wasiinacult

SUPPORT THE SHOW
Join our Patreon!
Ad-free episodes, bonus content, behind-the-scenes conversations, and our forever gratitude.

HAVE A CULTY STORY?
Email us → info@wasiinacult.com