explained earlier, the traditional lahour movement was not only unable to challenge tha: frustration, it played the role of willing accomplice to the decades of failare. In a socioty with deep rooted illusions in Parliamentary democracy, It was inevirable that this desire for change from the Scorish working people, spanning the peity bourgeoisie to the heart of lac labour inovernet, would be pur forward in terms of an innovation, an extension, of bourgeon democracy itself. rule hy the working people over the sphere of social existensce inside a socialiet democracy. It is the writings of Trotsky on Germany whith give the clearest guide to the link herween the two opposing: systems of democracy:
In the course of many decades, workers hase built up their own organisations within hourgeois democruce, by wilising l. it, their own strongbeids and bases of proletarian democracy, the ISSUE 5p CUTS 1 The Best Advice 1 Can Give Is Subscribe to SEND
THE REBIRTH of nationalist movements in Britain ad elsewhere in Europe is explained away by the al democratic and a large part of the Marxist left dely by reference to the localised coonomic deprivaproduced by the uneven nature of capitalist levelopment. (22] This analysis of the rebirth of ational movements, however, leads to directly political conclusións.
If the problem is an essentially economic one. ben the 'solution' to the new forces thrown up in Scotland, almost a laboratory-pure specimen of ional decline, can be found purely at the level of somic demands and palliatives. In the peculiar bulary of most of the British left, long accustsed by traditions of syndicalism to analysing and ing opon only the most direct questions connected ich the factory process, "economic" questions equal can' questions. (23] I in this identification of class questions and economic questions" which shoves parts of the est mme left into a strange alliance with the Tribane anti-nationalism' of the Tribunites is of a remarkably phoney kind, with anti-devolutionists like Eric Heffer a Neil Kinnock screaming for import controls to defend 'British" industry against the foreigners.
ame distant socialist society achieved with the success of Parliamentary legislation. It is this Parliamentarinium and electoralism which forces them onto their iners to worship at the shrine of the Palace of IN THE MIDST of so much confusion on the far left.
socialist stands out as an exception in stressing the mal question. Despite our deep and probably Eg disagreements with Tom Nair, It must be edged that his writings have focussed ata questions lone isnored by the workers his analysis of Scotland's and social are 1s orcesnadow py te and occasionally reactionary conclusions he rom them (26] ay Nairn is the foremost defender of indepen• for Scotland among the Scottish left. To defend position he launches inio a critique of the basis of The claims, talists have pinned too much faith on the onality of working class struggle Therefore.
day it is inadmissable to oppose such tendencies honalism in general. Scottish mationalism in unicular) in the name of abstract internationalism, a ersal socialist or class struggle that exists only in Submiss an to the Crowther Commiesion on Constitution: 1988-71 Secratarial Theses Britain Interna 19761 perspectives document of the IMG adopted that year Scotland see internatin, it 3, 90. 2- Included section 4. An excallant short many of these positions is contained in Michael Lowy's article In MOS LOVING A. 5. The exception was obviously the peasante of the Highland cian system. But the Clearances which by Scottish chiels, and applauded by the Scottish 2 ши 10г 1182015185 THESE -OR TYPIN (1973), Struoture and Growth of the Scotlinh Ecanby Johnston/ Bukton and Malr PENNY Sovereignty of the Mother of Parliaments forms the very core of their political philosophy and anything which appears to weaken it, including an elected Assembly in Edinburgh, will provoke the most vehement opposition. Compared to defence of the tights of Westminster, the new problems thrown up by the national question in Scotland are just as irrelevant aspiration". [27)
Thus Naim constructs the same counterposition between ine cass sire an e dance queston as the SWP - borrowing the economist division between the two from the extreme left he is so often pouring scorn upon. Apparently for Naire, such ¡endencies" as the grocral strikes in Pamplona or the social convuisions shaking Catalonia have nothing so do with the 'class strugale'. (28] But it is his scepticisen towards not only Marxism. but more Importantly towards what he Calls the rationalits" of working class struggle, which gives him the biggest problems, for it forces him into a notion of socialism in which thie self-organisation of the masses has no visible role to play. Discussing the problems of socialism operating inside an independent Scotland, he explaios that our biggest problem ... (is not) concerned with the real or imaginary inner potential of a self-governing Scotland, but its external relatioos.' He goes on to explain that he means by this ". the coction of a European Parliament based on universal suffrage. not the Europe of liberalism or commerce, but a Europe of peoples and regions" (29)
somehow reduced to a deft manipulation of national boundaries and of state structures, cilher in the form of the external relations' of Scarland and/or the transformation of the EEC into real" European" Nairn's Europe of peoples collapses in the face of developed into a real force in the 1960s. B. Fourh Forum 119741. Scotiish Council Publishor in Scotland's Goal. 9. See Glasgow; Area of Need' by Vincent Gable in THAT PARIS 319S tapether a mass of previously unpublished material brough!
on Scottish life. essential mading Tor anyone interested in Scotland.
Political Eagnomy of North Sea Oil by MacKay and MacKay [19751 11. 65 per cent or invasiment was north America, despila this tum to Chronicle, October 1975. 12. 500 for instanco Investars Chronicle quoiod above Also see Scoft and Hughes In The Red Papers on "Finance Capital". that the Trustee Savings Banke in Scotland are now publicly opposed to the SNP's financial schemes THL SUASSE THI: SCARS to the Tribune group as they are to the economism of the far left. 124)
This economism combined with ultra leftism characteristie of organisations such as Lorra Continua is re valed in the postion of the fatimal Wacia previously International growing inter capitalise compention brought on lay prolesariat. economic slump His Europe of regions is heading direcrly for an open and prolonged crisis of government and state rule, above ail in France, Spain and lay. possibility of a peaceful communiry of small nationalof the cconomy and polincal lifel. is ignored.
Nair does more than ignone them, for inscead oF revolution. the class struggle as the motor force af history, his the nationalist movement it spawns coday constitue the "dominant contradiction" of world suciely. The development, in thought and action, of socialism over the last century has been premature" streggling chance of transcending or defeating. [ The conclusios of this theory relate to the very conception of socialism itself. Tom Nair is Forced to re jest the basic scaring point of socialisis shop Marx: That the socialist society me fight for is prefigured in the material realit? of capitatism's class Stracture, in ins formation of the unhan for the oribins and development of the SP 16. For the clearest axpression of this view see Calgacus No 1. But also soe Tom Nair's article In The Red Papers, especially pages 22-24. 17. Unfortunately there ls no space here lo assess John Maclean's position of lighting for a Scottish Workers Republic after 1919. Any delinitive analysi of Scottish politice menta to take accent of bot the extraordinary strengths o1 revolutionary and the weakness of some of his political views, above all on Scotland.
An Infantile Disorder Selected Works, Vol 3, page 369 19. Writings of _con Tretaky (1934-35] 20. Ibid, page 31 What Noxt. Troisky Unlemational 22. Even Ernest Mondol in his Cobilesm Arc Reg ana Disparities [1989] often underestimates the bolitical broblems behind the rebirth of nationalist caplain correcily the futility of the Assembly as a vehicle for socialism. Homeser, they argue as the alternative thal:'... The kind of independence and power me noed is that which links together control over our day to day fives through workers councils with international control over prodaction for human needs. Unfortunately such workers councils do not rel exist. So in th "TRIS TOCaNE developing the Rank and File Movement.
So, counterposed in the Assembly. the first Parliament it Scolland lor beer two hundred wears, supported hy the vast majority of the Scorish working the Rack and File Movement.
This is surely absurd posturing of the most infantile kind, which car, and dees. rosal: in pollica parasis an a pampaler or prer can sards or Scotland, the contrades of the SWP even leave us guessing on the relevant quescion of whether they would vote against the serling we or an assemble ir any referendus! The real world of bourgeois democracy which the workers of Scotland live in, complete with cloctions, referenda, and directly clected semblies is conjured away by the magic of the Rank and File Movement But the SWP are not even consistent, for they do not answer what form these international workers councils would take. We all have learned from the experience of Stalinism in the Ukraine or among the Tartars that the principle of scil-determination would be integral to any new international workers demo cracy constructed on the ruins of European, and world, capitalism. Jnside the framework of economic pianning we would welcome the greatest possible decentralisation of decision making. as the very backbone of proletarian rule Lenin's maxim still sands: socialism will bring the end of all national partitions, but at the same time will increase and develop the differentiation of humanity. What place would an clecied (soviet) Assembly in Scolland bave itside the coolest of some internationa workers councils? Presumably the SWP would maincain their opposition, but the latal abstractness and sloganising of their notion of socialism leaves you none the wiser and in the enfolding of its own contradictions in every sphere af social life. For Nain, socialism is instead a moral crusade, a sort of Jeft over from the best values of the Enlightenment To paraphrase anotber wriler, his conception of sociaiism is analogous to the idealism of nations isen world of naked and growing class conflicts fat tbe level class power — srikes, demonsirations, riots, insu rotions or civil wars - the suit of semesrial "tenerial revolucion" und relate to the developing pelirical crisis in Soorland, Decades of defens and demorallaation among the left, combined with the dead hand of Stalinism, have stumed the developmen against successive waves af nationalism that it had no in theory and pructice of creative Marxism. Despite the continuing weaknesses of revolutionny Marxism, It is no longer possible to evade the new problens that decaying capitalism throws in but faces. The national question in Spacland is only one of these probionis, buz every indication points to the fact that it will not be the NEIL WILLTAMSON "Scottish particularsms', demonstrating a paradox. Ical form ol parochialiem faced with genuine international densiopments 24. While they leel unable to join the lefts the Communist Parl also compelled to make Council who came un with the proposal that final veto powers over the Assembly the SNP and SLP Exposer, by Alan Armstrang 1976) 26. Tom Nairn's position on the expulsions of the left from Sillars to declare the whole CHOSE LU do so in the magazine Deestien whose editorial line was to urge Callaghan to leam from Sillars and get rid of his awn Tell wing! 27. The Red Papers, page 49 28. He makes the o same counterposition in Guest on.
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SCOTTISH - SOCIALIST
up, whose members make up the bulk of the 70- odd Labour MPs opposed to devolution. But the
Opposition to an elected Assembly in Scotland is only the logic of their overall political positions, that of
The Danger of Accommoda- tion to Nationalism
The entire promise of this article has been that it is view is thar the uneven develapment of capitalism and pessible and imperative to both base yourself on that