By Rurik Davidson
On July 2 long-time activist Jolyon Campbell died at the age of 27. Activists in Melbourne will remember Jolyon as a towering man with long black hair, as gentle and soft-spoken as he was large. Jolyon was a member of the Democratic Socialist Party from 1990 until 1997. Throughout the '90s, he participated in innumerable campaigns and movements, contributing his own substantial talents to the fight for a more just and equal society. His death is a great loss for the left.
Jolyon's greatest contribution to the left was probably his intelligence. He was a persuasive spokesperson for the DSP and socialism. Whether talking to people at stalls or speaking at meetings, Jolyon was able to argue the Marxist position with subtlety and flair.
Sometimes this involved the simplest of arguments. I recall an anarchist once disputing with Jolyon at a GLW stall. The anarchist "disproved" Marxism by showing that people act in their own interest. This, he said, was the source of all the greed and self-serving individualism so prevalent in capitalist society. However, the anarchist stared speechlessly as Jolyon replied: "Don't you think it's in the majority's interest to eliminate capitalism?"
Such little turns of phrase revealed a great intellect. Jolyon combined his intelligence with a vast array of knowledge. He was familiar with modern scientific theory — physics, mathematics, chemistry — and had read the scientific reports, not just "popular science" books.
He was well versed in philosophy and politics and had read most of the important writers. He could converse with confidence on the work of Aristotle, Marx, Wittgenstein, Camus, Thomas Aquinas and many others.
Of special interest to him was medieval history, and prior to his death he had begun work on a history of the church, with special concentration on heresy. It is unfortunate that Jolyon did not write more during his lifetime as he could have been a powerful theoretician for the left. He could easily have been a brilliant academic, had he wanted to.
There are many who felt Jolyon's influence. As a friend and comrade, I was privileged to have learned from him. During 1991, as the Gulf War raged, Jolyon was one of those responsible for convincing me that I should be an activist, a Marxist, and a member of the DSP.
Jolyon always took the time to speak to those new to the socialist movement, and to help in their understanding of the world around them. Those of us who are members of the DSP remember well the incisive contributions he made to our discussions of strategy and tactics, and most of all the erudite educational talks that he gave occasionally.
As an individual Jolyon was gentle and kind. He was always sensitive to the feelings of others and rarely spoke a harsh word. I cannot recall him ever raising his voice.
He was free of the sectarianism that is an unfortunate aspect of much of the left. He would often talk to members of the various socialist organisations — in an attempt to convince them of his own point of view, as well as to understand as much about them as possible.
Jolyon's last year was shrouded in illness. This corresponded to his distancing from radical politics. Whether the two are related is unclear. It is a tragedy that his death came at a time when it seemed he was just getting his life back on track. To those of us who knew him, it is a great loss personally. To the socialist movement it is a great loss politically. One of our most talented has fallen.