Stubbornly

"The roots of Benn's socialism were stubbornly non-Marxist. He did not arrive at his worldview through historical materialism as much as through the Bible. He was therefore always a slightly awkward leader of the economic determinists of the left. What he lacked in knowledge of political economy or revolutionary theory he always more than made up for with energy."

In this obituary, Brian Brivati is still unable to forgive anyone who was right about Iraq, Libya and Syria due to having been untroubled by much, if any, acquaintance with Marxism, historical materialism, economic determinism, "political economy" or "revolutionary theory".

Brivati knows absolutely nothing about the British Left, or quite possibly about Britain at all, being a member of a tribe as separate as the Hasidim or the Amish, namely the tribe that brought us the Euston Manifesto of yesteryear.

That The Guardian commissioned him to obituarise Tony Benn raises very serious questions about what that newspaper has become.

That The Guardian printed his product ought to be enough to stop Labour councils from placing advertisements in that newspaper.